Police targeted payments extended to June 2029

Chief officers can award service critical skills payments and recognition of workload payments for time served in eligible roles through 30 June 2029GOV under the revised Annex U to the Police Regulations 2003GOV. Each payment has its own ceiling of £5,000 per annum.GOV Home Office Circular 011/2026 also publishes replacement pay and voluntary-retirement compensation determinations for police forces in England and WalesGOV.

Under Annex U paragraph 15(a), a chief officer may award a service critical skills payment to an officer of chief superintendent rank or below. The role must require skills essential to effective policing, with financial incentives considered necessary because those skills are demonstrably scarce or the role is hard to fill. A role is hard to fill if any one of three alternatives applies: unsuccessful advertising or posting attempts have left an ongoing, unacceptably high vacancy rate; retention has been poor or can reasonably be predicted to be poor; or officers have been prevented from voluntarily applying for alternative roles for retention purposes. A delay in posting an already selected officer does not by itself qualify.

The chief officer must specify the role, skills, amount and payment frequency in writing and notify any payment conditions. Unmet conditions prevent payment unless the chief officer considers payment reasonable. Annex U permits several payment patterns, including recruitment or qualification lump sums, monthly payments and instalments.

Recognition of workload payments are restricted to superintending ranks.GOV Demands must exceed those normally placed on officers of the same rank and involve at least one listed factor: inadequately compensated antisocial hours or disruption; command across internal boundaries with multiple stakeholders; responsibilities outside force boundaries; significant personal or career risk; lengthy regular travel; exceptionally large responsibility; command across different forces; sustained exceptional operational demand; or managing a large change process. The reasons, amount and frequency must be notified in writing.

Annexes F and U take effect from 1 September 2025. For constables who joined on or after 1 April 2013, Annex F Part 2 lists £31,164 at pay point 1 and £50,256 at pay point 7. London weighting is £3,150 annually, with a separate part-time calculation; Annex F Part 10(1) requires allowances calculated by reference to pay to be calculated without the London weighting increase. Annex U sets the dog handler’s allowance at £2,946 annually for caring for a police dog at home on rest days and public holidays, plus 50% for each additional dog.

The replacement Annex DA takes effect on 1 July 2026.GOV A voluntary-retirement compensation payment remains discretionaryGOV: ordinarily the officer needs two years’ service, must lack Full Pensionable Service as defined in the determinationGOV, and must leave on terms the pension authority has approvedGOV. The authority may waive or reduce the two-year requirement.GOV

Eligibility for the compensation lump sum is restricted by unresolved misconduct allegationsGOV, a notified second-stage performance meeting not yet heldGOV, and specified adverse conduct or performance findings in the preceding 12 months that have not been overturned on appeal by the relevant dateGOV. The pension authority determines that relevant date for applying voluntary-retirement terms. Annex DA preserves exceptions for certain later favourable findings, with the authority’s decision due within 30 days of the hearing or relevant appeal, and discretion in specified misconduct cases that do not involve gross misconduct. These restrictions require an individual assessment, rather than treating voluntary retirement as an automatic entitlement.

The determinations are made under regulations 24, 34 and 14A respectively of the Police Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/527).