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Winsor 2 - negotiations
continue
By Gary Nuttall
Information & Research Officer
T: 0121 700 1100
The following recommendations are some of
those currently being discussed at the Police
Negotiating Board (PNB) and the Home
Secretary has put a date of 24 July 2013 for
agreement to be reached.
In addition to Tom Winsor, the principal
author of this review, Sir Edward Crew, QPM
and Professor Richard Disney, Professor of
Labour Economics, acted as advisers.
Professor Disney compiled research and
conducted analysis to support the review.
l Recommendation 55 – Pay Points 6, 7,
and 9 should be removed from the
existing constables’ pay scale in April 2014,
2015, and 2016 respectively. This will
allow constables to move to the maximum
more quickly and ensure that the current
and new pay scales merge in 2016.
l Recommendation 56 – Pay Point 0 of the
current sergeants’ pay scale should be
removed from April 2014 to ensure that
sergeants are always paid more than
constables, consistent with the greater
responsibilities of the job.
l Recommendation 71 – The deployment
component of the police officer ‘X Factor’
should be established to be eight per cent
of basic pay for constables. For other
ranks, it should be expressed in cash terms,
benchmarked at eight per cent of the
maximum of constables’ basic pay.
l Recommendation 84 – Pay progression
for officers in the Federated ranks should
be subject to a satisfactory box marking in
the annual appraisal. Those officers who
receive a box marking of ‘satisfactory
contribution’ or above should advance by
one pay increment; those who receive an
‘unsatisfactory contribution’ box marking
should remain on the same pay point for a
further year. This should be introduced for
sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors
in 2014/15 and for constables in 2015/16.
Relationship between the pay scales on the
Federated ranks
Winsor believes the difference between
constable and sergeant pay should increase
(not by reducing the constable salary). He
believes the difference between sergeant and
inspector is about right as is the difference
between chief inspector and superintendent.
Winsor sets the scene with the following:
‘The basic structures of the present system of police
officer pay were established in 1920. Pay scales are
long and in most cases there is no appreciable link
between pay and competence or the acquisition of
new skills. A new approach is needed for both
police officers and staff that replaces a culture of
entitlement on the basis of time-service with one
which recognises skills and professionalism. Such a
step would be radical, but it is overdue, and will
lead to a better service for the public and better
value for taxpayers.’
Recruitment and retention
The principal purpose of pay is to provide
sufficient reward to recruit and retain officers
of the right quality.
In his economic analysis for this report
and its predecessor (Part 1), Professor Disney
has found that the police service does not
have any recruitment difficulties and has not
had serious difficulties in that respect for
many years. In support of this view, the
Institute for Fiscal Studies found that officers
have one of the lowest rates of departure from
public sector employment.
Disney then compared officer pay to other
emergency occupations and comparable ranks
in the armed forces. According to this
comparison, constables and sergeants on
average earn 10 to 15 per cent more than
other emergency occupations.
Winsor then goes on to review and
comment on the current spinal points for
constables and specifically on the legality of
lengthy spinal pay points as a method of
reward. Winsor cites employment tribunal
case law that potentially outlaws lengthy
spinal points as gender based discrimination
can result.
Winsor outlines and reviews the pay
structures and pay rates of other public sector
workers, notably nurses, teachers and prison
officers.
In support of his review Winsor has also
used police Activity Analysis surveys from
2003 to 2008, as well as crime recording and
incident data.
Winsor’s conclusions on pay
Basic pay for the Federated ranks is a critical
issue. The Federated ranks make up a very
significant majority of the police officer
workforce, and their pay accounts for
approximately 98 per cent of the police officer
salary bill. The Federated ranks are, of course,
central to the success of policing in England
and Wales. The history of police pay shows
that when basic pay is set at the wrong level, it
can cause recruitment and retention
difficulties which damage the service provided
to the public, as well as the morale of police
officers.
My overall views on basic pay for the
Federated ranks are summarised below:
l The constables’ pay scale should be made
shorter, so as better to reflect the length of
time over which increases in experience
lead to improvements in competence;
l The constables’ pay scale should start at a
lower rate than present, but officers should
move more quickly to the maximum;
l Pay progression in all ranks should be on
the basis of satisfactory contribution and
the demonstration of the acquisition of
the necessary skills, knowledge and
experience;
l The pay of sergeants, inspectors and chief
inspectors is at the correct levels and
should be maintained at those levels;
l There should be gaps between the pay
scales of each of the Federated ranks to
reflect the increased responsibilities
undertaken at each successively higher
rank (i.e. no overlap and genuine reward
for additional responsibility).
Having listened to the Federation and
Superintendents’ Association, Winsor
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