South East Allowance Needs To Increase

HAMPSHIRE Police officers deserve the highest amount of South East Allowance to bring them in line with neighbouring forces, Hampshire Police Federation has said.

Hertfordshire, Essex, Sussex and Thames Valley Police forces have all moved to the maximum South East Allowance of £2,000 a year, but Hampshire officers only receive £1,100.

Metropolitan Police officers get even more: in the recent pay deal, the Government increased the London Weighting by 5%, but didn’t increase the South East Allowance.

Meanwhile the Metropolitan Police is offering a £5,000 bonus to officers who join them from other forces.

Hampshire Police Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield said: “I’ve been having so many conversations about the need to increase the South East Allowance with our Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner.

“Officers currently get £1,100 and we pretty much had an agreement that it was going to increase by £100, but Sussex has just moved to the maximum amount of £2,000, so we now receive the lowest out of any of our regional colleagues.

“Hertfordshire, Essex and Thames Valley officers already all receive £2,000. So I’ve now gone back to our bosses and said we need to move to the maximum amount as well. I’ve had a positive response, so watch this space.”

This £900 increase would make “a massive difference” to officers who were struggling to pay bills, along with the pay rise, Zoë said: “We’ve got student officers who can’t afford to rent, let alone buy. Luckily we’re not losing lots of officers to the Met, probably because we’re just that bit further away. But it’s not just about losing people. It’s about valuing the people you’ve got.

“Why should we be any worse off than our colleagues in Sussex or Thames Valley, particularly when we’re in a joint operation with Thames Valley? We’ve got colleagues working alongside each other who have a big difference in pay. That’s just not fair.”