PCSO pay

PCSO pay depends on the force, because police community support officers are police staff and each force sets its own scale. The National Careers Service gives a range of £24,000 for a starter to £34,000 for an experienced PCSO. Two forces that publish figures show starting salaries of £24,747 (Lancashire) and £26,101 (Leicestershire), before shift allowances.

What forces actually advertise

The two force pages below were read on 23 October 2026. They are examples of the spread.

Force	Basic salary	With allowances
Leicestershire	£26,101 in training, rising to £29,109	Around £34,922 at most
Lancashire	£24,747 to £29,859	£28,219.23 to £34,048.49

Leicestershire adds a 14% shift allowance and weekend working enhancements after the nine-week training course. Lancashire’s top figure includes shift allowance and weekend working, and it does not pay shift allowance during training. Neither page gives a date for the figures, so check the current advert before you rely on them.

Other forces will differ, so the same job can pay noticeably more or less depending on the force and on how it treats weekends and shifts.

Why there is no national scale

Police officers in England and Wales are on a national scale set by the government after a review body reports. PCSOs are not officers, and their pay is agreed through police staff arrangements and then applied force by force. The police pay scales guide covers the officer side. It also notes that the unions’ claim for police staff from 1 September 2026 is 9% or £2,700, and that no 2026/27 police staff award had been agreed by mid-October 2026.

Hours and shift pay

National Careers says PCSOs work 37 to 40 hours a week, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays on shifts. That pattern is why the allowance matters. In the Leicestershire example, the gap between the basic top figure (£29,109) and the figure with enhancements (£34,922) is £5,813.

Training is usually a fixed block. Leicestershire runs a nine-week full-time course, then six weeks at an assigned station. Lancashire’s training runs for about six weeks, Monday to Friday. You are not on shifts during that time, which is why the shift allowance often starts later.

What you need to apply

You must be over 18, and Lancashire accepts applications from 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the start date. National Careers says you need to pass a fitness test, a medical check and enhanced background checks, and that some forces ask for English at GCSE grade 4. Lancashire asks for a level 2 qualification in English language at grade 4, which you can finish after applying but must have before a final offer.

Some forces run the job as a level 4 apprenticeship, which National Careers says usually takes one to two years. The PCSO job profile covers the role and powers in more detail.

Reading a PCSO advert

Check four things on the advert. First, whether the figure is basic pay or includes shift allowance and weekend working, because the gap between the two in the table above runs to thousands of pounds. Second, what you are paid while training, since Lancashire pays no shift allowance then. Third, how many hours the contract is for. Fourth, whether the job is run as an apprenticeship, because the pay and the qualification may be tied together. A higher headline figure can leave you worse off once allowances are counted, so compare like with like.

Moving on to constable

Some PCSOs go on to apply as police constables. The police constable profile and the police application process guide set out what that involves. A constable’s scale starts at £32,255 from 1 September 2026, which is above the starting PCSO figures shown here.

Use the take-home pay calculator to turn any advertised PCSO salary into monthly pay. Shift allowances are taxable, so the figure with allowances is the one to enter.