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Police Officer Pay UK 2026/27

Police officer salaries are nationally structured, with progression up the constable scale and additional allowances for London and specialist duties. Total earnings are shaped by service length, force location, and role type.

Calculate your take-home →See salary breakdown

At a Glance

  • Probationer / Constable (joining)£2,229 / mo
    of £32,255 gross a year
  • Constable (experienced)£3,394 / mo
    of £52,015 gross a year
  • Sergeant£3,560 / mo
    of £55,443 gross a year
Take-homeTaxNI

Police pay in England and Wales is set through the Police Remuneration Review Body, and the 3.5% award from 1 September 2026 took the new constable starting salary to £32,255.

Officers joining through the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship progress up the constable spine to £52,015, typically over around seven years' service.

Metropolitan Police staff receive London allowance and weighting on top of base rates, while detective and specialist posts can attract additional role-specific payments.

Police Officer Salary Breakdown UK 2026/27

The table below shows typical police officer salaries across experience levels and regions, alongside estimated take-home pay after income tax and National Insurance. Click any gross salary figure to open it in the calculator.

LevelNational GrossNational Take-HomeMonthly (National)London GrossLondon Take-Home
Probationer / Constable (joining)£32,255£26,744£2,229£42,334£34,001
Constable (experienced)£52,015£40,726£3,394£62,094£46,572
Sergeant£55,443£42,715£3,560£65,522£48,560

How Police Officer Pay Works in the UK

2026/27 constable pay scale: £32,255 (joining) rising to £52,015 at the top of scale (approximately 7 years service)

Sergeant scale: £55,443–£58,175; Inspector scale: £66,000–£71,396 (from 1 September 2026)

Metropolitan Police officers receive London Weighting of £3,260 plus a London Allowance of up to £6,819 on top of national rates (2026/27)

Police Pension Scheme (2015 scheme): from 1 April 2026 officers contribute 12.88% (pay up to £37,035), 13.88% (£37,036–£79,587) or 14.22% (£79,588+); benefits build up at 1/55.3 of pay each year on a career average basis

Detective and specialist roles (firearms, public order, dog unit) attract post-specific allowances of £1,000–£5,000/year

Overtime for constables and sergeants is paid at time and a third under Police Regulations; rest-day working with less than 15 days' notice is paid at time and a half

Income Tax and National Insurance in 2026/27

Like all UK workers, police officers salaries are subject to income tax and National Insurance (NI) contributions. In the 2026/27 tax year:

Income Tax Bands
Up to £12,5700% (Personal Allowance)
£12,571 – £50,27020% (Basic Rate)
£50,271 – £125,14040% (Higher Rate)
Above £125,14045% (Additional Rate)
Employee National Insurance
Up to £12,5700%
£12,570 – £50,2708%
Above £50,2702%
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Use the calculator above to see your exact take-home pay after all deductions, including pension contributions and student loan repayments if applicable.

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Take-home calculator

Your take-home pay

Enter your salary and we'll break down income tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and your final take-home for 2026/27.

Your pay

per year
per year

Bonuses, commission, overtime, capital gains, investments and similar.

Your take-home pay

£3,258a month

£39,099 a year · £752 a week

Out of £4,335 gross a month

  • Take-home pay£3,25875.2%
  • Your pension+ £130 from your employer£2175.0%
  • Income tax£61414.2%
  • National Insurance£2465.7%
HMRC 2026/27 rates, updated 6 April 2026

If you invested £1,008 each month into an ISA after covering your expenses, you could make £602,923 over 25 years: +£300,448 on top of what you put in, thanks to compounding returns.

See how
Pension, region, student loan, State Pension age
%
%

Try changing your contributions to see how it affects everything.

Where you pay tax
State Pension age

68 applies if you were born after 5 April 1978.

Explore your finances

Model your expenses, project your wealth, and find your path to financial independence, using the pay figures above.

Your monthly spending

Essentials

£per month
Housing, bills, council tax, food.

Everything else

£per month
Things you choose to pay for.

Your plan

The earliest you can retire with your workplace pension is usually 55 (rising to 57 from 6 April 2028). You won't get your state pension until your mid or late 60s, depending on your current age. Tip: try playing around with your target retirement age to see how things change.
£
The total balance of all your existing pension pots.
£
The total balance of any existing ISA Savings accounts (GIAs are not currently supported)

Financial independence

%
% of today
%
Financial independence means having enough saved that your outgoings are covered for the rest of your life.

Where your £4,335 a month goes

  • Essentials£1,750
  • Everything else£500
  • Tax and NI£860
  • Pension£217
  • Left to invest in your ISA£1,008

Projected wealth

Estimated income over 50 years, in today's money, with a 5% annual return and 0.35% yearly platform and fund fees.

Projected pension

Your pension pot over 31 years at three growth rates, after 0.35% fees, in today's money.

Calculations
  • FI Target = Annual outgoings (£21,600) * Years needed for 4.00% SWR (25.00) = £540,000
  • Invested annual pension = £4,161
  • Invested annual surplus = £12,099
  • Inflation of 2.5% / year
  • Assumes New State Pension, payments increasing with inflation (2.5% / year)
  • Assumes student loans last 30 years max
  • Assumes a flex-drawdown pension for illustration purposes
  • Assumes you draw down pension up to the higher rate bracket (£50,270), then draw down your S&S ISA
  • Pension lump sums are not included

Take-home pay by salary

See the full 2026/27 breakdown for common salaries.