Police Scotland
Allowances 2026
Every allowance Police Scotland officers can get from 1 April 2026: the rate, the unit, who qualifies, the 2025 figure it replaced, what it is worth after Scottish tax and how it compares with England and Wales. Rates from PNBS Circular 2026/04; rules from the PNBS police officer handbook.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 23 October 2026 · Scotland unless stated
From 1 April 2026: Islands Allowance £1,332.21 to £2,664.42 a year, On-call £43.68 a period, Plain Clothes £18.50 a month, Dog Handler's £3,065.78 a year, Overnight Disruption £82.07 a night, Additional Disruption £54.72 a night, Minimum Standards £123.11 a night, Excessive Rest Day Disruption £25.99 a qualifying occasion and, for inspecting and superintending ranks, the Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance of £112.05. Most rose 3.5% on 1 April 2026; on-call rose 20%. There is no regional weighting.
Every Police Scotland allowance from 1 April 2026
Police Scotland officers are paid on the PNBS pay scales (see Police Scotland pay scales). On top of basic pay, these national allowances apply when you meet the conditions. They are agreed through the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland, approved by Scottish Ministers and published in PNBS Circular 2026/04. None of them is set locally.
| Allowance | Rate | Who and when | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-call Allowance | £43.68 per period | Officers (constable to chief superintendent) in a designated on-call role who must stay continuously and immediately available when off duty. One period is from the end of one shift to the start of the next, or 24 hours, whichever is less. Pensionable. | Handbook 4.3 |
| Plain Clothes Allowance | £18.50 per month | Officers (constable to chief superintendent) who spend the majority of their time in plain clothes over a period of three months or more. | Handbook 4.4 |
| Dog Handler’s Allowance | £3,065.78 a year | Dog handlers, who look after their dog on rest days and public holidays. Plus 25% of the allowance for each additional police dog. | Handbook 4.5 |
| Overnight Disruption Allowance | £82.07 per night | Officers deployed away from their usual place of duty at short notice and unable to get home overnight. | Handbook 4.2 |
| Additional Disruption Allowance | £54.72 per night | Federated ranks already on the Overnight Disruption Allowance whose off-duty activities are restricted, or who must stay available for recall at any time. | Handbook 4.2.2 |
| Minimum Standards Allowance | £123.11 per night | Federated ranks on the Overnight Disruption Allowance whose accommodation falls below the minimum standard (single room with en-suite, hot and cold water, clean linen) after efforts to fix it. | Handbook 4.2.3 |
| Excessive Rest Day Disruption Allowance | £25.99 per qualifying occasion | Constable to chief superintendent: paid on the fourth and every later disrupted rest day in a rolling 42-day period. | Handbook 4.1 |
| Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance | £112.05 per qualifying day | Inspecting and superintending ranks required to work on a rest day with less than 48 hours’ notice of the start time, working at least 4 hours, on top of another rest day. Not pensionable. | Handbook 4.9 |
On 22 October 2026 the handbook's rates table still showed £107.85 for the Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance. That is the 1 April 2025 rate before the inflation guarantee. The circular in force from 1 April 2026 gives £112.05, which we use.
Quick conversions: the Plain Clothes Allowance is £222.00 a year; the Dog Handler's Allowance is £255.48 a month; the Islands Allowance is between £111.02 and £222.04 a month depending on the island.
Which allowances each rank can get
Eligibility depends on rank as well as role. The biggest dividing line is constables and sergeants (who are paid overtime) and inspecting and superintending ranks (who are not and get another rest day instead). The handbook's allowances then fill some of that gap.
| Allowance or payment | Constable | Sergeant | Inspector | Chief inspector | Superintendent | Chief superintendent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overtime pay (handbook 2.3) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Rest day working pay (2.5) | Yes | Yes | Another rest day | Another rest day | Another rest day | Another rest day |
| Public holiday double time (2.6) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Another rest day | Another rest day |
| Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance (4.9) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excessive Rest Day Disruption (4.1) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Overnight Disruption (4.2.1) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Additional Disruption (4.2.2) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Minimum Standards (4.2.3) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| On-call, designated roles (4.3) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plain Clothes (4.4) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Islands Allowance (4.10) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
On promotion from sergeant to inspector you lose overtime and rest day pay but gain the Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance and keep public holiday double time, Additional Disruption and Minimum Standards. On promotion to superintendent you lose Additional Disruption, Minimum Standards and public holiday pay (you get another rest day instead). Whether promotion still pays once these are counted is covered in promotion in Police Scotland.
Which allowances your role can attract
Allowances follow the role and the circumstances, not length of service. This table is a quick guide to which allowances usually come into play for common roles. In every case the handbook conditions have to be met; a role title alone does not trigger a payment.
| Role | Allowances that can apply |
|---|---|
| Response or community constable | Excessive Rest Day Disruption when rest days are repeatedly cancelled; Overnight Disruption on short-notice deployments away from home; overtime and rest day pay under the normal rules |
| Detective constable or sergeant | Plain Clothes if most of your time over three months or more is in plain clothes; On-call if your post is a designated on-call role |
| Dog handler | Dog Handler's Allowance (£3,065.78, plus 25% per extra dog); Essential User's Allowance if you transport the dogs without a police vehicle; On-call if designated |
| Officer posted to a listed island | Islands Allowance at your island's rate; Island Expenses (mainland trips); Overnight Disruption if sent away from your island duty place at short notice |
| Mutual aid or major event deployment | Overnight Disruption each night, Additional Disruption if off-duty time is restricted, Minimum Standards if the accommodation is below standard (federated ranks) |
| Duty inspector or chief inspector | Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance (£112.05) with another rest day; Excessive Rest Day Disruption; On-call if designated; public holiday double time |
| Superintendent or chief superintendent | Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance; On-call if designated; Overnight Disruption; another rest day for public holidays worked |
| Residential post at the Scottish Police College | Central service allowance of £2,100 a year (non-pensionable) where there is a residential requirement |
2025 and 2026 rates side by side
PNBS Circular 2026/04 sets out three figures for each allowance: the rate from 1 April 2025, the same rate adjusted for the inflation guarantee (IG) and the rate from 1 April 2026 (also IG adjusted). The memorandum says the relevant allowances, with the exception of on-call, went up 4% from 1 April 2025 and 3.5% from 1 April 2026, adjusted to include the 0.4% inflation guarantee payment for 2025/26.
| Allowance | 1 Apr 2025 | 1 Apr 2025 (IG) | 1 Apr 2026 (IG) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additional Disruption Allowance | £52.67 | £52.87 | £54.72 | +3.5% |
| Dog Handler’s Allowance | £2,950.76 | £2,962.11 | £3,065.78 | +3.5% |
| Excessive Rest Day Disruption Allowance | £25.01 | £25.11 | £25.99 | +3.5% |
| Minimum Standards Allowance | £118.50 | £118.95 | £123.11 | +3.5% |
| On-call Allowance | £36.40 | None (excepted) | £43.68 | +20.0% |
| Overnight Disruption Allowance | £78.99 | £79.29 | £82.07 | +3.5% |
| Plain Clothes Allowance | £17.80 | £17.87 | £18.50 | +3.5% |
| Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance | £107.85 | £108.26 | £112.05 | +3.5% |
- Why the IG column exists. The 2025/26 deal (PNBS Circular 2025/09) guaranteed each year's rise would be at least 1 percentage point above average CPI for the calendar year. For 2025/26 that added 0.4%, so the April 2025 rates were restated and the April 2026 rise was built on the restated figure. If your arrears for 2025/26 looked small, this is why: the IG uplift on an allowance is a few pence a night.
- On-call is different. It was excepted from the percentage rises and went up 20% in each year instead, to £36.40 from 1 April 2025 and £43.68 from 1 April 2026 (a 20% rise). There is no IG-adjusted on-call figure.
- The Islands Allowance followed the same pattern as the other allowances: see the island-by-island history on the Islands Allowance page.
- What comes next. The current agreement covers 2025/26 and 2026/27. Whether the 2026 inflation guarantee adds anything is decided by 31 January 2027; the 2027/28 claim had no circular when we checked. Follow it on the pay rise 2027/28 tracker.
What the annual allowances are worth after tax
Allowances paid through payroll are added to your taxable pay. In Scotland the rate you pay on them depends on where your taxable pay (after the 13.7% pension) sits against the Scottish bands: the 21% intermediate band runs to £43,662 and the 42% higher band starts at £43,663. National Insurance is 8% up to £50,270 of gross pay and 2% above. The figures below are a year's amount kept after Scottish income tax 2026/27 and NI, on a full-time salary with the 13.7% pension taken from basic pay only.
| Officer | Basic pay | Dog handler (£3,066) | Two dogs (£3,832) | Plain clothes (£222) | Marginal rate on £1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constable, commencing | £34,001 | £2,179 | £2,723 | £159 | 29% |
| Constable, point 5 | £45,064 | £2,177 | £2,721 | £158 | 29% |
| Constable, point 8 | £48,940 | £1,937 | £2,366 | £158 | 29% |
| Constable, point 9 | £51,842 | £1,717 | £2,146 | £124 | 44% |
| Constable, point 11 | £54,597 | £1,717 | £2,146 | £124 | 44% |
| Sergeant, point 4 | £61,036 | £1,717 | £2,146 | £124 | 44% |
| Inspector, point 1 | £67,491 | £1,717 | £2,146 | £124 | 44% |
Read down the last column. Up to constable point 8 (£48,940) an extra £1,000 of allowance is taxed at 29% in total (21% tax plus 8% NI), so you keep about £710. From point 9 (£51,842) your taxable pay is already in the 42% band, but your gross pay is also over £50,270, so NI drops to 2%: 44% in total and about £560 kept. A large allowance on top of point 7 or 8 can cross into the 42% band part way, which is why the dog handler figures dip there. For the full explanation and every pay point see Scottish income tax for police officers.
Computed with the same function as the Police Scotland salary calculator: tax on your salary after the 13.7% pension, then tax on salary plus the allowance, with NI on gross pay at 8% up to £50,270 and 2% above. It is an annual estimate; PAYE runs month by month, so a single payslip can differ slightly. We do not show after-tax values for the nightly allowances because the handbook pages we read do not say how they are taxed.
Islands Allowance
| Rate | A year | A month | Islands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Islands Allowance rate 1 | £2,664.42 a year | £222.04 | Shetland (Yell), Shetland (Brae), Barra and Tiree |
| Islands Allowance rate 2 | £2,264.75 a year | £188.73 | Shetland (Lerwick), North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist |
| Islands Allowance rate 3 | £1,998.31 a year | £166.53 | Orkney, Isle of Lewis, Islay and Isle of Mull |
| Islands Allowance rate 4 | £1,332.21 a year | £111.02 | Skye, Isle of Bute, Arran and Great Cumbrae |
Paid to all ranks permanently posted to a listed island for the length of the posting and to officers on planned temporary transfers who must live on the island. It continues during suspension. Mainland officers sent to an island at short notice get the Overnight Disruption Allowance instead. Island-based officers can claim Island Expenses as well (three return trips to the mainland a year, with extra trips for some islands). Full detail, after-tax values and a worked island package: Islands Allowance by island.
Lewis is rate 3: £1,998.31 a year, £166.53 a month. On £45,064 basic pay, with no pension taken from the allowance, a constable keeps about £1,418.80 a year after Scottish tax and NI. On Barra or Tiree (rate 1) the same constable would keep about £1,891.74.
On-call Allowance
£43.68 per period from 1 April 2026. A period runs from the end of one shift to the start of the next, or 24 hours, whichever is less. Three conditions must all apply (handbook 4.3): a predetermined operational need for an officer to be available outside normal hours; a role designated as having an on-call requirement (agreed with the Scottish Police Federation or the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents); and a requirement to stay continuously and immediately available and fit for work while off duty. It covers constable to chief superintendent.
- On-call periods can include rostered rest days as far as duty demands allow, but consecutive rostered rest days cannot be included in an on-call period.
- All on-call payments are pensionable, so 13.7% pension is taken from them and they build pension at 1/56.1.
- Being on call on a rest day and not called in is not a disrupted rest day for the Excessive Rest Day Disruption Allowance.
- PNBS Circular 2025/09 set up a joint review of on-call and annual leave, aiming for agreement on the regulatory approach by 1 April 2027.
A constable on £45,064 is on call four periods a month, 48 in the year: 48 x £43.68 = £2,096.64 gross.
Because it is pensionable, 13.7% pension comes off first (£287.24), then Scottish tax (£379.97) and NI (£167.73). Kept in your pay: £1,261.70.
The other side: the £2,096.64 also builds £37.37 a year of 2015 scheme pension (£2,096.64 ÷ 56.1), revalued each year you serve and payable from 60.
More on periods, the 20% rises and the 2027 review: Police Scotland on-call allowance. To see what pension a year of extra pensionable pay builds, use the Police Scotland pension calculator.
Overnight and disruption allowances
- Overnight Disruption Allowance, £82.07 a night: constable to chief superintendent required to work away from their usual place of duty who cannot practically return home. All viable alternatives must be exhausted before officers are required to stay away overnight. Not for seminars, conferences or training courses attended as a candidate. Not for planned temporary transfers either. Applies to UK and operational international deployments.
- Additional Disruption Allowance, £54.72 a night: federated ranks on the overnight allowance whose off-duty activities are restricted by operational needs, exceptional geography or safety and security concerns, or who must stay available for recall (within reasonable travelling distance, reachable by phone and able to return to duty at short notice fit for full duties).
- Minimum Standards Allowance, £123.11 a night: federated ranks on the overnight allowance whose accommodation falls below the minimum standard after efforts to fix it. The standard is a single room with an en-suite bath or shower room, hot and cold running water, clean linen and towels and a reasonable, comfortable living environment. It also applies on residential training, except probationer training.
Travel to and from the deployment counts as duty hours and federated ranks keep their ordinary payments, including overtime, while deployed (handbook 4.2). Time on an overnight ferry counts either as duty time or towards the overnight allowances, not both: a booked cabin points to accommodation, so the allowances apply; a ferry used as transport is duty time. The handbook notes that the Nelson Street accommodation in Aberdeen lacks en-suite facilities and cannot be used to claim the Minimum Standards Allowance, with a separate exemption for candidates on residential training there.
A constable from Dumfries is sent at short notice to support an operation in Inverness for 5 nights and cannot get home.
- Overnight Disruption only: 5 x £82.07 = £410.35.
- If the operation also restricts off-duty time or keeps them available for recall, Additional Disruption adds 5 x £54.72 = £273.60.
- If the hotel is below the minimum standard and it cannot be fixed, Minimum Standards adds 5 x £123.11 = £615.55.
- The travel days count as duty hours. Any hours beyond their tour are overtime under the normal rules (time and a third for constables and sergeants).
These are gross figures. The handbook pages we read do not say how the nightly allowances are taxed, so we have not taken tax off them.
For the overtime side of a deployment see overtime and rest day working and price the extra hours with the Police Scotland overtime calculator.
Rest day allowances
Excessive Rest Day Disruption Allowance: £25.99
Constables to chief superintendents get £25.99 on the fourth and every later disrupted rest day in a rolling 42-day period (handbook 4.1, PNB Circular 2018/03). It is on top of whatever compensation you get for working the rest day itself.
- What counts: rest days on the published duty roster or a reinstated rest day. The roster covers a rolling 13-week (91-day) window, so a change notified more than 91 days ahead does not count. Being kept on from a night shift past 0700 into a rest day does count.
- What does not count: a change made at your request for wellbeing or personal reasons; a day you report unfit for duty; a change made in clear error and promptly corrected; being on call on a rest day without being required to work; a new roster with 28 days' notice; volunteering for a double-lock rest day deployment.
- How the window is counted: each period starts on a disrupted rest day (day 1) and is counted back 42 days. If three or more other rest days in that window were disrupted, that day pays.
- Reinstated rest days: if a moved rest day is reinstated, the moved day is removed and you should be offered the chance to reconfirm the original day using other time off before it counts as a second disruption.
| Disrupted rest day | Day 42 of its window | Other disruptions in window | Allowance due? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May | 23 March | 0 | No |
| 17 May | 6 April | 1 | No |
| 29 May | 18 April | 2 | No |
| 8 June | 28 April | 3 | Yes: £25.99 |
| 12 June | 2 May | 4 | Yes: £25.99 |
| 30 July | 19 June | 0 | No |
In this example 2 of the six disruptions pay, 2 x £25.99 = £51.98. The first three never pay because none has three earlier disruptions in its window. The fourth and fifth do. The sixth, in late July, does not, because the May and June disruptions have fallen out of its 42-day window.
Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance: £112.05
For inspectors, chief inspectors and superintending ranks, who get another rest day rather than overtime pay for rest day working. It is paid when you are required to work a rest day with less than 48 hours' notice of the start time and work at least 4 hours (handbook 4.9, PNBS Circular 2023/07, in effect from 1 April 2023). The 48 hours relate to notice of the requirement to work, not notice of being placed on call. It covers being called in from on-call on a rest day, being detained on duty into a rest day or choosing to work a rest day re-rostered at short notice. It is paid once per qualifying day and is not pensionable. It is not payable for a specific event or operation where the double-lock rest day mechanism has been agreed.
An inspector on point 1 (£67,491) is told on Friday morning to work Saturday, a rest day, from 0800. That is under 48 hours' notice. They work 6 hours. They get another rest day plus £112.05, which after Scottish tax and NI is about £62.75 (marginal rate 44%).
Had they been told on Wednesday (over 48 hours), or worked only 3 hours, there would be no allowance: just the replacement rest day.
Dog handlers and plain clothes
Dog Handler's Allowance: £3,065.78 a year
Paid because dog handlers look after their dog on rest days and public holidays (handbook 4.5). Where an officer keeps and cares for more than one police dog, they get an additional 25% of the allowance for each extra dog (£766.45 per dog from April 2026). Handlers who transport their dogs and are not given a police vehicle are entitled to the Essential User's Allowance (see mileage).
One dog: £3,065.78 a year (£255.48 a month), worth about £2,118.51 after tax and NI on £47,440 basic pay. Two dogs: £3,065.78 + 25% = £3,832.23 a year, about £2,547.71 after tax and NI.
In England and Wales the first-dog rate from 1 September 2025 is £2,946 but each extra dog adds 50%, so two dogs pay £4,419 there. Scotland pays more for one dog and less for two.
Plain Clothes Allowance: £18.50 a month
For officers (constable to chief superintendent) who spend the majority of their time in plain clothes over a period of three months or more (handbook 4.4). It is the nearest thing Scotland has to a detective payment: there is no separate detective allowance in the circular. A detective constable on point 9 (£51,842) gets £222.00 a year and keeps about £124.32 after tax and NI, because at that pay point every extra pound is in the 42% band. For what detectives are paid by rank see DS, DI, DCI and DCS in Police Scotland.
Putting it together: a year of allowances
Allowances add up when a role attracts several. This example is a dog handler on constable point 7 (£47,440) with one dog, in a designated on-call role, over a year at the April 2026 rates.
| Allowance | Workings | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| Dog Handler's Allowance | One dog, a year | £3,065.78 |
| On-call Allowance | 24 periods x £43.68 | £1,048.32 |
| Overnight Disruption Allowance | 4 nights x £82.07 | £328.28 |
| Excessive Rest Day Disruption Allowance | 2 qualifying occasions x £25.99 | £51.98 |
| Total | £4,494.36 |
That is about 9.5% on top of basic pay, before any overtime. Only the on-call part is confirmed as pensionable. The rest is cash. If you want to see the combined effect on your take-home pay, add the annual amounts to the Police Scotland salary calculator and the extra hours to the overtime calculator.
What that looks like in an average month
Spread over twelve months, the same handler's pay looks like this. The annual tax and NI are divided by 12, so a real payslip in a month with several nights away will show more while a quiet month shows less.
| Line | Basic pay only | With the allowances |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pay | £3,953.33 | £3,953.33 |
| Allowances (dog, on-call, overnight, rest day disruption) | None | £374.53 |
| Pension (13.7% of basic pay plus on-call) | -£541.61 | -£553.57 |
| Scottish income tax | -£479.05 | -£583.71 |
| National Insurance | -£232.47 | -£254.11 |
| Take-home | £2,700.21 | £2,936.48 |
The allowances add £374.53 a month gross and about £236.27 a month to take-home pay. Part of the gap is the pension on the on-call payments, which comes back to you as pension later.
What changed under the 2025 to 2027 pay deal
Allowances move with the PNBS pay agreements. The current deal (PNBS Circular 2025/09, dated 4 September 2025) covers 2025/26 and 2026/27 and changed more than just the rates.
| When | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2025 | Relevant allowances up 4% (on-call excepted); on-call up 20% to £36.40; mileage aligned to HMRC rates and the 36.9p rates removed; mileage paid on a rest day worked with less than 18 days' notice |
| Date of agreement (4 September 2025) | Public holiday compensation extended to inspecting ranks |
| 30 January 2026 | PNBS Circular 2026/04 restates the 2025 rates with the 0.4% inflation guarantee and sets the 2026 rates |
| 1 April 2026 | Relevant allowances up 3.5% on the IG-adjusted 2025 rate; on-call up 20% to £43.68 |
| By 31 January 2027 | Official Side statement on whether the 2026 inflation guarantee (average 2026 CPI above 2.5%) triggers a further consolidated payment |
| By 1 April 2027 | Target for agreement on the regulatory approach to annual leave and on-call, after the joint review |
If the 2026 inflation guarantee triggers, the circular describes it as a one-off consolidated pensionable payment in March 2027 based on salary. Whether relevant allowances would be restated again, as they were for 2025/26, will only be known when the Official Side publishes its statement. We will update this page then.
Bonus payments, the Scottish Police College and absence
- Bonus payments (handbook 4.7): £50 to £500 at the chief constable's discretion, for work of an outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important nature. The chief constable must be satisfied the work meets that standard. The handbook does not say whether bonuses are pensionable.
- Central service allowance at the Scottish Police College (handbook 4.8): a single £2,100 a year for officers holding a residential appointment at the college, recognising long hours and the disruption of a residential posting. It is non-pensionable. The handbook marks it for removal where there is no residential requirement.
- Continuation during absence (handbook 4.11, regulation 28): an allowance you regularly receive to meet an expense, which would otherwise stop while you are absent, is payable during absence from duty, such as maternity or adoption leave, for up to a month. After that the chief constable can suspend it. See Police Scotland maternity pay.
- Suspension: the Islands Allowance continues while you are suspended from duty (handbook 4.10).
Mileage and vehicles
From 1 April 2025 police mileage rates were aligned to HMRC rates and the 36.9p rates were removed (PNBS Circular 2025/09). Mileage is also paid on a rest day worked with less than 18 days' notice. The handbook (4.6) has three kinds of user:
- Essential users: designated by the chief constable because it is essential to have a car available at all material times. They get the essential user rates and a lump sum.
- Casual users: officers for whom it is desirable that a car is available.
- Non-designated users: officers sanctioned to use their own car on specific occasions, paid at casual user rates.
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Car or van, essential and casual users | 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles, 25p after |
| Non-designated users | 55p a mile |
| Passengers | 5p per passenger per mile |
| Motorcycle | 24p a mile |
| Bicycle | 20p a mile |
| Essential user lump sum | £1,239 a year |
Before paying for your own car, the chief constable must be satisfied that using it is efficient and needed, considering public transport and fleet, pool or hire vehicles. If you use your own car for a journey that could reasonably have been made by public transport, you are reimbursed only the public transport fare (handbook 4.6.4 and 4.6.5).
Removal and island expenses
Expenses are not allowances, but they are often the bigger sums when you move.
- Removal expenses (handbook 5.3): for officers joining at assistant chief constable rank or above and for serving officers whose move the chief constable considers necessary for the exigencies of duty or the efficiency of the service. They can cover removal costs, disposing of or (with Authority approval) renting out the former home, buying a new home (estate agent, solicitor and stamp duty costs, mortgage discharge or transfer) and, for an owned former home, mortgage interest, rent and council tax for the first 26 weeks after the move. Expenses must be necessary, reasonable and backed by a receipt. No cash limits are stated on the handbook page.
- Island expenses (handbook 5.4, PNBS Circular 2025/05): officers posted to and living on an island can claim three return trips to the mainland a year, subject to conditions. Officers on Mid Yell, Unst and Whalsay get one paid trip to Lerwick each calendar month; officers on Barra and Tiree get three paid return trips to Oban per financial year on top of their concessionary travel. Partners and some dependants are covered. Details on the Islands Allowance page.
- Transferees: officers moving to Scotland from England and Wales should read transferring to or from Police Scotland; the Police Scotland transferee page does not promise removal expenses, so ask before you accept.
Which allowances are pensionable
Pensionable pay matters twice: 13.7% comes off it now and it builds 2015 scheme pension at 1/56.1 a year. The handbook is explicit about only three allowances.
| Allowance | Pensionable? | What the handbook says |
|---|---|---|
| On-call Allowance | Yes | Handbook 4.3: all on-call payments are reckonable as pensionable |
| Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance | No | Handbook 4.9: not reckonable for pension purposes |
| Central service allowance (Scottish Police College) | No | Handbook 4.8: non-pensionable |
| Islands Allowance | Not stated | Handbook 4.10 does not say. Our calculators take no pension from it |
| Dog Handler's, Plain Clothes, overnight and disruption allowances | Not stated | The handbook sections we read do not say |
| Bonus payments | Not stated | Handbook 4.7 does not say |
If your payslip takes pension from an allowance where the handbook is silent, ask payroll for the basis rather than assume it is an error. For how pensionable pay turns into pension see Police Scotland pension explained.
Police Scotland vs England and Wales allowances
England and Wales allowances are set by the Home Secretary under Police Regulations 2003 reg 34 (Annex U). The figures below are from the Annex U determination published with Home Office Circular 011/2026, in force from 1 September 2025, as held in our England and Wales tools.
| Item | Police Scotland | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| On-call | £43.68 per period (end of one shift to start of the next, or 24 hours if less). Pensionable. | £35 for each day any time is spent on call (Annex U para 13). Not pensionable. |
| Dog handler | £3,065.78 a year, plus 25% of the allowance for each additional dog | £2,946 a year from 1 September 2025, plus 50% for each extra dog (Annex U para 2). The 2026/27 rate was not yet determined when we checked. |
| Two dogs | £3,832.23 | £4,419 |
| Away overnight | Overnight Disruption £82.07 a night, plus Additional Disruption £54.72 where off-duty time is restricted | Away from home overnight £60 a night held in reserve (Annex U para 11) |
| Poor accommodation | Minimum Standards £123.11 a night | Hardship £40 a night held in reserve without proper accommodation (Annex U para 12) |
| Location payment | Islands Allowance £1,332.21 to £2,664.42 a year on 16 listed islands | London Weighting £3,260 (Met and City), London Allowance up to £6,819 and the South East England Allowance in some forces |
| Night work | No unsocial hours allowance in PNBS Circular 2026/04 | Unsocial hours allowance: 10% of the hourly rate for each full hour worked 8pm to 6am, constable to chief inspector (Annex U para 10) |
| Bonus payments | £50 to £500 at the chief constable's discretion | £50 to £2,000 at the chief officer's discretion (Annex U para 8) |
| Targeted payments | No service critical skills payment in PNBS Circular 2026/04 | Service critical skills payment up to £5,000 a year (Annex U para 15) |
| Essential user lump sum | £1,239 a year (handbook 4.12 rates table) | £1,239 a year (Annex U para 1(g)) |
| Rest day disruption | Excessive Rest Day Disruption £25.99 from the fourth disrupted rest day in 42 days | Not covered by our England and Wales data |
Take 48 occasions of on-call a year. In Scotland that is 48 periods x £43.68 = £2,096.64, pensionable. In England and Wales, 48 days x £35 = £1,680, not pensionable. The units differ (a Scottish period is at most 24 hours; an England and Wales "day" is a 24-hour period fixed by the force), so compare like with like for your own rota.
The pattern: Scotland pays more for on-call and puts more into compensating disrupted rest days and nights away, while England and Wales has location payments for London and the South East, an unsocial hours allowance and a discretionary skills payment. On basic pay, see Police Scotland vs England pay; for the England and Wales allowances in full, police allowances explained and specialist role pay.
What Police Scotland does not pay
- No London or South East style regional weighting. The Islands Allowance is the only location payment.
- No housing or rent allowance for new officers. If you received a housing allowance before August 1994, it continues.
- No detective allowance in the circular. Plain clothes officers get £18.50 a month.
- No firearms allowance in the circular. Specialist officers are paid on the same rank scale as everyone else.
- No unsocial hours or night allowance in the circular.
- No overtime for inspectors and above: they get another rest day and, for short-notice rest days, the £112.05 allowance.
How to check your allowances on your payslip
- Check the rate. Since your April 2026 pay, every allowance should be at the column three rate in the history table above.
- Check the unit. On-call is per period, not per hour or per week; overnight allowances are per night; plain clothes is monthly; dog handler and islands are annual amounts paid in monthly instalments.
- Keep your own record. Log every on-call period, every night away and every disrupted rest day with the date and the notice you were given. The 42-day rule and the 48-hour rule are easy to miss and your record is your evidence.
- Check pension. Pension should come off on-call. It should not come off the short-notice rest day allowance. For other allowances, compare with the table above and ask payroll if unsure.
- Check the tax code. Scottish taxpayers have a code starting with S. If yours does not, you may be taxed at the wrong rates on all your pay, including allowances.
- Ask early. If something is missing, raise it with your line manager or payroll quickly with your record. The Scottish Police Federation can help federated members.
Step by step: what to have ready for each allowance
The handbook sets the entitlement; Police Scotland's internal systems handle the claim. These are the facts each allowance turns on, so you know what to record and what to point to if a payment is missing.
- On-call: confirm your post is a designated on-call role. Record each period (end of one shift to the start of the next, or 24 hours). If a period included a rostered rest day, note it. Remember consecutive rest days cannot be included.
- Overnight Disruption: record the deployment, that it was away from your usual place of duty, that you could not practically get home and each night away. Note if it was a course or a planned temporary transfer, which are excluded.
- Additional Disruption: record the restriction on your off-duty time or the requirement to stay available for recall and who imposed it.
- Minimum Standards: record what was wrong with the room against the standard (single room, en-suite, hot and cold water, clean linen and towels), when you reported it and that it could not be fixed.
- Excessive Rest Day Disruption: list every disrupted rest day with the date of the roster change. For each one, count back 42 days and count the others. Check none falls in an excluded category.
- Short-notice Rest Day Working (inspecting and superintending ranks): record when you were told you had to work, the start time and the hours worked. You need under 48 hours' notice and at least 4 hours worked. Claim your replacement rest day as well.
- Plain Clothes: keep a note of when you began working mainly in plain clothes. The three-month qualifying period runs from then.
- Dog Handler's: confirm how many police dogs you keep and care for and whether you transport them in your own vehicle (Essential User's Allowance).
- Islands Allowance: check your posting is permanent, or a planned temporary transfer that requires you to live on the island. Then check which island rate applies. See the Islands Allowance guide.
Common mistakes
- Using England and Wales rates. Many sites quote the £35 a day England and Wales on-call rate or the 50% extra-dog rule. In Scotland it is £43.68 a period and 25%.
- Quoting the handbook's out-of-date short-notice figure. £107.85 is the April 2025 rate; the April 2026 rate is £112.05.
- Counting every disrupted rest day. Only the fourth and later in a 42-day window pay. Several kinds of change do not count at all.
- Assuming allowances are pensionable. Only on-call is confirmed as pensionable.
- Forgetting the 42% band. From constable point 9 an extra £1,000 of allowance leaves you about £560, not the £712 a new constable keeps.
- Calling the Islands Allowance local or "distant islands". It is national, with four rates. Its name is the Islands Allowance.
- Expecting overnight allowances on a course. Training as a candidate is excluded, apart from the Minimum Standards Allowance on residential training (not probationer training).
Work out your own figures
Related guides: annual leave, promotion, ranks and pay, McCloud remedy and the Police Scotland officers hub.
What we could not verify
- Whether the Islands Allowance, Dog Handler's, Plain Clothes, overnight and disruption allowances and bonus payments are pensionable. The handbook pages we read do not say.
- How the nightly allowances (overnight, additional disruption, minimum standards) are taxed. We have shown them gross.
- Whether part-time officers receive the annual allowances in full or pro rata. The handbook pages we read do not say.
- The 2024/25 rates. Circular 2026/04 gives only 2025 and 2026 figures.
- The conditions attached to the three island return trips a year (handbook 5.4), beyond what is summarised here.
- How bonus payments are run in practice and how often they are paid.
- Any 2027/28 allowance rates: no circular had been published when we checked on 23 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What allowances do Police Scotland officers get?
The PNBS allowances from 1 April 2026 are the Islands Allowance (four rates from £1,332.21 to £2,664.42 a year), On-call (£43.68 a period), Plain Clothes (£18.50 a month), Dog Handler's (£3,065.78 a year), Overnight Disruption (£82.07 a night), Additional Disruption (£54.72 a night), Minimum Standards (£123.11 a night), Excessive Rest Day Disruption (£25.99 a qualifying occasion) and the Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance for inspecting and superintending ranks (£112.05).
How much did Police Scotland allowances go up in 2026?
Most allowances rose 3.5% on 1 April 2026, on top of the inflation guarantee adjusted 2025 rate (PNBS Circular 2026/04). On-call was excepted from the percentage rises and went up 20% instead, from £36.40 to £43.68.
What were the 2025 allowance rates?
From 1 April 2025 (inflation guarantee adjusted): Overnight Disruption £79.29, Additional Disruption £52.87, Minimum Standards £118.95, Excessive Rest Day Disruption £25.11, Dog Handler's £2,962.11, Plain Clothes £17.87, Short-notice Rest Day Working £108.26 and On-call £36.40 (PNBS Circular 2026/04).
Is there a London weighting equivalent in Police Scotland?
No. There is no regional weighting in Scotland. The only location allowance is the Islands Allowance for listed islands.
Do Police Scotland officers get a housing allowance?
Not new officers. Police Scotland says that if you received a housing allowance before August 1994 it continues.
Do detectives get an allowance in Police Scotland?
There is no detective allowance in PNBS Circular 2026/04. Officers who spend most of their time in plain clothes over three months or more get the Plain Clothes Allowance of £18.50 a month.
How much is the dog handler allowance in Police Scotland?
£3,065.78 a year from 1 April 2026, plus 25% of the allowance for each additional police dog, so £3,832.23 with two dogs. Handlers without a police vehicle who transport their dogs get the Essential User's Allowance.
Is the Police Scotland on-call allowance per day?
It is paid per period. A period runs from the end of one shift to the start of the next, or 24 hours, whichever is less (handbook 4.3). From 1 April 2026 it is £43.68 a period.
What is the Excessive Rest Day Disruption Allowance?
£25.99 on the fourth and every later occasion in a rolling 42-day period when a rostered rest day is disrupted, for constables to chief superintendents (handbook 4.1). Changes made at your request, days you report unfit, promptly corrected errors, on-call days when you were not called in, rosters with 28 days' notice and volunteered double-lock deployments do not count.
Who gets the Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance?
Inspectors, chief inspectors and superintending ranks required to work a rest day with less than 48 hours' notice of the start time who work at least 4 hours. It is £112.05 from 1 April 2026, on top of another rest day, once per qualifying day and not pensionable (handbook 4.9).
Can I get the Overnight Disruption Allowance on a training course?
Generally not if you attend a seminar, conference or training course as a candidate. It does not apply to planned temporary transfers either. The Minimum Standards Allowance can still apply to federated ranks on residential training, except probationer training (handbook 4.2).
Which Police Scotland allowances are pensionable?
The handbook says on-call payments are pensionable while the Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance and the Scottish Police College central service allowance are not. It does not say for the Islands Allowance or the other allowances we list.
Are allowances paid while I am off?
Handbook 4.11 says an allowance you regularly receive to meet an expense is payable during absence from duty, such as maternity or adoption leave, for up to a month. After that the chief constable can suspend it. The Islands Allowance continues during suspension from duty (handbook 4.10).
What mileage do Police Scotland officers get?
The handbook rates table shows 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p after for essential and casual users, 5p per passenger per mile and an essential user lump sum of £1,239 a year. Rates were aligned to HMRC from 1 April 2025 under PNBS Circular 2025/09.
How do Police Scotland allowances compare with England and Wales?
Scotland pays more for on-call (£43.68 a period against £35 a day) and for a single police dog. England and Wales pays more for extra dogs (50% against 25%), has London and South East location payments, an unsocial hours allowance and the service critical skills payment, none of which appear in the Scottish circular.
Can island officers claim the Overnight Disruption Allowance too?
Yes. An officer entitled to the Islands Allowance can also claim the Overnight Disruption Allowance (£82.07 a night) when deployed away from their usual island place of duty at short notice and unable to get home overnight (handbook 4.10).
Is mileage paid when I am called in on a rest day?
PNBS Circular 2025/09 introduced mileage on a rest day worked with less than 18 days' notice, from 1 April 2025.
Do probationers get allowances?
The allowances follow the role, not length of service, so a probationer who meets the conditions qualifies. The handbook does exclude probationer training from the Minimum Standards Allowance on residential training.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 23 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.
- PNBS Circular 2026/04, Allowances (30 January 2026) : every amount from 1 April 2025, 1 April 2025 (IG adjusted) and 1 April 2026 (IG adjusted); on-call excepted from the percentage rises (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS police officer handbook, 4.12 Allowance rates : units; mileage, passenger and essential user rates; bonus range; central service allowance. Its short-notice figure (£107.85) is the 1 April 2025 rate before the inflation guarantee (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.1 Excessive Rest Day Disruption Allowance : 4 in 42 days, how the window is counted, exclusions, PNB Circular 2018/03 (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.2 Overnight allowances : overnight, additional disruption and minimum standards; travel as duty; ferries; PNB Circular 2018/02 (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.3 On-call Allowance : eligibility, period, rest days, pensionable (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.4 Plain Clothes Allowance : majority of time in plain clothes over three months or more (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.5 Dog Handler's Allowance : rest days and public holidays; 25% per additional dog; Essential User's Allowance (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.6 Motor Vehicle Allowance : essential, casual and non-designated users; public transport rule (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.7 Bonus Payments : outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important work; chief constable decides (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.8 Central service allowances at the Scottish Police College : £2,100, residential appointments, non-pensionable (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.9 Short-notice Rest Day Working Allowance : under 48 hours' notice; at least 4 hours; once per day; not pensionable; PNBS Circular 2023/07 (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.10 Islands Allowance : eligibility, suspension, PNBS Circular 2023/06 (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 4.11 Continuation of allowances, absence from duty : expense allowances up to a month of absence (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 5.3 Removal expenses : who can claim and what is covered (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS handbook, 5.4 Island expenses : mainland trips; PNBS Circular 2025/05 (accessed 23 October 2026)
- PNBS Circular 2025/09 : 4% and 3.5% uplifts; on-call 20% rises; HMRC mileage; rest day mileage under 18 days' notice; joint review of on-call (accessed 23 October 2026)
- Police Scotland: Transferees : pre-August 1994 housing allowance continues (accessed 23 October 2026)
- Home Office Circular 011/2026, Annex U (England and Wales allowances) : England and Wales comparison figures (accessed 23 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Scottish Income Tax : 2026/27 bands used for the after-tax figures (accessed 23 October 2026)
On this topic elsewhere
More in this guide series
Police Scotland calculators and related guides
Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland, the Scottish Police Federation or the Scottish Public Pensions Agency. This page is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Pay and conditions are set through the PNBS and approved by Scottish Ministers and SPPA's figures are the only official pension figures, so check the PNBS handbook, your payslip and your Annual Benefit Statement before relying on anything here. Details are as checked on 23 October 2026.