PSNI police officer pay

A PSNI constable appointed on the current scale starts on £31,164 and reaches £50,256 at pay point 7. Those are the 2025/26 figures, effective from 1 September 2025, after a 4.2% award that was paid in January 2026 salaries. Every PSNI officer also receives the Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance of £4,284 a year. I could not confirm a 2026/27 award.

The constable scale from 1 September 2025

These are the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) recommended values for constables appointed on or after 1 September 2014, which is the scale new recruits join.

Pay point	Annual salary
1	£31,164
2	£32,472
3	£33,789
4	£35,106
5	£37,737
6	£43,038
7	£50,256

New constables spend their first twelve months on pay point 1, from the start of the Student Officer Development Programme. The PRRB report says the Chief Constable has discretion to set starting pay at pay point 2. Officers appointed before that date are on a separate, older scale, which is not reproduced here.

Was the award paid?

Yes. The PRRB recommended a consolidated 4.2% increase on all police officer pay points up to chief superintendent. On 19 December 2025 the Justice Minister announced the award would be paid in officers’ January salaries, and said it covered the equivalent of 6,165 full-time officers. The Minister had said earlier that month that she could fund the uplift in full after the December monitoring round.

The rise was late. The scale applies from 1 September 2025, so officers received arrears, and the Police Federation for Northern Ireland said in December that it was running about four months late.

The Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance

The Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance (NITA) is £4,284 a year from 1 September 2025. It is taxable and non-pensionable, and every officer receives it. The PRRB describes it as unique to Northern Ireland. The 2025 report recommended raising it by 4.2%, in line with the basic award. So a constable at pay point 1 has a pay package of £35,448 before overtime and other allowances, and the NITA is not counted when pension is calculated.

Other allowances recommended in the same report include £2,946 a year for dog handlers, £35 for on-call duty in the evenings, at weekends and on Northern Ireland public holidays, and £60 a night for being away from home overnight. Competence-related threshold payments, which officers can reach after a year on certain higher points, are left unchanged in the report.

How it differs from England and Wales

The PRRB works to what it calls the parity principle: the same pay scales and allowances across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the NITA as the one exception. The PRRB notes that the PSNI has committed to paying officers the same award as their England and Wales counterparts, even with a tight Northern Ireland budget. The award in Northern Ireland has run late in recent years, so timing is where the two can differ.

England and Wales has already confirmed 3.5% from 1 September 2026, which puts pay point 1 there at £32,255 and pay point 7 at £52,015. The police pay scales guide has the full picture across the UK. For Northern Ireland, the PRRB was asked in February 2026 to review 2026/27 pay, and the same letter said it should follow broad alignment with England and Wales. I found no confirmed award, so do not assume the English percentage applies in Northern Ireland until the Department of Justice announces one.

What the figures leave out

The scale is basic pay. Overtime, allowances and the NITA come on top. The PRRB’s 2025 report says PSNI constables have higher median total earnings than counterparts in England and Wales (outside London), even without the NITA, which it ties to higher overtime levels and to competence-related threshold payments still being paid in Northern Ireland. It adds that a lower cost of living in Northern Ireland is part of the context.

Next steps

The PSNI police officer job profile covers what the role involves and the PSNI application process covers how to apply. The take-home pay calculator will show what a salary such as £31,164 leaves after tax and National Insurance, using the same rates as England.