Deal that will put £500 in the pockets of the lowest paid workers has been recommended for approval by unions

A recommended pay deal for police staff members would see the lowest paid receive an additional £500 in their pockets before the end of the year, Unison has said.

The deal, which is currently out to consultation with members, would see all police staff who earn at or below £21,000 per year receive a one-off, non –pensionable payment of £250 backdated to September 1 2011.

¬We do hope, all things being equal, to be able to communicate that result with members by close of play on Friday if we can.¬

Additionally, the same police staff would receive a £250 basic pay, consolidated increase on their salary as of the beginning of September this year.

Police forces which use the Police Staff Council (PSC) salary scale would see all employees up to the salary point of £20,484 receive the wage increase. Where forces have used local salary points, the increase would apply up to the £21,000 threshold.

Unison’s own ballot to its members is set to close at noon on Friday August 3. It has recommended members to accept the deal alongside the Unite union and GMB following “lengthy negotiations”. The offer was negotiated by the PSC Trade Union Side, made up of several unions, after they rejected a previous offer made by government.

A Unison statement said: “Government cuts to police budgets have clearly played a significant role in limiting the employers’ negotiating position.

“Negotiations have also been severely constrained by the government’s public sector pay policy which has frozen pay rises for most public sector workers in the two years covered by this offer.

“Members will be aware that this Coalition Government policy, which has been followed by the police employers, limits pay rises to a modest £250 for public sector workers earning up to £21,000 and denies workers earning over this figure any pay rise at all.

“Our original claim for both 2011 and 2012 was for an award of £250 for all police staff regardless of salary.”

The lowest police staff salary on the PSC scale is currently £14,529 but this would rise if the offer is accepted.

Concerning the one-off 2011 payment, part-time police staff with an equivalent salary of £21,000 or less would be set to receive a pro-rata payment based on the number of hours worked per week.

If the deal is approved, the extra money is likely to arrive in members’ bank accounts in September or October, Unison said.

Local branches are currently asking members to vote on the offer – and votes will be counted nationally after the close of the ballot. In the unlikely result of a rejection, the unions would seek to deal with internal disagreements.

Police Lead for Unison Ben Priestley said: “We do hope, all things being equal, to be able to communicate that result with members by close of play on August 3 if we can.”