- Conference
- 2025 Police, Probation and CAFCASS Conference
- Date
- 17 June 2025
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference recognises that low pay remains a persistent problem in both the Police Service in England and Wales and in the Probation Service in England and Wales. In both services, UNISON members on the lowest pay find themselves earning less than they could earn working for supermarkets.
The Living Wage Foundation confirms that low paid work is a risk factor for a person’s health, well-being and enjoyment of life generally. Low pay condemns workers to poor living standards, poor housing and less opportunity to benefit from a disposable income which can make such a difference to quality of life.
In work poverty, and pension poverty, are the twin results of low pay. Conference believes that tackling the root cause of this poverty for our members is about ending low pay in policing and probation once and for all.
Conference welcomes that the lowest pay point on the Police Staff Council pay scale in England and Wales were deleted last year, and this year, on 1 April. This just keeps the lowest police staff pay point ahead of the national living wage, but there remains a risk that it will be overtaken in future years.
In the Probation Service, progress on tackling low pay has been hampered by an inflexible approach to pay from the civil service centrally which prevents real progressive change on low pay. Both this year and last year, the lowest probation pay point was shamefully overtaken by the national living wage. The Probation Service has responded to this again this year by unilaterally introducing a novel pay point of the national living wage rather than move staff to the next highest pay point above the new living wage.
Conference welcomes Labour’s New Deal for Working People which aims at making work pay, including making the minimum wage a real living wage. In light of this commitment by the government to tackle low pay, Conference believes that it is time for police forces and the Probation Service to end low pay now.
Conference applauds the progress made by our Police Scotland branch who achieved a £14.26/hour minimum pay rate for its police staff members as part of their 2024 pay award. This shows that a major employer in our Service Group can address low pay and should be inspiration for all other employers that we cover.
Conference calls upon the Service Group Executive to:
1. Support the outstanding claims for a £15/hour minimum salary rate in both the Police and Probation Services in England and Wales, as submitted by UNISON and our sister trade unions for this year.
2. Highlight the importance of tackling low pay when communicating with our members and with employers.
3. Redouble UNISON’s efforts to encourage all employers in the sectors we cover to become Real Living Wage employers.