Members across three unions accept pay offer from government which will see an extra £500 added to their bank accounts

Thousands of police staff have voted to accept a pay deal from the government that will see the lowest paid receive an additional £500 backdated to 2011.

The deal was accepted overwhelmingly by members of the Unison, Unite and GMB unions following separate ballots which closed on Friday August 3.

Unison said 90 per cent of its members who voted gave the deal the thumbs up. Unite, which represents 4,000 police staff, said a “decisive majority” had voted to accept the proposal. Meanwhile the GMB union, which has 2,500 members, said that the vote had ended in a 70 to 30 per cent result in favour of the offer.

However Unison, which represents almost 55 per cent of all police staff with around 40,000 members, said it was still “disappointed” that the offer contained nothing for members earning more than £21,000 a year.

The deal will now see all police staff who earn £21,000 or less per year receive a one-off, non-pensionable payment of £250 backdated to September 1 2011.

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

UNISON National Officer for Police and Justice staff Ben Priestley said the deal was the best available in the circumstances but he was still frustrated at the government’s lack of movement over the issue.

He said: “Although UNISON recommended the offer to police staff, they are being hard hit the government’s pay freeze.

“It is disappointing that the offer contained nothing for our members earning over £21,000.

“Police staff are a vital part of the policing team and many are struggling to cope with rising prices.

“While the £250 for each year is a small relief, the cost of everyday essentials such as food, fuel and energy have gone up hugely over the past two years and that means a significant drop in the standard of living for police staff.

“After such a long wait, we are urging police forces to do the right thing and pay the deal as soon as possible.”

Unison said that it understood the deal would also apply to police staff who had transferred into the employment of private companies from forces. This happened at Lincolnshire Police where hundreds became G4S employees while still working for the force.

The unions had recommended members to accept the deal following “lengthy negotiations” as part of the Police Staff Council’s Trade Union Side.

Coalition government policy for public sector workers had limited the pay rise to a modest £250. It also denied members earning more than £21,000 any increase at all.