Police Pay Scale 2026: Every PC & Sergeant Pay Point
Officers have been typing their own Sergeant pay tables into Reddit comments this week, one pay point at a time, because nobody had posted the full picture. Here it is properly: every Constable and Sergeant pay point for 2026, current and after the confirmed 3.5% rise — plus two free images below you can save, screenshot or share.
- The 2026/27 police pay award is a confirmed 3.5% for every rank, effective 1 September 2026
- Constable (PC) pay runs £31,164 to £50,256 now, rising to £32,256–£52,014 — the starting and six-years'-service points are confirmed directly by the Home Office
- Sergeant pay runs £53,568 to £56,208 now, rising to an estimated £55,443–£58,175, pending the official Sergeant circular
- Officers below the top of their scale also get a pay progression increment on top of the 3.5%, typically another 2–6%
- Constable and Sergeant are the two ranks with a standard overtime entitlement, usually paid at Time and a Third
The 3.5% rise, in brief
On 15 July 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed a 3.5% pay award for every police rank in England and Wales, effective 1 September 2026. It's a national scale uplift that applies whichever force you're with.
We covered the full announcement — the funding attached, the pay progression detail most coverage missed, and London Weighting — in a separate breakdown here. This guide is the reference version: the complete Constable and Sergeant tables, point by point, in one place.
Police Constable (PC) pay scale 2026
The Constable scale runs across seven pay points. PP1 (starting pay), PP2 and PP7 (six years' service) were confirmed directly by the Home Office. The remaining points are calculated by applying the confirmed 3.5% to the current published rate.
| Pay Point | 2025/26 | 2026/27 (from 1 Sept) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| PP1 — starting pay | £31,164 | £32,256 | +£1,092 |
| PP2 | £32,472 | £33,609 | +£1,137 |
| PP3 | £33,789 | £34,972* | +£1,183 |
| PP4 | £35,106 | £36,335* | +£1,229 |
| PP5 | £37,737 | £39,058* | +£1,321 |
| PP6 | £43,038 | £44,544* | +£1,506 |
| PP7 — six years' service | £50,256 | £52,014 | +£1,758 |
*Calculated by applying the confirmed 3.5% uplift; not yet individually confirmed by the Home Office. Figures without an asterisk (PP1, PP2, PP7) are confirmed. Officers on the older pre-2013 legacy scale should check the pay scales tool for their specific points.
Police Sergeant pay scale 2026
This is the one people keep asking for. Sergeant pay runs across three points — PP2(a), PP3 and PP4. The Home Office hasn't published Sergeant-specific 2026/27 figures yet, so the table below applies the confirmed 3.5% to the current rate for each point.
| Pay Point | 2025/26 | 2026/27 (est., from 1 Sept) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| PP2(a) | £53,568 | £55,443 | +£1,875 |
| PP3 | £54,660 | £56,573 | +£1,913 |
| PP4 | £56,208 | £58,175 | +£1,967 |
All 2026/27 Sergeant figures are estimates pending the official force circular. We'll update this page and the pay scales tool the moment individual figures are confirmed.
Track your real earnings, not just the scale
A pay scale tells you your annual salary. Overtime Live shows what you're actually earning shift by shift — including overtime, rest days and on-call — live on your Lock Screen.
What actually lands in your account
A 3.5% rise to your salary doesn't mean 3.5% more in your pocket. Pension, tax and National Insurance all take their share of the increase before it reaches your bank account, and your Police Pension Scheme 2015 contribution rate depends on which band your new salary falls into: 12.88% up to £37,035, 13.88% up to £79,588, and 14.22% above that. If the rise pushes your salary over one of those thresholds, a bigger slice of the increase goes to pension before you see any of it.
If you haven't reached the top of your pay scale, there's good news working the other way: you're also due your normal pay progression increment on top of the 3.5%, typically another 2% to 6%, so the real change to your salary can be bigger than the headline figure.
See your exact take-home pay
Our free pay scales tool calculates your estimated net pay after tax, National Insurance and pension — not just the gross figure.
Open the Pay Scales Tool →Do PC and Sergeant get paid overtime?
Yes. Constable and Sergeant are the two ranks with a standard overtime entitlement, usually paid at Time and a Third. That covers rest day working, shift overruns and short-notice callouts. Inspector and above move onto an inclusive salary with no standard overtime pay — if that's you, our free Inspector Hours Tracker is built specifically for logging extra hours against the Working Time Regulations instead.
For PCs and Sergeants, every rest day, callout and shift overrun is real money on top of the scale above — the tricky part is keeping an accurate personal record of it. That's exactly what Overtime Live is for: log a shift once, set your rate, and watch what you've actually earned tick up in real time, visible on your Lock Screen without unlocking your phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Police Constable (PC) starting salary in 2026?
What is the top of the Constable pay scale in 2026?
What is the Sergeant pay scale in 2026?
Are the 2026 Sergeant pay figures official?
Do Constables and Sergeants get paid overtime?
How do I work out my actual take-home pay after the rise?
Follow us on X @OvertimeLiveApp to stay updated on the latest news and app features.