As at 3 October 2026, talks are under way but there is no employers' offer, no ballot and no settlement for 2026/27.
This is the staff pay round run by the Police Staff Council. It has nothing to do with the officer 3.5%, which was announced on 15 July 2026 by a different route. Below: every dated step so far, how long each stage took last year, and what could happen next.
No offer exists yet, so these are what-ifs. Type your salary to see what 3.5%, last year's 4.2% and the unions' 9% or £2,700 would add to your monthly take-home, and what the back pay might come to.
ExampleOn £32,000 a year: type your own salary to see yours. Extra in your bank each month:
What-ifs, not forecasts. Back pay assumes the new rate first appears in the December 2026 payslip.
Officer award
What officers got from 1 September 2026. Staff are on a separate track — this is 'if staff matched it'.
Last year (staff)
Last year's police staff award (2025/26, effective 1 September 2025).
Your scenario
Pick any rate to test an offer you have heard about.
Union claim
The unions' opening claim, whichever is greater. A claim is a starting position, not an offer.
| Figure | Officer award3.5% | Last year (staff)4.2% | Your scenario5.0% | Union claim9% or £2,700 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New salary | £33,120 | £33,344 | £33,600 | £34,880 |
| Rise a year (gross) | +£1,1203.5% | +£1,3444.2% | +£1,6005.0% | +£2,8809.0% |
| Rise a month (gross) | +£93 | +£112 | +£133 | +£240 |
| In your bank a month | +£62 | +£75 | +£89 | +£160 |
| Back pay (3 mo) | £280 gross≈ £187 after deductions | £336 gross≈ £224 after deductions | £400 gross≈ £267 after deductions | £720 gross≈ £481 after deductions |
What-ifs, not forecasts: as at 3 October 2026 no employers' offer has been published. Uses England & Wales 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance and treats your pension as taken before tax. Your payslip will differ with your tax code, student loan, salary sacrifice and how your force pays arrears. Scottish tax bands are different.
Pay deal news
No employers' offer, ballot or settlement exists yet. Leave your email and we will write when one is confirmed, with the date it is backdated to if that is stated, so you can put the real figure into this calculator.
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Green means it has happened and we have a source. Dashed means it has not happened yet. Amber means we looked and could not find the information. Day counts run from the claim date.
UNISON, Unite and GMB (the trade union side of the Police Staff Council) submit a one-year claim: 9% or £2,700 on all pay points, whichever is greater; 9% on standby and overnight-away-from-home allowances; a £15 per hour minimum; annual leave up from 24 to 25 days on appointment and 29 to 30 after five years; and removal of the overtime bar at pay point 24. The employers' side circular of the same day (EMP 1/2026) says the full written claim would follow 'shortly' and that the employers intended to respond 'with a view to reaching an agreement in time for the settlement date of 1 September 2026'. A later joint union bulletin dates the written claim to 7 May.
Source: UNISON, police staff pay claim 2026 (10 Apr 2026); LGA, EMP circular 1/2026 (9 Apr 2026)
The Home Secretary's written statement HCWS264 awards police officers a 3.5% consolidated rise on all ranks and pay points, effective 1 September 2026, below the 3.9% the Police Remuneration Review Body recommended. The statement covers officers only and does not mention police staff. Staff pay is negotiated separately; the Police Staff Council handbook lists the factors its negotiators must have regard to (public-sector and wider pay movements, RPI, recruitment and retention, and police funding), and the officer award is not named as a separate factor.
PSC Joint Circular 146 tells forces, PCCs and union branches that the employers' side (NPCC, APCC and the Home Office) is running its consultation on the claim and will meet the union side on 19 August to respond.
Employer and union negotiators meet on Wednesday 19 August and, 'following an initial exchange of views', agree to adjourn until Thursday 10 September (joint union bulletin published by GMB on 21 August). UNISON emailed members a pay circular on 21 August. No offer is reported.
Source: GMB, joint union bulletin (21 Aug 2026); UNISON West Midlands Police branch (1 Sep 2026)
The employers' side had said it intended to respond 'with a view to reaching an agreement in time for the settlement date of 1 September 2026', and the unions' claim asked for a rise 'to take effect from 1 September 2026'. As at 1 October 2026 we could not find a published employers' offer, so nothing is agreed and no effective date for a 2026/27 staff award has been confirmed.
Source: LGA, EMP circular 1/2026 (9 Apr 2026); PSC trade union side pay claim 2026
The LGA's Police Staff page says the talks due to resume on 10 September were postponed and will be rescheduled in due course. The LGA site blocks automated reading, so we saw this wording in search-engine extracts of that page rather than on the page itself. No reason was given.
GMB's police staff page posts a talks update: 'Negotiations have been taking place and are ongoing. We will update members as soon as we can.' It gives no meeting dates, no figure and no offer. We found no newer statement from UNISON or Unite, and no new PSC circular, as at 1 October 2026.
Source: GMB, Police Staff Pay (2026/27) Talks Update (1 Oct 2026)
The employers' side puts a figure to the union side. In 2025 this came in early October, roughly five weeks after talks opened. No 2026/27 offer has been published.
Source: Not yet happened
Each union consults its members on any offer. In 2025 the digital ballot ran 6 to 24 October. The unions decide whether to recommend the offer; if members reject it, talks resume.
Source: Not yet happened
Once the union side formally accepts, the Police Staff Council issues a joint circular with the figure, the effective date and the updated pay spine. Nothing is payable before this.
Source: Not yet happened
Each force implements the agreement on its own payroll timetable. Last year that was November or December for the forces we found reports from.
Source: Not yet happened
Same negotiating body, same unions, same stages. The "day" figures count from each year's claim date, so you can see whether this round is running ahead of or behind last year's. As at 3 October 2026 we are on day 177.
| Stage | 2025/26 (settled) | 2026/27 (so far) |
|---|---|---|
| Claim submitted | 1 May 2025 day 0 | 9 Apr 2026 day 0 |
| Officer award announced Separate track; shown for timing only. | 1 Aug 2025 day 92 | 15 Jul 2026 day 97 |
| Employers' consultation done / talks open | 29 Aug 2025 day 120 | 19 Aug 2026 day 132 |
| Employers' offer | Early Oct 2025 about day 153 | Not yet |
| Union member ballot | 6 to 24 Oct 2025 day 158 | Not yet |
| Agreement confirmed | 3 Nov 2025 day 186 | Not yet |
| Forces pay it | Nov to Dec 2025 about day 213 | Not yet |
| Effective date | 1 Sep 2025 (agreed 59 days later) | Not confirmed; the employers referred to a 1 Sep settlement date |
| Figure | 4.2% on all pay points (union claim was at least 7%) | No offer. Claim: 9% or £2,700, whichever is greater |
2025 dates: claim from GMB (1 May 2025); talks open from a Staffordshire UNISON bulletin; offer "early October" per the LGA circular, so its day count is approximate; ballot, acceptance and circular dates from UNISON and PSC Joint Circular 142. See the sources block below.
The 2025/26 round is the best evidence we have of how long each stage takes. It ended in a 4.2% award: the unions had claimed at least 7%.
A one-year claim for a 'restorative' rise of at least 7% on all pay points and allowances, a £15 per hour minimum, one extra day of annual leave and parity of funding for pay reform between officers and staff.
Source: GMB, police force staff page
Officer track only. Announced by the Home Secretary on 1 August 2025.
Negotiations open. The employers' side agreed to consult chief constables and PCCs before returning. A union bulletin dated 9 September said talks were expected to resume within about two weeks and gave 22 September as the target for an employers' offer. The offer in fact arrived in early October.
Source: Staffordshire UNISON, PSC trade union side pay bulletin 4/2025
The eventual 4.2% took effect from 1 September 2025 even though it was not agreed until late October. That is why arrears appeared in a later payslip.
4.2% on all pay points from 1 September 2025; standby allowance up 4.2% (£36.13 to £37.65); overnight-away-from-home allowance up £10 (£50 to £60); essential car user allowance consolidated to one band (£1,239 a year). The sources give 'early October' rather than an exact day, so day counts for this row are approximate.
Source: LGA, EMP circular 5/2025
UNISON: 33,192 eligible members, 49.1% turnout, 14,341 votes (88%) to accept and 1,957 (12%) to reject. GMB: 78% to accept on a 51.5% turnout. Unite members also voted to accept; we did not find published Unite figures.
Source: UNISON West Midlands Police branch (31 Oct 2025); GMB police staff page
The Trade Union Side formally accepted the offer at the Police Staff Council meeting on 30 October. UNISON announced the ballot result the next day, 31 October.
The PSC issues the formal circular with the new pay spine and hopes forces can pay 'as soon as possible'.
UNISON said on 31 October that some forces might pay in the November run and others in December. Merseyside's staff branch reported its force would implement in November's pay. We did not find a complete list of actual payment dates across forces, so treat this as the range reported, not a national rule.
Source: UNISON news (31 Oct 2025); UNISON Merseyside Police branch (30 Nov 2025)
There are five stages between now and money in your account. We are at the very start of stage 1.
| Stage | Where we are | Last year |
|---|---|---|
| 1Talks resume | Ongoing, according to GMB on 1 October. No meeting dates published. | Talks opened 29 August 2025, day 120 after the claim. This year the first talks were on day 132. |
| 2Employers' offer | None published. | Early October 2025. A union bulletin had pointed to 22 September, so the offer arrived later than first signalled. |
| 3Members' ballot | Not opened. | 18 days: opened 6 October, closed 12 noon on 24 October 2025. |
| 4Council accepts, circular issued | Not agreed. | Council acceptance 30 October (6 days after the ballot closed); joint circular 3 November, four days later. |
| 5Payroll | Nothing to pay yet. | Forces reported paying in the November or December 2025 pay runs, with arrears back to 1 September. |
Last year the ballot opened on 6 October and the joint circular was dated 3 November: 28 days from ballot opening to a confirmed deal. Forces then paid in the November or December runs. So if an offer went to a ballot tomorrow and this year copied that pace exactly, a confirmed deal would land about four weeks after the ballot opened, and money would follow in the payroll run after that. Every "if" in that sentence is an assumption. This year's talks started on day 132 (last year: day 120, though last year's claim was submitted later in the spring), the 10 September session was postponed, and no meeting dates have been published since.
Rumour moves faster than circulars. Use this to decide how much weight to give what you hear on shift.
| If you hear | It probably means | Check |
|---|---|---|
| "Staff are getting 3.5%." | 3.5% is the officer award (15 July 2026). For staff it is only real if your own force has said so in writing. | Ask HR whether it is a local decision or a payment on account, and whether national talks still decide the final figure. |
| "Talks are back on." | Negotiators are meeting again. That is not an offer. | Look for a new date in a Police Staff Council circular or your union branch page. |
| "An offer has been made." | The employers' side has put a figure to the unions. It is not agreed until the unions accept it. | Check whether your union has said it is recommending the offer or opening a ballot. |
| "The ballot is open." | Union members are being consulted. Last year that took 18 days (6 to 24 October). | Vote if you are a member. The result and the Council's formal acceptance follow. |
| "The joint circular is out." | The deal is agreed nationally. This is the point at which the figure is safe to use. | Read the effective date on the circular, then ask payroll which pay run it will be in. |
| "Your force has confirmed payroll timing." | Now you have a date for money, which is the only date that matters for your bank account. | Look for arrears on the same payslip if the effective date was earlier. |
We do not know which way this goes, so this section describes the possibilities and only states what the process and last year's precedent support.
The Police Staff Council issues a joint circular with the figure, effective date and new pay spine. Forces then update payroll.
For your pay: The rise applies from the effective date on the circular. In 2025 that was 1 September, agreed on 30 October, so arrears were owed for the gap. Nothing guarantees a backdated date in 2026.
Precedent: 2025/26 (PSC Joint Circular 142)
The unions go back to the employers. No figure is payable in the meantime.
For your pay: Unknown until talks resume. The timeline lengthens, and the final figure could be higher, the same or lower than the rejected offer. We are not going to guess which.
Process: ballot result determines whether the deal proceeds
No employers' offer, no ballot. This is the position as at 3 October 2026: GMB says negotiations are ongoing, but nothing has been put to members.
For your pay: Pay stays at the current PSC spine (the 1 September 2025 figures). Staff, unlike officers, are not barred from industrial action, but any action would need a lawful ballot, and we found no such ballot announced for 2026.
Status: as at 3 October 2026 per sources listed below
Some forces set staff pay outside the national agreement, or may pay on account.
For your pay: Follow your force's own communication. Check whether it is described as final or on account, because a later national settlement could be a different figure.
See the Thames Valley Police row in the force table below
Pure arithmetic on the current PSC pay spine (the 1 September 2025 figures from Joint Circular 142). None of these is an offer or a forecast. The 3.5% column is the officer figure, shown for comparison only; 4.2% is last year's staff award; the last column is the unions' claim (9%, or £2,700 where that is greater). Payroll rounding and your force's own grading can move the exact pounds by a little.
| Pay point | Salary now | 3.5% (officers) | 4.2% (2025) | Union claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCP 9 (bottom of spine) | £24,747 | +£866 | +£1,039 |
+£2,700 10.9%, about £225 a month gross |
| SCP 18 | £30,333 | +£1,062 | +£1,274 |
+£2,730 9.0%, about £228 a month gross |
| SCP 24 (overtime-bar point) | £35,772 | +£1,252 | +£1,502 |
+£3,219 9.0%, about £268 a month gross |
| SCP 34 | £47,046 | +£1,647 | +£1,976 |
+£4,234 9.0%, about £353 a month gross |
| SCP 45 (top of spine) | £60,912 | +£2,132 | +£2,558 |
+£5,482 9.0%, about £457 a month gross |
Why the bottom row of the claim is not 9%: the "£2,700 or 9%, whichever is greater" wording means anyone earning under £30,000 would get the £2,700 floor instead. That is why SCP 9 shows 10.9%. Figures are gross a year, before tax, National Insurance and LGPS contributions. To run your own numbers, use the free police staff pay rise calculator or the take-home calculator in Staff mode.
Free tool
Try different pay-rise scenarios
Put in your pay point and see what 3.5%, 4.2% or the union claim would be worth. It models scenarios; it does not know the outcome.
Calculator · Police staff mode
Check your take-home today
Salary, tax, National Insurance and LGPS on your current pay, and whether you sit above the Point 24 overtime bar.
Officers are office holders: the Police Remuneration Review Body recommends and the Home Secretary decides. For 2026/27 the review body recommended 3.9% and the Home Secretary awarded 3.5% (written statement HCWS264, 15 July 2026), effective 1 September 2026; the statement does not mention police staff. Staff are employees, so pay is negotiated at the Police Staff Council with the union side and any deal is put to union members. The two tracks influence each other but do not have to match. Last year both ended at 4.2%; that was the outcome of two separate processes, not a rule.
A local wrinkle worth knowing about: Thames Valley Police's careers site, in a page dated 1 September 2026, says staff "will also benefit from a 3.5% pay increase" in line with the officer announcement. We could not match that against a Police Staff Council circular or union statement, and UNISON's West Midlands branch reported on the same date that national talks were adjourned. It may be a local decision, a payment on account or loose wording, and we do not know which. If your force tells you something similar, get the wording in writing and ask whether it is final or on account.
The Met is a separate case. Metropolitan Police staff are outside the Police Staff Council (the 2025/26 award circular was copied to the Met "for information only"), so their pay is negotiated with the Met. PCS reported on 28 January 2026 that Met members accepted a 4.2% uplift and a £900 one-off payment, with a commitment to begin talks on consolidated increases for 2026-27. We found no published 2026/27 Met staff settlement as at 3 October 2026.
More on the differences: police staff vs police officer differences, and the officer award itself in our 2026/27 officer pay guide.
Only statements we read on a force's own website are listed, with the force's own figures and date. A force statement is not the national Police Staff Council settlement. As at 3 October 2026 this is the only force statement on 2026/27 staff pay we found; if your force has published one, its wording applies to you.
| Force and date | What it says | Published figures | National link / payment timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thames Valley Police 1 Sep 2026 Source | A careers-site post on updated pay 'effective from 1 September 2026', written 'in line with' the Home Office's July announcement of 3.5% for officers, says 'Police staff will also benefit from a 3.5% pay increase' and lists new starting salaries for selected staff roles. |
| Not stated. The post does not mention the Police Staff Council or any national staff agreement, and we found no PSC circular or union statement for a 2026/27 staff award. Not stated (no payslip month or arrears information). Checked 1 October 2026 |
We also looked for force statements on when staff arrears will be paid for 2026/27 and found none. Starting salaries are not the same as the rise on your own pay point: they depend on the grade, shifts and allowances each force uses.
Your UNISON, GMB or Unite branch usually posts the latest circular or briefing within days, before it filters into general coverage. Our guide to the three unions explains who does what.
The Police Staff Council publishes numbered circulars through the LGA's Police Staff page. A joint circular is the definitive record of an agreed figure.
Payroll dates are set locally. Forces often post the payroll month on their intranet once a deal is agreed, and some set staff pay outside the national agreement entirely.
There is no announced date. As at 3 October 2026 the Police Staff Council has held talks (19 August) and adjourned to 10 September; the LGA then reported the 10 September session postponed. On 1 October 2026 GMB told members that "negotiations have been taking place and are ongoing", without giving dates or figures. Nothing can be announced until the employers' side makes an offer and the unions accept it. For scale: in 2025 the employers' offer came in early October, the unions formally accepted on 30 October, and the joint circular confirming the deal was dated 3 November. That is last year's pace, not a promise about this year's.
The most recent union statement we found is GMB's "Police Staff Pay (2026/27) Talks Update" dated 1 October 2026: negotiations "have been taking place and are ongoing" and members will be updated "as soon as we can". Before that, the joint union bulletin of 21 August said the 19 August talks were adjourned to 10 September, and UNISON's West Midlands Police branch repeated this on 1 September. We found no newer UNISON or Unite national statement and no offer or ballot as at 3 October 2026.
Not before an agreement is confirmed, and then it depends on each force's payroll. Last year the agreement was confirmed on 3 November 2025 and UNISON said some forces might pay in the November run and others in December; Merseyside's staff branch reported its force would pay in November. Because the 2025 award was backdated to 1 September, arrears were included. Whether a 2026/27 award is backdated, and to which date, has not been confirmed. Our back pay explainer covers how arrears work.
Not through the national process, as far as we can find. The 3.5% in written statement HCWS264 (15 July 2026) is the officer award, and the statement does not mention police staff. However, Thames Valley Police published a careers page dated 1 September 2026 saying staff "will also benefit from a 3.5% pay increase", with new starting salaries for PCSOs, call handlers and detention officers (see the force table on this page). We could not find that in any Police Staff Council circular or union statement, and GMB said on 1 October that national negotiations are still ongoing. We do not know whether the Thames Valley wording reflects a local decision, a payment on account, or loose wording. If your force says something similar, ask HR how it is being paid and whether it is on account of the national settlement.
No. The Met is outside the Police Staff Council: the 2025/26 award circular (Joint Circular 142) was copied to "Scotland and MPS (for information only)". Met staff pay is negotiated with the Met. PCS reported on 28 January 2026 that its Met members accepted a 4.2% uplift and a £900 one-off payment, with "a commitment to begin negotiations on consolidated increases for 2026-2027". We found no published 2026/27 Met staff pay settlement as at 3 October 2026.
The sources we found do not say. The LGA's Police Staff Council page states that the talks due to resume on 10 September were postponed and will be rescheduled in due course, and gives no reason or new date. We are not going to guess at one. GMB's 1 October update says negotiations "have been taking place and are ongoing" but does not say when the sides met. Dates usually show up first in a Police Staff Council circular or on union branch pages.
A one-year claim, notified to the employers on 9 April 2026 (the employers' EMP circular 1/2026 of that date says the full written claim would follow; a later union bulletin dates it 7 May), for 9% or £2,700 on all pay points (whichever is greater), 9% on standby and overnight-away-from-home allowances, a £15 per hour minimum rate, annual leave up from 24 to 25 days on appointment and from 29 to 30 days after five years, and removal of the overtime bar at pay point 24. A claim is an opening position. In 2025 the unions claimed at least 7% and the agreed award was 4.2%.
The Police Staff Council. The employers' side (NPCC, APCC and the Home Office) negotiates with the trade union side (UNISON, Unite and GMB). Unlike officers, whose pay is recommended by the Police Remuneration Review Body and decided by the Home Secretary, staff pay is negotiated and any deal is put to union members in a consultative ballot. Some forces set staff pay locally rather than following the national agreement.
The definitive signal is a Police Staff Council joint circular confirming the figure, the effective date and the new pay spine (last year: Joint Circular 142, dated 3 November 2025). Before that, watch for a union announcement that a ballot is open, then the ballot result. Your force's HR or payroll team decides which pay run it lands in, so check their communications too. If you join the alert list on this page we will email when a national source confirms a development.
By hand, against the sources listed at the bottom of the page, and the date at the top is the date of the last check, not the date of the last news. If nothing has changed the date still moves forward so you can see the page was re-checked. We only add an event when we can link to a source for it; where we could not find something we say so.