Met Police officers to receive pay increase beyond 7% rise

The Metropolitan Police has announced it will increase pay for thousands of officers beyond the 7% rise announced by prime minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday.

The 40,000-strong force – the biggest in the UK – has said the move will help it to “recruit and retain the best people” to serve the public in the capital.

The Met has said that on top of the 7% rise, all police officers in the Met will see their annual salary increase by an additional £1,000 a year.

Although, this excludes the most senior ranks such as commander and commissioner.

“It’s not about cuts, it’s just about focusing on public sector workers pay rather than other things.”

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Earlier this week, Sunak announced that certain public sector workers would receive a 6% salary increase or more.

Some of the money will come from existing departmental budgets, which prompted fears there will be more cuts to frontline services.

New rates confirmed by the treasury:

The pay increases each public sector will receive are as follows:

Police – seven per cent

NHS – six per cent

Junior doctors – six per cent – starting salary to increase by £3,000

Prison officers (in operational bands) – seven  per cent

Armed Forces – five per cent

Teachers – 6.5 per cent – new teachers to start on at least £30,000

Meanwhile, new police recruits who complete their training and pass out as warranted officers will also receive an additional £100 a month in their pay.

The Met Police has said it will work with trade unions to negotiate and finalise an equivalent pay award for police staff.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We are determined to deliver the best police service we can for Londoners.

BREAKING: Millions of UK public sector workers, including teachers and doctors, will get pay rises of 6% or more after Rishi Sunak decided to accept the recommendations of independent pay review bodies.

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“To achieve that we need to be able to recruit and retain the best people which, in the current economic climate and with such a competitive job market, is challenging.

“We also need to set our existing officers up to succeed and recognise the extraordinary work they do.”

He added: “The 7% award from the government was welcome. However, we believe strongly that we must go further for our officers in order to address the spiralling cost of living and the additional financial challenges faced by officers and staff that relate to working in London.”

Paul Deller, the general secretary of the Met Federation, the staff association which represents the force’s officers, said: “The Met Federation welcomes the commissioner’s decision to award officers an additional £1,000 on top of the seven per cent pay award recommended by the police remuneration review body.

“This demonstrates how far policing has fallen behind in terms of pay. The commissioner has recognised this and has been vocal in his calls for a substantial pay rise.”