Police Back Pay 2026: When Will You Get It, and How Much?
If your force applies the 3.5% rise after September, you are owed arrears backdated to 1 September 2026. Here is how the back pay works.
Back Pay Is Backdated to 1 September
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 delay. You receive every month you were underpaid as a single lump sum.
How Much You Are Owed
Your back pay is the monthly difference between your old and new salary, multiplied by the months you were paid at the old rate.
For example, a top-scale constable gaining about £1,760 a year is owed roughly £147 gross for each month of delay. Two months late is around £293 gross, before deductions.
How the Lump Sum Is Taxed
Back pay is treated as normal pay and taxed through PAYE in the month it arrives. Pension, income tax and National Insurance all apply.
Because it lands in one lump, that payslip can look heavily deducted, and PAYE may briefly tax it in a higher band. This corrects across the tax year.