Police pay scales 2026

Police officer pay in England and Wales is set nationally by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and applies to all 43 forces. The figures below are the confirmed scales effective 1 September 2025. A further 3.5% award is confirmed for 1 September 2026— we'll update these figures the moment the official new pay-scale tables are published; until then you can see what the 3.5% adds to your take-home.

What the gross figures don't show is what actually lands in your account. A constable at PP1 earns £32,256 gross — but after a 12.88% pension contribution (deducted before income tax), income tax, and National Insurance, take-home is roughly £1,952/month. That's around 80p in the pound. At PP7 the gross is £52,014 and take-home is around £2,942/month.

New from 1 September 2026: the 3.5% award pushes PP7 above the higher-rate threshold for the first time. The threshold is frozen at £50,270, so a constable at the top of the scale now has £1,744 of basic pay taxed at 40% — and every hour of overtime on top of it is taxed at 40% plus 2% National Insurance rather than 20% plus 8%.

The tables below show estimated net monthly pay at standard assumptions (PPS 2015 pension, tax code 1257L, no student loan, no regional allowance). Use the take-home calculator to personalise for your specific circumstances — including London Weighting, overtime, part-time hours, and student loan deductions.

How pension tiers affect every rank

Under PPS 2015, pension contributions are charged on your entire pensionable pay at a single rate — whichever tier your pay falls into. The three tiers (effective 1 April 2026) are: 12.88% up to £37,035; 13.88% up to £79,587; and 14.22% above that. The rate isn't marginal — crossing a boundary moves your whole salary into the new tier.

This matters at two specific points: a constable crossing from PP4 (£36,336) to PP5 (£39,057) enters the 13.88% tier, adding roughly £391/year in pension deductions on top of the gross pay increase. And superintendents at all pay points (£87,123 and above) are in the 14.22% tier from day one of the rank. The full-rank editorial pages below each explain how this interacts with take-home at that specific level.

London Weighting and regional allowances

Metropolitan Police and City of London officers receive a combined London Weighting and London Allowance of £10,079/year from 1 September 2026 — but only part of it is pensionable. The £3,260 London Weighting is pay under the Police Regulations, so pension contributions apply to it and it builds CARE accrual. The £6,819 London Allowance is non-pensionable, though most mortgage lenders still count the full £10,079 as contractual income. Use the calculator for the exact net figure at your rank and pay point; it is worth several hundred pounds a month, and less for officers in the 40% band. South East forces set their own allowance, up to a £3,105 maximum (non-pensionable in most cases).