Police staff pay 2026: still no offer, here's where talks stand

Police staff pay for 2026/27 is still unresolved. As at 21 October 2026 we could find no published offer from the employers' side of the Police Staff Council, no new joint circular and no union update on the talks newer than GMB's of 9 October. On 15 October UNISON's general secretary, Andrea Egan, publicly called for "a proper pay offer of 9% or £2,700 for police staff", which is consistent with there being no offer on the table. The 1 September date that both sides had worked towards has passed without an agreement.

The Police Staff Council negotiates pay for police staff in most forces in England and Wales. Its employers' side is made up of the National Police Chiefs' Council, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the Home Office; the trade union side is UNISON, GMB and Unite. Metropolitan Police staff are outside the council and have their own pay arrangements.

What the unions asked for

The unions' claim, announced by UNISON in April, asks for a one-year rise of 9% or £2,700 on all pay points, whichever is greater. It also asks for a minimum rate of £15 an hour, a 9% rise in standby and overnight-away-from-home allowances and an extra day of annual leave. A joint union bulletin later dated the full written claim to 7 May.

How the talks have gone

• 6 August: Police Staff Council Joint Circular 146 said the employers' side was consulting on the claim and would meet the unions on 19 August.
• 19 August: negotiators met and, after what a joint union bulletin called an initial exchange of views, adjourned until 10 September. No offer was reported.
• 1 September: the settlement date passed with no published offer.
• 10 September: the planned talks were postponed. The Local Government Association's Police Staff page said they would be rescheduled in due course.
• 1 October: GMB said negotiations had been taking place and were ongoing.
• 9 October: GMB said there was "no substantive update" on this year's negotiations and that it hoped talks would resume in the week commencing 19 October.

That last point is a hope, not a confirmed meeting date. The Local Government Association's Police Staff page, in an update dated October 2026, says only that pay negotiations are continuing between the employers' side and the trade union side to seek a settlement for 2026. We have found nothing that says whether talks resumed this week.

Officers got 3.5%: why staff did not

Police officers received a 3.5% rise on all ranks and pay points from 1 September 2026, announced by the Home Secretary on 15 July. Officer pay is set through the Police Remuneration Review Body and the Home Secretary; staff pay is negotiated separately through the Police Staff Council. The officer award does not cover staff. The written statement announcing it does not mention them.

What happened last year

The 2025 round is the closest guide to what comes next, although it does not tell us the figure or the timing this year:

• The employers made a full and final offer of 4.2% at pay talks on 22 September 2025.
• Union members were consulted: UNISON's ballot ran from 6 to 24 October 2025 and GMB's closed on 28 October.
• The union side formally accepted at the Police Staff Council on 30 October 2025. Joint Circular 142 confirmed the agreement on 3 November.
• The unions said some forces might be able to pay the rise in their November 2025 pay run and others would do so in December, backdated to 1 September 2025 (Merseyside, for example, paid in November).

This year the process is already behind that timetable. Even if an offer arrived now, the unions would need time to consult members before anything could be agreed.

What it means for your pay

Until an award is agreed, police staff stay on the 2025/26 pay spine. If the 2026/27 award is backdated to 1 September, as last year's was, you would receive arrears for the months already worked. But the effective date is part of what has to be agreed, so it is not guaranteed. Our police staff back pay guide explains how arrears are worked out and when they usually arrive.

To see what different outcomes would mean for you, from the officers' 3.5% to the unions' 9%, use the free police staff pay rise calculator. Our police staff pay rise tracker has the full dated timeline with sources and is updated when we find anything new.