What Counts as
Injury on Duty?
An injury award depends on one question before any other: was the injury received in the execution of duty? Here is regulation 6 word for word, what each part covers, what the courts have added, and where the law is still not settled.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 7 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
An injury received in the execution of your duty as a constable (regulation 6(1)). Regulation 6(2) treats an injury as received in the execution of duty if (a) you received it while on duty, or on a journey necessary to report for duty or return home after duty, (b) you would not have received it had you not been known to be a constable, or (c) the authority thinks (b) may be satisfied and that it should be treated as a duty injury. 'Injury' includes disease and injury of the mind. The courts also require a substantial causal connection between the injury and your police duties, and the injury must not be wholly or mainly due to your own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct (regulation 6(4)).
Quick answer
To get a police injury award in England and Wales you must have left the force and be permanently disabled "as a result of an injury received without [your] own default in the execution of [your] duty" (regulation 11(1)). Three separate tests sit inside that sentence:
| Test | What it asks | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Execution of duty | Was the injury received in the execution of your duty as a constable, or treated as if it was? | Regulation 6(1) and (2) |
| Causation | Did that injury cause or substantially contribute to your disablement? Is there a substantial causal connection with your police duties? | Regulation 8; Avon and Somerset [2019] EWHC 557 (Admin) |
| Without own default | Was the injury wholly or mainly due to your own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct? If not, it counts as without default | Regulation 6(4) |
Most injuries on an operational shift raise no doubt on the first test. The hard cases are journeys, off-duty incidents, sport and training, and psychological injury that builds up over time. Those are where this page spends most of its time.
Throughout, "the authority" means the police pension authority. The online text of the regulations still says "police authority"; the Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2011 replaced that with "police pension authority" in the listed regulations from 16 January 2012.
Regulation 6, word for word
Quoted from the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 on legislation.gov.uk. The parts that matter for most officers are paragraphs (1), (2) and (4).
"A reference in these Regulations to an injury received in the execution of duty by a member of a police force means an injury received in the execution of that person's duty as a constable and, where the person concerned is an auxiliary policeman, during a period of active service as such."
"For the purposes of these Regulations an injury shall be treated as received by a person in the execution of his duty as a constable if:
(a) the member concerned received the injury while on duty or while on a journey necessary to enable him to report for duty or return home after duty, or
(b) he would not have received the injury had he not been known to be a constable, or
(c) the police authority are of the opinion that the preceding condition may be satisfied and that the injury should be treated as one received in the execution of duty."
"For the purposes of these Regulations an injury shall be treated as received without the default of the member concerned unless the injury is wholly or mainly due to his own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct."
Two other definitions complete the picture. Schedule 1 says "injury" "includes any injury or disease, whether of body or of mind". Regulation 8 says disablement is "deemed to be the result of an injury if the injury has caused or substantially contributed to the disablement".
"Constable" here means the office of constable, which every rank holds. Paragraphs (3), (5) and (6) deal with non-constable members, armed forces service and former police cadets, and rarely matter.
Where regulation 6 fits in a claim
Regulation 6 answers only one of several questions. It helps to see them in order, because people often mix them up: an SMP can accept that you were injured on duty and still find you are not permanently disabled, or that the duty injury did not cause the disablement.
| Step | Question | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Was there an injury (including disease, of body or mind)? | Schedule 1 |
| 2 | Was it received in the execution of duty, or treated as if it was? | Regulation 6(1) and (2) |
| 3 | Was it received without your own default? | Regulation 6(4) |
| 4 | Are you disabled from the ordinary duties of a member of the force (for 2015-scheme members, medically unfit under the 2015 rules)? | Regulation 7(4); regulation 7A |
| 5 | Is the disablement likely to be permanent? For 1987 and 2006 scheme members, regulation 7(3) assumes normal appropriate medical treatment. | Regulation 7(1) and (3); regulation 7A(3) for 2015-scheme members |
| 6 | Is the disablement the result of the duty injury: did it cause or substantially contribute to it? | Regulation 8 |
| 7 | What is the degree of disablement: how far has the duty injury affected your earning capacity? | Regulation 7(5); regulation 7A(5) |
| 8 | Should the award be reduced because your own default brought about or contributed to the disablement? | Regulation 38 |
Steps 2 and 3 are this page. Steps 4 to 7 are mainly medical and are covered in our SMP process guide. Step 7 sets your band ("band 1 to 4" is common shorthand for the four degrees of disablement in Schedule 3, not a term in the regulations), and the injury award calculator shows what each band pays.
Ill-health retirement is a different test
You can be retired on an ill-health pension without any duty injury: it depends on medical unfitness, whatever the cause. An injury award depends on a duty injury. The two overlap in one place: under the 2015 scheme, the usual requirement of two years' qualifying service for an ill-health pension does not apply if you are permanently medically unfit "as the result of an injury received without the member's default in the execution of duty" (2015 regulation 102(2)(b)). So the same execution of duty question can matter for both. Our which route guide compares them.
The three routes in regulation 6(2)
Regulation 6(2) is a "deeming" provision: if any one of the three routes applies, the injury "shall be treated as" received in the execution of duty. You need only one.
| Route | What it covers | Typical examples | Main argument point |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6(2)(a): on duty | Injuries received while on duty | Assault during an arrest; a fall during a search; a crash in a police vehicle | Whether 'on duty' is enough by itself (see below) |
| 6(2)(a): the journey | A journey necessary to report for duty or return home after duty | A road collision driving straight to an early shift or home after a late one | Whether a particular journey, detour or stop counts |
| 6(2)(b): known to be a constable | Injuries you would not have received had you not been known to be a constable | Attacked off duty by someone who recognises you as police | Proving the link to being known as police |
| 6(2)(c): the authority's opinion | The authority thinks (b) may be satisfied and decides to treat the injury as a duty injury | Where it is unclear whether you were targeted because you were police | It is the authority's opinion, not a right |
Even if one route applies, causation still matters: the injury has to have caused or substantially contributed to your disablement (regulation 8). And the default rule in regulation 6(4) applies to all three.
Injured while on duty: is that enough?
For most physical injuries on a shift this question never arises: an officer assaulted during an arrest is plainly injured in the execution of duty. It matters for injuries that happen on duty but are not obviously caused by police work, such as a slip in a canteen on a meal break, or a condition that develops while on duty.
There are two views, and you should know both.
- The High Court in Avon and Somerset (2019). Mrs Justice Lambert said it is clear from the authorities that "there must be a substantial causal connection between the injury and the execution of duty and it is not sufficient that the officer is 'on duty'". The connection must be with service as a police officer, and the injury must arise out of the duties being undertaken or the conditions or circumstances in which they were undertaken (para 24). That case was about a psychiatric injury.
- A barristers' chambers commentary. Landmark Chambers' chapter on police injury pensions (2020) argues that the word "shall" in regulation 6(2) leaves no choice: an injury of any type received while on duty must be treated as a duty injury, giving the example of a slip in a canteen on a meal break during a shift (para 4.156). It points to an unreported permission decision and suggests that observations that an officer can be on duty but not in the execution of duty "appear to be unreliable" (para 4.157). It also notes that this example was a refusal of permission and is not strictly authority.
How regulation 6(2)(a) and the "substantial causal connection" test fit together is not settled in the sources we read. If your claim depends on having been on duty when the injury happened, rather than on what you were doing, take advice from your Police Federation representative or a solicitor before you put your case.
What is clear is that "duty" is not given a narrow meaning. The principles summarised in Avon and Somerset say it relates "not just to operational police duties but to all aspects of the officer's work and to the officer's work circumstances", including events inside or outside the police station and things said or done by colleagues at work (para 17(b)).
The journey to and from duty
Regulation 6(2)(a) also covers an injury received "while on a journey necessary to enable him to report for duty or return home after duty". Points that follow from the words:
- To report for duty. A journey whose purpose is getting to duty. A direct journey from home to your place of duty fits the words.
- To return home after duty. A journey home once duty has ended. A direct journey home fits the words.
- "Necessary". The journey has to be one needed for that purpose. A journey for some other reason, even on a work day, is outside the plain words.
- Any mode of travel. The regulation does not limit it to driving. Cycling, walking and public transport are not excluded by the wording.
What the words do not settle: detours, stops on the way (shopping, school runs, a meal), breaks in the journey, travelling from somewhere other than home, or travel between two places of duty. Landmark Chambers' commentary says there have been "difficult cases" where an officer diverted on the way home, and that "it appears" the deeming provision still applies as long as the officer is still returning home after duty (para 4.158). That is a commentary, not a ruling we have read.
If you were injured on a journey that was not a direct trip to or from duty, the answer will depend on the facts and on case law we have not been able to verify. Record the route, times and purpose of the journey as soon as you can, and ask your Federation representative.
Causation still applies to journey injuries. The injury has to have caused or substantially contributed to your permanent disablement (regulation 8), which in a road collision is usually a medical question about the injuries themselves.
Injured because you were known to be a constable
Regulation 6(2)(b) treats an injury as received in the execution of duty if you "would not have received the injury had [you] not been known to be a constable". It does not require you to be on duty.
- It covers, for example, being recognised and attacked off duty by someone you once arrested, or being targeted at home because you are police.
- The test is a "but for" test about being known to be a constable. You will need evidence of the link: what was said, who the attacker was, any threats beforehand.
- Landmark Chambers says this wording was originally added to the Police Pensions Act 1921 after a court case in which an officer assaulted on his way home was held not to be in the execution of his duty (para 4.159). That history is from the commentary.
Intervening off duty
What if you are off duty and step in to stop a crime? Landmark Chambers' view is that a constable has an obligation to intervene in a crime even off duty, so an officer injured intervening in a fight in a pub "is acting in the execution of his duty even though he is not rostered to be on duty" (para 4.80). Regulation 6(1) speaks of "duty as a constable", which supports that reading, and 6(2)(b) may also apply if you were known to be police. But we have not read a court decision applying this to facts like yours. Ask your Federation representative.
Causation: 'caused or substantially contributed to'
Two causation questions run through every claim:
- Is the injury connected to your police duties? The execution of duty question in regulation 6, with the "substantial causal connection" gloss from the case law.
- Did that injury cause your disablement? Regulation 8: the injury must have "caused or substantially contributed to" the disablement.
The principles the High Court drew from the Court of Appeal in Stunt and from Kellam, summarised in Avon and Somerset (para 17):
- the test is whether the injury is directly and causally connected with service as a police officer;
- it is not to be applied in an overly legalistic way, and is applied in practice by doctors rather than lawyers;
- fine distinctions between direct and indirect causes are not required, but there must be a substantial causal connection;
- the connection must be with service as a police officer, not simply with being a police officer;
- work events need not be the sole cause, provided the connection is substantial; and
- the common element in successful cases was an event or events, conditions or circumstances that impacted directly on the officer's physical or mental condition while carrying out their duties.
On "substantially contributed", the withdrawn Home Office guidance suggested that "substantial does not have to mean predominant" and that whether the injury made a substantial contribution is a medical decision. It also described causation as including "the straw that broke the camel's back". Treat those as former guidance, not law.
Injuries without a single incident
Not every duty injury has a moment you can point to. Some conditions build up over months or years of police work, physical or psychological. The regulations allow for this: "injury" includes disease (Schedule 1), and nothing in regulation 6 requires a single event.
- The old guidance's approach. The withdrawn Home Office guidance said an injury does not have to be received through a single, significant incident, and that where no single moment can be identified the question is whether the permanent disablement was caused by, or received in, the execution of duty "as opposed to domestic or other circumstances not related to police duty".
- A long-standing example. Landmark Chambers describes a 1944 case in which an officer developed tuberculosis after long hours and repeated soakings on duty during the wartime bombing of London, and the court accepted it as an injury in the execution of duty, while saying there must be "some degree of causal relation" between injury and duty (paras 4.81 to 4.83). That is an old case known to us through the commentary.
- The modern test. The principles in Avon and Somerset point to events, conditions or circumstances that impacted directly on your physical or mental condition while carrying out your duties (para 17(c)). Work conditions, not only incidents, can be enough.
For cumulative injuries, evidence is harder and more important. Keep a dated record of the incidents and conditions you were exposed to, and make sure your GP and occupational health records describe them.
When a duty injury worsens an existing condition
Many officers have a back, joint or mental health history before the incident that ends their career. Regulation 8 does not require the duty injury to be the only cause. It is enough that the injury "caused or substantially contributed to" the disablement.
- A pre-existing condition does not by itself rule out an award.
- The SMP will look at how far the duty injury, rather than the underlying condition, contributed to your permanent disablement.
- The withdrawn guidance noted a non-binding judgment that an injury which only accelerates the onset of disablement, rather than aggravating the condition, did not cause it, while saying that judgment laid down no general principle. This is an area for advice.
- For the degree of disablement, only the effect of the duty injury on your earning capacity counts (regulation 7(5)). So even where an award is made, a large non-duty element can mean a lower band.
Practical step: make sure your medical records describe the condition before the incident, the incident itself, and the change afterwards. A clear before-and-after history helps the SMP answer the regulation 8 question.
Psychological injury: PTSD, anxiety and depression
Psychological injury is covered. Schedule 1 says "injury" includes any injury or disease "whether of body or of mind". The difficult question is causation, and the cases summarised in Avon and Somerset (para 18) show where the line has been drawn:
| Case | Facts in brief | What the court said |
|---|---|---|
| Kellam [2000] (High Court) | Anxiety and depression after harassment and victimisation by fellow officers at work | The correct test had been applied; the challenge to the medical referee's decision was dismissed |
| Stunt [2001] (Court of Appeal) | Stress injury resulting from a disciplinary investigation | Not received in the execution of duty: it resulted from his status as a constable, 'simply' being a police officer |
| Clinch [2003] (High Court) | Psychiatric condition from disappointment at repeated failure to gain promotion | Not received in the execution of duty |
| MacDonald [2004] (Court of Session, Scotland) | Stress from frustration at being prevented from continuing a line of work, and feeling his abilities were not recognised | No relevant causal connection; 'something external' impacting on the officer while carrying out duties is needed |
| Avon and Somerset [2019] (High Court) | Adjustment disorder linked to repeated moves between roles after returning to restricted duties | The board had misdirected itself on the law and its decision was quashed |
The pattern: injuries caused by events, conditions or circumstances in the work itself (a traumatic incident, harassment by colleagues at work) can qualify. Injuries caused by your feelings about your career, postings or treatment, without an external event impacting on you while doing your duties, have been held not to. Where a case falls is a judgment on the facts.
- A clear account of the specific events at work, with dates, call references or incident numbers where you have them.
- Medical records that link your symptoms to those events, from your GP, occupational health or a treating specialist.
- A distinction between what happened to you at work and how you felt about your career, postings or management decisions.
- If a complaint or investigation is part of the history, a separate account of what came before it.
- Evidence of how your condition affects what work you could do, which matters later for the degree of disablement.
For how PTSD and mental health claims work in practice, including ill-health retirement, see our PTSD and mental health guide. If you are struggling now, the support services directory lists confidential help.
Complaints and discipline: the Stunt rule
The Court of Appeal in Stunt held that a stress injury resulting from disciplinary proceedings was not an injury received in the execution of duty. As summarised in Avon and Somerset (para 18(b)), the court said such an injury is properly characterised as resulting from the officer's status as a constable, "simply" being a police officer, and that however elastic the notion of execution of duty may be, it cannot be stretched to cover stress-related illness through exposure to disciplinary proceedings.
- The process itself. Illness caused by being investigated, by a complaint, or by misconduct proceedings is, on Stunt, outside the execution of duty.
- The incident behind it is a separate question. If the incident that led to the complaint also injured you (for example an assault during the arrest), whether that injury was received in the execution of duty is decided on its own facts.
- Mixed causes. Where both a traumatic incident and the investigation that followed contributed, the question becomes whether the duty incident caused or substantially contributed to the disablement (regulation 8). That is a medical judgment, and an area for expert advice.
Landmark Chambers' commentary discusses difficulties the Stunt judgments left behind (paras 4.117 onwards). We have not been able to open the full Court of Appeal judgment, so we rely on the High Court's summary. If you are under investigation and unwell, our misconduct guides explain the process.
Training, fitness tests and sport
The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 say nothing specific about training, fitness tests or sport. Everything turns on regulation 6 and the causation case law. What we found:
| Situation | What the sources say | Settled? |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory training during your rostered duty (for example officer safety training) | You are 'on duty' on the plain words of regulation 6(2)(a). Whether that is enough by itself is the contested point above | Not settled. Ask your Federation representative |
| Playing sport for the police while on duty | Withdrawn Home Office guidance said police duty extends to playing sport for the police if this is while on duty | Former guidance only |
| Playing sport for the police while not on duty | The same withdrawn guidance said this is not police duty unless regulation 6(2)(b) or (c) applies | Former guidance only |
| Training in your own time to pass a required fitness test | No specific provision. Nothing we read addresses it | Not settled. Ask your Federation representative |
| Taking a required fitness test on duty | On duty on the plain words; causation still needed | Not settled. Ask your Federation representative |
The Home Office withdrew its medical appeals guidance on 1 September 2022, describing it as out of date and archived. We quote it only because nothing has replaced it. If your claim involves training or sport, get advice on current case law before you submit it.
Your own default: regulation 6(4) and regulation 38
Two different rules deal with fault on your part, and they work very differently.
| Regulation 6(4) | Regulation 38 | |
|---|---|---|
| The test | Was the injury 'wholly or mainly due to [your] own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct'? | Did you 'bring about or substantially contribute to the disablement by [your] own default'? |
| Effect | If yes, the injury is not 'without default', so regulation 11 is not met and there is no injury award | The authority may reduce the award by up to half |
| Who decides | Not stated in regulation 6. The withdrawn Home Office guidance said it is for the police authority | The authority, after referring the default question to an SMP (regulation 30(4)) |
| Exceptions | None in the wording | Not for a 1987-scheme ill-health pensioner who would have reached 25 years' service; and a floor at 60 for some reduced pensions (provisos (a) and (b)) |
Points on regulation 6(4):
- The bar is high. The wording is "serious and culpable" and "wholly or mainly". Ordinary carelessness is not the test.
- A causal link is needed. The injury must be due to the negligence or misconduct, not just accompanied by it.
- Landmark Chambers reports an unreported 2000 High Court decision (Bonner and Malone) holding that "serious and culpable" qualifies both negligence and misconduct, and that the burden is on the former officer to show the injury was not wholly or mainly due to their own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct (paras 4.14 to 4.15). We have not read that judgment.
Regulation 38 is a separate, later step: it can apply even where the injury was "without default" under 6(4), if your own default brought about or substantially contributed to the disablement. Whether failing to follow medical advice, for example, could count is fact-specific; take advice if the authority raises it.
Who decides, and how to challenge it
| Decision | Who makes it | How to challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Entitlement to an award | The police pension authority, in the first instance (regulation 30(1)) | Crown Court appeal against a refusal to admit a claim (regulation 34), bound by final medical decisions (regulation 36(2)) |
| Whether the disablement is the result of an injury received in the execution of duty | A selected medical practitioner, on referral (regulation 30(2)(c)) | Appeal to a board of medical referees: notice within 28 days of receiving the report, grounds within a further 28 days (regulation 31) |
| Whether to treat an injury as a duty injury under 6(2)(c) | The authority's opinion (see above on who exercises it) | Take advice |
| Default under regulation 38 | The authority, on an SMP's decision (regulation 30(4)) | Appeal the SMP's decision under regulation 31 |
| Any final medical decision, by agreement | The authority and you | Reconsideration by agreement (regulation 32(2)) |
The withdrawn Home Office guidance told SMPs not to accept the evidence about the circumstances of an injury "uncritically from either party", to test and weigh it, and to decide disputed facts on the balance of probabilities rather than a higher standard. That guidance is no longer current, but it describes the job the SMP is doing: deciding, on the evidence, what more likely than not happened. That is why contemporaneous records matter so much.
The SMP's report must be supplied to you (regulation 30(7)). Read the part on execution of duty carefully: which route in regulation 6(2) did the SMP consider, and what did they find caused your disablement? Our SMP appointment checklist covers what to prepare and what to check, and the appeals guide covers the board, costs and the late-cancellation rule.
If you are told your injury was not on duty
A finding that your injury was not received in the execution of duty usually comes in an SMP's report, because whether "the disablement is the result of an injury received in the execution of duty" is one of the questions referred under regulation 30(2)(c). What to do:
- Note the date you received the report. The 28 days for a notice of appeal run from receipt (regulation 31(1)).
- Find the reasoning. Which route in regulation 6(2) did the SMP consider? Did they apply a causation test, and which one? Did they treat being on duty as enough, or not?
- Check the facts they relied on. Were your duty status, the journey, or the events at work recorded correctly? Factual errors are a common starting point.
- Get advice quickly. Your Federation representative or a solicitor can say whether to appeal to a board of medical referees, ask for reconsideration by agreement (regulation 32(2)), or both.
- Give notice in time. Notice within 28 days of receiving the report, a statement of grounds within a further 28 days of the notice being received. The authority can allow longer; ask in writing before the deadline.
Where the authority itself refuses to admit a claim, regulation 34 gives a right of appeal to the Crown Court, but the court is bound by any final medical decision (regulation 36(2)). So the medical appeal route usually comes first. The appeals guide explains the board, costs and the time limits in more detail.
Words that matter
| Term | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Constable | The office of constable, which every police officer holds whatever their rank |
| Execution of duty | Doing your duty as a constable, read with the causation case law: a substantial causal connection with your service as a police officer |
| On duty | Rostered or deployed for duty. Whether that alone is enough is contested |
| Journey necessary to report for duty or return home after duty | Travel whose purpose is getting to duty or getting home from it |
| Known to be a constable | Others knew you were police, and that knowledge is why you were injured |
| Injury | Any injury or disease, of body or of mind (Schedule 1) |
| Caused or substantially contributed to | The duty injury need not be the only cause of the disablement, but its contribution must be substantial (regulation 8) |
| Serious and culpable negligence or misconduct | The level of fault that, if it wholly or mainly caused the injury, means it was not 'without default' (regulation 6(4)) |
| Default (regulation 38) | Your own conduct bringing about or substantially contributing to the disablement; can reduce an award by up to half |
| Police pension authority | The body that decides injury awards for your force (the regulations' online text still says 'police authority') |
| Selected medical practitioner (SMP) | The doctor the authority selects to decide the medical questions, including whether the disablement results from a duty injury |
| Board of medical referees | The appeal board for SMP decisions in England and Wales |
Scenarios: which part of regulation 6 is in play?
These are typical situations, not real cases. The table says which rule is engaged and what the decision is likely to turn on. It does not predict any result. Every claim turns on its own evidence.
| Situation | Part of regulation 6 in play | What it is likely to turn on | Settled? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assaulted while making an arrest on shift | 6(2)(a) on duty; also 6(1) execution of duty | Permanence and degree of disablement, rather than the duty question | The duty question is rarely in doubt |
| Slipped in the canteen during a meal break on shift | 6(2)(a) on duty | Whether being on duty is enough without a further causal connection | Contested: see above |
| Car crash driving straight home after a late shift | 6(2)(a) journey | Whether the journey was 'necessary to ... return home after duty'; then causation of disablement | The words cover a direct journey |
| Injured after stopping at a shop on the way home | 6(2)(a) journey | Whether you were still 'returning home after duty' | Not settled |
| Recognised and attacked off duty by someone you once arrested | 6(2)(b) known to be a constable | Evidence that you would not have been attacked had you not been known to be police | The rule is clear; proof is the issue |
| Off duty, intervened to stop a fight | 6(1) duty as a constable; possibly 6(2)(b) | Whether you were acting in your capacity as a constable | A commentary view supports cover; ask your Federation representative |
| Injured in mandatory officer safety training on a duty day | 6(2)(a) on duty | Whether on duty is enough; causation | Not settled |
| Injured playing for a force team at a weekend, off duty | 6(2)(a) does not apply on its face; possibly 6(2)(b) or (c) | Whether the activity was duty at all | Not settled; old guidance said not duty |
| PTSD after attending a fatal incident | 6(1) and 6(2)(a); Schedule 1 'injury of mind' | Whether the incident caused or substantially contributed to the disablement | Psychological injury is covered; causation is medical |
| Depression after a misconduct investigation | 6(1) | Stunt: illness from the disciplinary process is outside the execution of duty | Court of Appeal authority |
| Anxiety after being passed over for promotion | 6(1) | Clinch and MacDonald: career disappointment alone has been held not enough | High Court and Scottish authority |
| An old back problem made much worse by a struggle during an arrest | 6(2)(a); regulation 8 | Whether the duty injury substantially contributed to the permanent disablement; how much of the effect on earning capacity is due to it | Regulation 8 allows a contributing cause; the degree is medical |
| Hearing loss after years of firearms training and deployments | 6(1); Schedule 1 'disease'; no single incident | Medical evidence linking the condition to duty exposure rather than other causes | Causation is medical; no specific rule |
| Injured travelling from home to give evidence at court on a rest day | 6(2)(a) journey | Whether attending court was duty, so the journey was one 'necessary to ... report for duty' | Not settled; ask your Federation representative |
| Anxiety after harassment by colleagues at work | 6(1); Schedule 1 'injury of mind' | Whether events at work impacted directly on you while carrying out your duties (Kellam) | Depends on the facts |
Evidence to keep from the start
Most disputes about regulation 6 are disputes about facts: where you were, what you were doing, why, and what happened to you. Facts are easiest to prove when recorded at the time.
- Duty status. Your rostered times, the incident log or call reference, and who you were deployed with.
- The incident. Report it through your force's injury reporting process as soon as you can. Keep a copy and note the date.
- Journeys. If you were travelling, note the route, start and end points, times and why you were making the journey.
- Being known as police. For off-duty incidents, note anything that shows you were recognised or targeted as police, and any crime reference.
- Witnesses. Names and contact details, and any body-worn video or CCTV reference.
- Medical history. Attend your GP or hospital and describe how the injury happened. For existing conditions, make sure the before-and-after history is recorded.
- Psychological injury. Note the incidents, dates and how they affected you. If your condition builds up over time, a diary helps show which events at work had an impact.
Our step-by-step guide for officers injured on duty covers reporting, sick pay and the route to an award in order. When you are referred to an SMP, use the SMP appointment checklist.
You can still claim: regulation 11(1) covers a person who "ceases or has ceased" to be a member. But if you retired before becoming disabled and the date you became disabled cannot be fixed, regulation 7(7) takes it as the date your claim was first made known to the authority, and no injury pension is paid for any period before you became disabled (regulation 11(2)). Put your claim in writing promptly.
Before you put in a claim: a short check
These questions do not decide anything. They help you and your adviser see where your claim is strong and where it needs evidence.
- Which route in regulation 6(2) do you rely on: on duty, the journey, known to be a constable, or the authority's opinion? Could more than one apply?
- What were you doing, where, and why, at the time? Do your records show it?
- Is there a single incident, or a build-up over time? If a build-up, which events or conditions at work affected you?
- Did you have the condition, or symptoms of it, before? What changed after the duty injury?
- Is there anything that could be said to be your own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct? Be honest with your adviser about it early.
- Is any part of your illness linked to a complaint, investigation or misconduct process? If so, separate that from the incident itself (Stunt).
- Are you still serving, or have you left? If you have left, when did you become disabled, and can you show it?
- Have you diarised the appeal time limits for when the SMP's report arrives: 28 days for notice, then a further 28 days for grounds?
Take the answers to your Police Federation representative or a solicitor before you submit, not after a refusal. A claim framed clearly at the start is easier to decide and, if needed, to appeal.
- Which route in regulation 6(2) is strongest on my facts, and is there any doubt about it?
- Is there recent case law on situations like mine (journeys, training, sport, off-duty incidents, psychological injury)?
- Is anything likely to be raised under regulation 6(4) or regulation 38, and how should I deal with it?
- What evidence should go in with the claim, and what should I keep back for an appeal if needed?
- Will you help me check the SMP's report against the 28-day appeal deadline?
Whether an injury was received in the execution of duty decides whether there is an award at all. If it was, the police injury award calculator shows the gratuity and injury pension for each degree of disablement from your pay, service and police pension. It is an estimate to take to your Federation representative or solicitor, not a decision.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
This page applies the England and Wales regulations. The other two jurisdictions use the same three routes:
- Scotland. Regulation 6 of the Police (Injury Benefit) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (SSI 2007/68) has the same on duty, journey, known-to-be-a-constable and authority-opinion routes, and the same "serious and culpable negligence or misconduct" default test.
- Northern Ireland. Regulation 5 of the PSNI and PSNI Reserve (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/268) has the same routes; the Northern Ireland Policing Board forms the opinion under route (c).
Case law from one jurisdiction is not automatically binding in another (MacDonald, above, is a Scottish decision that English courts have cited). Procedures, appeal bodies and guidance differ. Check the rules for your force.
Common mistakes
- "It has to be someone else's fault." No. The scheme does not require anyone else to be at fault. It requires the injury to be received in the execution of duty and not to be wholly or mainly due to your own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct.
- "Only physical injuries count." No. "Injury" includes disease and injury of the mind (Schedule 1).
- "If I was on shift, it automatically counts." Contested. The High Court has said being on duty is not sufficient without a substantial causal connection.
- "Commuting never counts." A journey necessary to report for duty or return home after duty is expressly covered by regulation 6(2)(a).
- "Off duty means no cover." Not necessarily. Regulation 6(2)(b) covers injuries you would not have received had you not been known to be a constable.
- "A pre-existing condition rules me out." No. Regulation 8 accepts an injury that substantially contributed to the disablement.
- "Stress from a misconduct case counts." Not on Stunt, which the High Court still treats as the leading authority.
- "Any mistake I made will stop an award." Regulation 6(4) needs serious and culpable negligence or misconduct that wholly or mainly caused the injury. Regulation 38 is a separate power to reduce, by up to half.
- "I left years ago, so it is too late." Regulation 11 applies to a person who has ceased to be a member. The regulation itself sets no general deadline, though delay can affect the date of disablement and payments (regulations 7(7) and 11(2)).
Not verified or needs checking
- The full Stunt judgment. We could not open [2001] EWCA Civ 265 itself. We rely on the High Court's summary in Avon and Somerset and on the Landmark Chambers commentary.
- On duty versus execution of duty. How regulation 6(2)(a) fits with the "substantial causal connection" test is contested between the High Court's statement in Avon and Somerset and the Landmark Chambers commentary. Needs a solicitor on your facts.
- Journeys with detours or stops. Not settled by the wording; we have not read the journey cases the commentary refers to.
- Training, fitness tests and sport. No provision in the regulations; the only official statement we found is in withdrawn guidance. Not settled.
- Off-duty intervention. Supported by a commentary view and the wording "duty as a constable"; we have not read a court decision applying it.
- Who decides regulation 6(4) and 6(2)(c) in a contested case. The withdrawn guidance said the police authority; the commentary suggests the medical authority may exercise 6(2)(c) in practice. Check with your Federation representative.
- Bonner and Malone (2000). Unreported; known to us only through the Landmark Chambers commentary.
- Consolidated text. legislation.gov.uk does not yet show all later amendments to the 2006 Regulations. We quote regulation 6 as shown there; the "police authority" wording was changed to "police pension authority" by SI 2011/3063.
- Special constables, police staff and volunteers. Not covered by this page. Which scheme, if any, applies to them is a separate question we have not verified.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an injury on duty for a police officer?
Under regulation 6 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, an injury received in the execution of your duty as a constable. It is treated as such if you were injured while on duty, on a journey necessary to report for duty or return home after duty, or would not have been injured had you not been known to be a constable, or if the authority decides to treat it that way under regulation 6(2)(c).
Does an injury on the way to or from work count as injury on duty?
Regulation 6(2)(a) covers an injury received 'while on a journey necessary to enable him to report for duty or return home after duty'. A direct journey to or from duty falls within those words. Detours, stops and journeys for other purposes are not settled by the regulation; ask your Federation representative.
Is being on duty enough on its own?
This is contested. Regulation 6(2)(a) says an injury received while on duty 'shall be treated' as received in the execution of duty. But the High Court in Avon and Somerset (2019) said there must be a substantial causal connection between the injury and the execution of duty and that it is not sufficient that the officer is on duty. Take advice on your facts.
Does PTSD or stress count as an injury on duty?
It can. Schedule 1 says 'injury' includes any injury or disease, whether of body or of mind. The question is causation: whether events, conditions or circumstances in your police work caused or substantially contributed to the disablement. Feelings about your career or postings alone have been held not enough.
Does stress from a misconduct investigation or complaint count?
The Court of Appeal in Stunt (2001), as summarised by the High Court in Avon and Somerset, held that a stress injury from disciplinary proceedings was not received in the execution of duty. An injury from the original incident itself is a separate question.
What if my injury made an existing condition worse?
Regulation 8 says disablement is the result of an injury if the injury 'caused or substantially contributed to' it. So the duty injury does not have to be the only cause. Whether its contribution was substantial is a medical question for the SMP.
Is an injury playing sport or at training an injury on duty?
The regulations say nothing specific about sport or training. Withdrawn Home Office guidance said police duty extends to playing sport for the police while on duty, but not off duty unless regulation 6(2)(b) or (c) applies. That guidance is out of date. This is not settled; ask your Federation representative.
What if the injury was partly my fault?
Under regulation 6(4) an injury is treated as received without your default unless it was 'wholly or mainly due to [your] own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct'. Separately, regulation 38 lets the authority reduce an award by up to half if you brought about or substantially contributed to the disablement by your own default.
Am I covered if I am attacked off duty because I am police?
Regulation 6(2)(b) treats an injury as received in the execution of duty if you would not have received it had you not been known to be a constable. That is aimed at exactly this situation, though the facts still have to be proved.
Who decides whether my injury was on duty?
The police pension authority decides entitlement, but must refer to a selected medical practitioner the question whether the disablement is the result of an injury received in the execution of duty (regulation 30(2)(c)). You can appeal the SMP's decision to a board of medical referees within 28 days of receiving the report, with grounds within a further 28 days.
Can I claim after I have left the police?
Yes. Regulation 11(1) applies to a person who 'ceases or has ceased' to be a member of a police force and is permanently disabled as a result of a duty injury. If you left before becoming disabled and the date cannot be fixed, regulation 7(7) takes it as the date your claim is first made known to the authority, so do not delay.
Does regulation 6 apply to 2015 scheme members?
Yes. Regulation 6 applies to all members of a police force in England and Wales. What changed for 2015-scheme members is the disablement test, now in regulation 7A, which links to the 2015 scheme's medical unfitness definitions.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 7 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/932), regulation 6: injury received in the execution of duty (legislation.gov.uk) — 6(1) duty as a constable; 6(2)(a) to (c) the three routes; 6(4) serious and culpable negligence or misconduct (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2006/932, regulation 8: disablement the result of an injury — 'caused or substantially contributed to' (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2006/932, Schedule 1: glossary — 'injury' includes any injury or disease, whether of body or of mind (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2006/932, regulations 7 and 11 — 11(1) a person who ceases or has ceased to be a member and is permanently disabled by a duty injury without own default; 7(4) to (5) disablement and degree; 7(7) date of disablement where retired before becoming disabled (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 102 — 102(2)(b): 2 years' qualifying service, or permanently medically unfit as the result of an injury received without default in the execution of duty (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2018/997, regulation 10 (as made): new regulation 7A — disablement test for 2015-scheme members (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2006/932, regulations 30 and 31 — authority decides entitlement; questions (a) to (d) referred to an SMP, including whether the disablement results from a duty injury; 30(4) default question for reg 38; appeal within 28 days plus 28 days for grounds (reg 31) (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2006/932, regulations 34 and 36 — Crown Court appeal against refusal of a claim; court bound by final medical decisions (accessed 7 October 2026)
- SI 2006/932, regulation 38: reduction of pension in case of default — reduction of up to half where the person brought about or substantially contributed to the disablement by own default, with provisos (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/3063) — replaces 'police authority' with 'police pension authority' in the listed regulations from 16 January 2012 (accessed 7 October 2026)
- R (Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary) v Police Medical Appeal Board [2019] EWHC 557 (Admin) (Find Case Law) — para 17 principles from Stunt and Kellam; para 18 summaries of Kellam, Stunt, Clinch and MacDonald; para 24 substantial causal connection, not sufficient to be on duty; board decision quashed (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Home Office, Guidance on medical appeals, section 4: permanent disablement as a result of injury in the execution of duty (withdrawn) — marked archived 31 August 2022 and no longer current; sport on and off duty; default and 6(2)(c) described as matters for the police authority; 'substantially contributed' suggested not to mean predominant (accessed 7 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Police Medical Appeal Board guidance (withdrawn) — withdrawn 1 September 2022 as out of date; new guidance 'in due course' (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Landmark Chambers, Police Injury Pensions, chapter 4 (2020) (secondary source) — paras 4.13 to 4.17 (default), 4.80 (off-duty intervention), 4.155 to 4.161 (the deeming provisions and the journey); a barristers' commentary, not a court decision (accessed 7 October 2026)
- Police (Injury Benefit) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (SSI 2007/68), regulation 6 — same three routes and the same default test (accessed 7 October 2026)
- PSNI and PSNI Reserve (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 (SR 2006/268), regulation 5 — same routes; the Northern Ireland Policing Board forms the 5(2)(c) opinion (accessed 7 October 2026)
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. This page is general information, not legal, medical or financial advice, and the outcome of any injury award or ill-health retirement decision turns on the medical evidence and the facts of the individual case. Decisions are made by the police pension authority, selected medical practitioners and appeal boards, and the regulations are amended from time to time. Speak to your Police Federation representative or a solicitor about your own case, and your pension administrator about your figures. If you are struggling, speak to your GP or one of the services listed on our support directory; if you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 7 October 2026.