Police Back Pay 2026: When Will You Get It, and How Much?

Is police back pay backdated to September?

Yes. The 2026/27 award is effective from 1 September 2026. Where a force cannot run the new figures in the September payroll, it applies them in a later month and backdates the difference to 1 September.

That means no officer loses out from a payroll delay. Every month you were paid at the old rate is topped up to the new rate, and the total arrives as a single lump sum once payroll catches up.

Back pay is common because forces run different payroll systems and timetables. A late payment is an administrative delay, not a dispute, and the backdating rule means you receive exactly what you would have been paid had the new rate started on time.

How much police back pay are you owed?

Your back pay is the monthly difference between your old and new salary, multiplied by the number of months you were paid at the old rate after 1 September.

The table below shows the approximate gross monthly difference at the top of each main rank scale, based on the 3.5% award. For London and South East officers, the small uplift to allowances is added on top.

These are gross figures before deductions. To get the exact amount for your rank, pay point, location and the month the new rate reaches you, use the police back pay calculator, which shows both the gross and the net figure.

A worked example

Say you are a top-scale constable and your force pays the new rate from November 2026, two months after the effective date. You were underpaid for September and October, so you are owed two months of the £147 gross monthly difference, about £293 gross.

After pension, income tax and National Insurance, the net figure is lower, roughly £130 to £220 depending on your tax band. A sergeant in the same position would be owed about £328 gross for the two months. If your force takes until January 2027 to apply the rise, that is four months of arrears, and the lump grows accordingly. London and South East officers also receive the backdated uplift to their allowances.

How is police back pay taxed?

Back pay is treated as normal pay and taxed through PAYE in the month it is paid. Pension, income tax and National Insurance all apply to it, just as they do to your regular salary.

Because the arrears land in a single month, that payslip can look heavily deducted. PAYE may briefly tax part of the lump in a higher band, as the system treats that month as if your pay had suddenly jumped. This corrects automatically across the tax year, so you are not taxed twice. The gov.uk income tax rates and National Insurance rates pages set out the bands, and our How It Works page shows the method we use.

Is police back pay taxed at an emergency rate?

Back pay is not usually put on an emergency tax code, but the effect can feel similar. Because PAYE looks at the single month the lump arrives, it can assume your pay has risen permanently and deduct more tax than the arrears alone would attract.

This is a timing effect, not a loss. PAYE is cumulative across the tax year, so any over-deduction in the arrears month is corrected automatically in later months. By the end of the tax year you will have paid the right amount of tax on the back pay. If you think your code is wrong for another reason, check it with HMRC.

Does back pay count towards your pension?

Yes. The award is consolidated and pensionable, so pension contributions are due on the backdated amount. That means a slice of your arrears goes into your PPS 2015 pension rather than your bank account, but it also builds extra pension for the backdated period.

The pension taken on arrears is at your normal contribution rate for the year, so there is no penalty for it arriving late. The backdated pay also counts towards the pension you build for that year in the career average scheme, so you lose nothing in retirement terms from a delayed award.

What if you were promoted or left during the period?

Back pay follows the pay you were actually on. If you were promoted during the backdated period, each month is topped up based on the rank and pay point you held that month, so the calculation simply changes at the point your rank changed.

If you left the force after 1 September but before the award was applied, you are still owed the arrears for the time you served on the old rate. Your former force should pay them, so keep an eye on a final payslip and contact its payroll team if nothing arrives.

When will forces pay the arrears?

There is no single national date. Each force runs its own payroll, so timing varies. Forces that updated their systems quickly paid the new rate from September 2026 with no arrears at all. Others apply it over the following months and backdate.

In practice most delayed awards are cleared within two to four months of the effective date. If you are unsure, your force intranet or the local branch of the Police Federation will usually confirm the schedule.

What to check on your payslip

When the arrears arrive, check three things. Confirm the number of months backdated matches how long you were on the old rate. Check that pension has been taken on the arrears, since it should be. And check your year-to-date tax, which should even out by the end of the tax year even if one month looked heavily taxed.

If the new monthly rate also looks wrong going forward, compare it against the 2026/27 pay scales or run your rank through the pay rise calculator.

Frequently asked questions