Police Injury on Duty (IOD) Award:
Who Qualifies, Bands 1-4 and How to Claim
For police officers in England and Wales permanently disabled by an injury received in the execution of duty: who qualifies, the four bands, what is paid and how to claim.
Short answer
What qualifies as a
Police Injury Award?
A Police Injury Award is a non-contributory benefit paid to former officers who are permanently disabled as a result of an injury received in the execution of duty (regulation 11 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006). Unlike a standard pension, it is designed to compensate for the loss of civilian earning capacity: a one-off gratuity plus an injury pension that lifts your income towards a guaranteed minimum level, for as long as the award stands.
- Report the injury and keep the records: incident report, notebook entries, medical and sickness records. See injured on duty: what to do, step by step, and what counts as an injury on duty.
- Tell the police pension authority (your force) in writing that you consider you are permanently disabled by an injury received on duty. This can be done alongside ill-health retirement, or after you have left, including years later.
- The authority refers the medical questions to a selected medical practitioner (SMP): are you disabled, is it permanent, was it caused by the duty injury, and what is the degree of disablement (your band). See the SMP process and the printable SMP appointment checklist.
- Check the SMP report as soon as you receive it. You have 28 days to give notice of appeal (the appeal deadline calculator works out the dates).
If you are a Federation member, speak to your Federation rep before you start; they can advise you on the claim.
Section 01
The Legal Threshold
The criteria for an injury award are significantly higher than for a typical 'workplace injury' claim. It is governed by the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006.
- Execution of duty: The injury must be received in the execution of your duty as a constable. 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 police pension authority is of the opinion that (b) may be satisfied and the injury should be treated as received in the execution of duty. The courts also require a substantial causal connection between the injury and your duty: simply being on duty is not enough (Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset v Police Medical Appeal Board [2019] EWHC 557 (Admin)).
- Without your own default: An injury counts as received without your own default unless it is wholly or mainly due to your own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct (reg 6(4)).
- Permanent disablement: You must be unable to perform the ordinary duties of a member of the force, and that disablement must be likely to be permanent (reg 7).
- Causation: The duty injury must have caused or substantially contributed to the disablement (reg 8). It need not be the only cause, so a pre-existing condition made worse by a duty injury can qualify.
- Earning capacity sets the degree, not entry: Once you qualify, the degree of disablement is decided by how far the duty injury has affected your earning capacity (reg 7(5)). The lowest degree, slight, covers a reduction of 25% or less.
Worth knowing
An injury award is not compensation for pain and suffering (like a civil claim). It is income support for lost earning capacity. It is paid by the police pension authority for your force (Part 6 of the regulations).
Regulation 11: Who Qualifies
Regulation 11 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 is the provision that grants the injury award: a gratuity and an injury pension, both calculated under Schedule 3. It 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 an injury received without their own default in the execution of duty. If you left before becoming disabled, the pension is not paid for the period before the disablement began.
Older letters and documents may refer to regulation B4. Injury awards used to sit in regulation B4 of the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 ("Policeman's injury award"), which the 2006 Regulations revoked (Schedule 2, Part 3). Part B of the 1987 Regulations still covers that scheme's own pensions, including the ill-health award in B3.
The tests in regulation 11
To qualify under regulation 11, all three must apply:
1. You have left the force (you
"cease or have ceased" to be a member; no award is paid while you serve).
2. Permanent disablement (unable
to perform the ordinary duties of the force, likely to be permanent).
3. A duty injury (the disablement results from an injury received without your own default in the execution of duty: regs 6(4) and 8).
Separately, if you brought about or substantially contributed to the disablement by your own default, the authority can withhold up to half of the award (reg 38).
Disagree with your injury award banding?
Your degree of disablement decides which of the four bands (our shorthand for the Schedule 3 degrees) you are placed in. The difference between bands can be worth thousands of pounds a year, but the injury pension is subject to review and can be reduced to nil once three-quarters of your police pension is deducted. Tell us your situation and we will let you know when we can point you to someone who handles these.
Disablement Bands
Slight
Loss of earning capacity: 25% or less
Minor
Loss of earning capacity: more than 25% but not more than 50%
Major
Loss of earning capacity: more than 50% but not more than 75%
Very severe
Loss of earning capacity: more than 75%
The percentage represents the "Loss of Earning Capacity": the degree to which the duty injury has affected your earning capacity (reg 7(5)). It is not a measure of your police pay. The legal term is "degree of disablement"; the regulations name the four degrees but do not number them, so "band 1 to 4" is our shorthand.
| Band | Gratuity | Guarantee: under 5 yrs | 5 to under 15 | 15 to under 25 | 25 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Slight | 12.5% | 15% | 30% | 45% | 60% |
| 2 · Minor | 25% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% |
| 3 · Major | 37.5% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% |
| 4 · Very severe | 50% | 85% | 85% | 85% | 85% |
Percentages of average pensionable pay, from Schedule 3 to the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 (read 30 September 2026). Every degree, including slight, attracts a gratuity. The injury pension is the guarantee less three-quarters of your police pension, so it can be nil if that deduction is larger than the guarantee (Schedule 3 para 8).
The Assessment Process
The police pension authority must refer four medical questions to a selected medical practitioner (SMP) (reg 30(2)). You must be sent a copy of the SMP's report.
Is the person disabled?
Is that disablement permanent?
Is the disablement the result of an injury received in the execution of duty (did the injury cause or substantially contribute to it, reg 8)?
What is the degree of disablement (bands 1 to 4 in our shorthand)?
Not just the medical picture
Because the degree of disablement is decided by how far the duty injury has affected your earning capacity (reg 7(5)), it is not a measure of how serious the injury is on its own. Medical evidence matters, and so does an accurate picture of the work you can and cannot do. How individual SMPs assess earning capacity varies, so ask your Federation representative or a solicitor what evidence to prepare.
Model Your
Injury Award Protection
Use the free Police Injury Award Calculator to compare the gratuity, minimum income guarantee, pension deduction and injury pension for each degree of disablement (bands 1 to 4 in our shorthand) under Schedule 3 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006. It does not decide your band, and it does not deduct industrial injuries benefit, ESA or tax. For the whole process, see the injury and ill-health hub.
Interactions & Offsets
Minimum income guarantee (while the injury pension is above nil)
The injury pension is paid in addition to your pension, but it is reduced by three-quarters of that pension. It works out as a minimum income guarantee (a percentage of pay set by your band and years of service) less three-quarters of your pension. While the injury pension is above nil, your total income is the guarantee plus a quarter of your pension, less any state benefits deducted under Schedule 3 paragraph 7. A bigger pension still leaves you better off overall, but the injury pension shrinks as it grows, and if three-quarters of your pension exceeds the guarantee it is nil (para 8).
Commuting part of your pension for a lump sum does not raise the injury pension: a pension reduced by commutation, by an allocation or by a pension debit on divorce is treated as if it had not been reduced (para 6).
Ongoing Reviews
Regulation 37
Unlike a medical negligence payout, a police injury pension is not final. Under regulation 37 the police pension authority must, at such intervals as may be suitable, consider whether your degree of disablement has altered. The regulation fixes no interval, and the question must be referred to a selected medical practitioner (reg 30(2)).
The Review Outcome
The injury pension is revised only if the SMP (or a medical appeal board) finds that your degree of disablement has substantially altered since the award or last review. That can move you to a lower band or a higher one. Apart from death, it stops only in limited cases: the terminations in regulation 37(2) to (4) (for example, where the disablement has ceased and you are not also receiving a police ordinary, ill-health, short-service or 2015 scheme retirement pension); withdrawal while you serve again as a regular officer (reg 39); or forfeiture after conviction for certain serious offences (reg 40). Separately, it pays nothing while the deductions exceed the guarantee (Schedule 3 para 8). The gratuity is not reclaimed. See injury award reviews explained.
Appeals
Regulation 31
If you disagree with the SMP's answer to any of the medical questions (whether you are disabled, whether it is permanent, whether it results from a duty injury, or the degree of disablement), you can appeal to a board of medical referees, often called the Police Medical Appeal Board. The same route applies to the SMP's report on a regulation 37 review.
The board has at least three doctors, one of them a specialist in a relevant condition (Schedule 6). Each side normally pays its own expenses. If you win, the authority refunds expenses you reasonably incurred in attending. If you lose and the board reports that the appeal was frivolous or vexatious, the authority can ask you to pay towards the board's fees, and a hearing you cancel or postpone less than 22 days before the date can also lead to a costs request (Schedule 6 para 8).
The time limits
- 28 days from receiving the SMP's report to give written notice of appeal to the police pension authority.
- A further 28 days from when the authority receives your notice to send a statement of your grounds.
- The authority can allow longer for either step (reg 31). Ask in writing before the deadline.
- Disputes that are not medical, such as a refusal to admit a claim, go to the Crown Court (reg 34), which is bound by final medical decisions (reg 36). You and the authority can also agree to send a decision back for reconsideration (reg 32(2)).
Your Federation representative, or a solicitor who handles police injury pensions, can advise on an appeal. See injury award appeals and the board of medical referees.
Key Risks
Review Frequency
The authority must review at suitable intervals (reg 37). The regulation sets no fixed interval, so frequency depends on force policy.
Civilian Skills
New skills can change your earning capacity, and so your band at review, if the SMP finds a substantial alteration (Metropolitan Police Authority v Laws [2010] EWCA Civ 1099).
State Benefit Offset
Schedule 3 para 7 deducts, pound for pound, industrial injuries disablement benefit for the same injury, reduced earnings allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance, and contribution-based ESA (until the first day after retirement on which you no longer have limited capability for work). Second and later ESA claims after retirement are not deducted (SI 2018/262), and the deduction is capped at the benefit rate when you left. Universal Credit, PIP and the state pension are not on the list.
Causation Disputes
The SMP decides whether the disablement is the result of an injury received in the execution of duty (reg 30(2)). The injury only has to have caused or substantially contributed to the disablement (reg 8), but pre-existing conditions are a common point of dispute.
McCloud Impact
The McCloud remedy can change which scheme your 2015 to 2022 service sits in, and so possibly the pension that the injury pension is reduced by. We have not confirmed how this works in individual cases: ask your pension administrator.
Divorce Inclusion
An injury award may be taken into account in financial settlements on separation. See our injury awards and divorce guide.
Common FAQs
What qualifies as injury on duty?
An injury received without your own default in the execution of duty that leaves you permanently disabled, meaning unable to perform the ordinary duties of a member of the force, with that disablement likely to be permanent (Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006, regs 7 and 11). Regulation 6(2) also counts an injury on a journey necessary to report for duty or return home, and an injury you would not have received had you not been known to be a constable. The award is paid only once you have left the force. An injury that fully heals does not qualify.
How are injury award bands calculated?
The regulations use four degrees of disablement (slight, minor, major and very severe) based on the percentage loss of earning capacity: 25% or less, more than 25% up to 50%, more than 50% up to 75%, and more than 75% (Schedule 3). The degree of disablement is decided by reference to how far the duty injury has affected your earning capacity (reg 7(5)). The regulations do not number them: 'bands 1 to 4' is common shorthand, which we use on this page.
Is the injury award for life?
Awards are payable for life unless the regulations provide otherwise (reg 43), but the injury pension can be reviewed under regulation 37. The police pension authority must, at suitable intervals, consider whether your degree of disablement has altered, and the question is referred to a selected medical practitioner (SMP). The pension is revised up or down only if the SMP (or a medical appeal board) finds your degree of disablement has substantially altered. It can also be withdrawn while you serve again as a regular officer (reg 39) or forfeited for certain serious offences (reg 40), and it pays nothing in a week where the deductions exceed the guarantee (Schedule 3 para 8). The one-off gratuity is not affected.
Does it replace my standard pension?
No. A Police Injury Award is paid in addition to your ordinary or ill-health pension. It has two parts: a one-off gratuity, and an injury pension equal to a minimum income guarantee (set by your degree of disablement and length of service) less three-quarters of your pension. A pension reduced by commutation counts at its full, uncommuted amount (Schedule 3 para 6). While the injury pension is above nil, total income is the guarantee plus a quarter of your pension, less any state benefits deducted under para 7. If three-quarters of your pension is more than the guarantee, the injury pension is nil and you keep only the gratuity.
What happens to the award if I remarry?
The officer's own injury award is not affected by remarriage. Survivor benefits are a separate question. If an officer dies as a result of a duty injury, a surviving spouse or civil partner may get a special pension under the Injury Benefit Regulations (reg 13). Since an amendment in 2015 (SI 2015/2057, amending reg 16), that pension no longer stops if the survivor remarries, forms a civil partnership or cohabits on or after 1 April 2015. Earlier cases can follow older rules, so check with the pension administrator.
How long do I have to appeal an SMP decision?
Give written notice of appeal to the police pension authority within 28 days of receiving the SMP's report, then send a statement of your grounds within a further 28 days. The authority can allow longer for either step (regulation 31). The appeal goes to a board of medical referees, often called the Police Medical Appeal Board.
Related guides
For more on officer protection, visit the Welfare Hub. If you are navigating separation, see our guide to Injury Awards & Divorce. You can also model your potential benefits with the Injury Award Calculator. If you have just been injured, start with injured on duty: what to do step by step. If your award is being reviewed, see injury award reviews (regulation 37). For what each band pays, who qualifies and how the pension is reviewed, see the police injury pension guide, and for tax, is a police injury pension tax-free?
Disclaimer: This guide is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Police injury regulations are complex and decisions turn on individual facts. Always consult your Federation representative or a specialist solicitor.