Police Officer Salary Calculator
Check police pay by rank and pay point for England and Wales, add London or South East allowances and overtime, then see what actually lands in your account after pension, tax and National Insurance.
How Police Pay Is Built Up
Police basic pay in England and Wales is set nationally under the Police Regulations, following the annual recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body. Every one of the 43 forces pays the same basic salary for the same rank and pay point — the differences come from regional allowances, overtime and specialist payments. Here is how a payslip is assembled, step by step.
Start with rank and pay point
Basic pay depends on your rank and where you sit on that rank’s incremental scale. Officers normally move up one pay point a year, subject to meeting the pay progression standard, so a constable reaches the top of the scale in around six to seven years and other federated ranks in about three.
Basic pay = rank scale at your pay pointAdd regional and specialist allowances
Metropolitan and City of London officers receive London weighting plus a London allowance. Several forces around the capital pay a South East allowance instead. Specialist payments such as the dog handler’s allowance and on-call allowance sit on top of all of that.
+ London weighting + London allowance + specialist payAdd overtime
Federated ranks — constable through chief inspector — are paid overtime. The standard rate is time and a third, rising to time and a half for rest day working at short notice and double time on bank holidays. Overtime is taxed as normal income but does not build pension benefits.
Hourly rate = basic ÷ 2,085.6, then × 1.33, 1.5 or 2Take off pension, tax and National Insurance
Pension contributions come out before income tax is worked out, so a 13% contribution costs noticeably less than 13% of your take-home. Income tax and National Insurance then apply to what is left. That final figure is the one worth comparing between jobs.
Take-home = gross − pension − income tax − NISalary Calculator
England & Wales scales, 1 September 2025
Constable Pay Scale
Basic annual pay for constables in England and Wales, effective 1 September 2025. Two scales run in parallel: one for officers appointed on or after 1 April 2013 and a legacy scale for those appointed before that date.
| Pay point | Joined on/after 1 Apr 2013 | Monthly gross | Joined before 1 Apr 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
| On commencing service | — | — | £32,820 |
| Pay point 1 | £31,164 | £2,597 | £36,375 |
| Pay point 2 | £32,472 | £2,706 | £38,346 |
| Pay point 3 | £33,789 | £2,816 | £40,557 |
| Pay point 4 | £35,106 | £2,926 | £41,766 |
| Pay point 5 | £37,737 | £3,145 | £43,038 |
| Pay point 6 | £43,038 | £3,587 | £46,626 |
| Pay point 7 (top) | £50,256 | £4,188 | £50,256 |
New constables join at pay point 1, although since 1 April 2025 a chief officer may assign new appointees to pay point 2 to meet local recruitment needs.
Sergeant to Chief Superintendent
Basic annual pay by rank and pay point, effective 1 September 2025. Inspectors and chief inspectors in London sit on a separate, higher scale rather than receiving London weighting.
| Rank | Entry point | Top of scale | Points on the scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant | £53,568 | £56,208 | 3 (points 2–4) |
| Inspector | £63,768 | £68,982 | 4 (points 0–3) |
| Inspector (London) | £66,462 | £71,697 | 4 (points 0–3) |
| Chief Inspector | £70,344 | £74,310 | 3, plus a pre-1994 point |
| Chief Inspector (London) | £73,062 | £77,004 | 3, plus a pre-1994 point |
| Superintendent | £84,177 | £99,015 | 4 |
| Chief Superintendent | £103,797 | £115,785 | 3 |
The pre-1994 chief inspector points apply only to officers in post on or before 31 August 1994. Ranks above chief superintendent use chief officer pay arrangements, which are set separately and vary by force size.
Allowances & Overtime Rates
What gets added to basic pay, whether it counts towards your pension, and the overtime multipliers set out in the Police Regulations.
| Payment | Amount | Pensionable? | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|---|
| London weighting | £3,150 a year | Yes | Metropolitan and City of London officers |
| London allowance | Up to £6,588 a year | No | Metropolitan and City of London officers |
| South East allowance (higher group) | £3,000 a year | No | Designated forces around London |
| South East allowance (lower group) | £2,000 a year | No | Designated forces around London |
| Dog handler’s allowance | £2,946 a year | No | Officers with a qualifying police dog |
| On-call allowance | £35 a day | No | Federated ranks placed on call |
| Motor vehicle allowance (essential user) | £1,239 a year | No | Designated essential car users |
| Casual overtime | Time and a third (×1.33) | No | Constables to chief inspectors |
| Rest day working at short notice | Time and a half (×1.5) | No | Constables to chief inspectors |
| Bank holiday working | Double time (×2) | No | Constables to chief inspectors |
| Pension contribution (2015 scheme) | About 12.44% – 13.78% | — | Tiered by pensionable pay |
Allowance values are those recommended from 1 September 2025. Pension contribution tiers and allowance amounts are reviewed periodically — check your force’s latest pay circular for the figure applied to your payslip.
Police Pay FAQ
The questions officers and applicants ask most often about police salaries in the UK.
Under the scales effective from 1 September 2025, a constable in England and Wales appointed on or after 1 April 2013 starts on pay point 1 at £31,164. Chief officers may assign new constables to pay point 2 at £32,472 where local recruitment needs require it. Metropolitan and City of London officers receive London weighting and the London allowance on top, which adds close to £9,700 a year.
Officers normally move up one pay point each year, provided they meet the pay progression standard. A constable typically reaches the top of the scale in six to seven years, and other federated ranks in about three. Each increment is worth roughly 2% to 6% of salary, and the jumps between the later constable points are the largest on the scale.
London weighting is pay under the Police Regulations, so pension contributions are taken from it and it builds pension benefits. The London allowance is a separate, non-pensionable payment. Both go to officers in the Metropolitan and City of London forces, and mortgage lenders generally count both as contractual income even though only one counts for your pension.
Officers in the 2015 police pension scheme pay a tiered contribution rate based on pensionable pay, broadly between 12.44% and 13.78%. Contributions come out before income tax is calculated, so a basic-rate taxpayer gives up about 80p of take-home for every £1 contributed. Officers with service before April 2022 may hold protected benefits under the 1987 or 2006 schemes, which carry different rates.
Federated ranks are paid time and a third for casual overtime, time and a half for rest day working at short notice, and double time on bank holidays. The hourly rate is derived from basic annual pay divided by 2,085.6 hours. Overtime is taxed as normal income and is not pensionable, so a year of heavy overtime raises your take-home but not your eventual pension.
No. Police Scotland has its own pay scales agreed under separate arrangements, and Scottish income tax rates differ from the rest of the UK, so both gross pay and take-home differ. Police Service of Northern Ireland pay broadly mirrors England and Wales, with an additional Northern Ireland transitional allowance paid on top.
The Police Remuneration Review Body takes evidence from the Home Office, the Police Federation, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and police and crime commissioners, then recommends an award. The Home Secretary accepts it in full, in part, or not at all, and a determination under the Police Regulations sets the new pay points. Awards take effect from 1 September each year, though the published pay point tables sometimes follow weeks or months later.
Three deductions sit between gross and net pay: the pension contribution of roughly 13%, income tax, and National Insurance. Together they typically remove around a third of gross pay for an officer in the higher constable pay points. Student loan repayments, Police Federation subscriptions and any salary sacrifice arrangements come off on top of that.