Police Federation response to Winsor Calculator
Dear Colleague, ( email dated Fri 18th March)
I would like to draw your attention to the Winsor calculator which shows the effect on an officer's income as a result of his proposed recommendations:
After inputting the required information, many members will find that their pay falls as a result of these changes.
Even for those whose pay appears to rise, it is important to remember that these calculations only show changes to income in cash terms.
Inflation is currently running at 5% and is forecast to be close to this level for at least the next 12 months, so the value of basic pay will fall as a result of the two-year pay freeze which the Government wishes to impose upon us.
These calculations also take no account of the fact that under the Winsor recommendations officers will not move up their pay increments. This means that if an officer is not at the top of his or her pay scale, their pay will actually be lower than it would otherwise have been, despite any increases that result from Mr Winsor's recommendations.
I should also point out, for your information, that while Mr Winsor factors in pension contribution increases, these have yet to be discussed by the Police Negotiating Board, and we have been assured that discussions will take place there before any increases are implemented.
In common with all other employees, though, from April 2011 there will be several changes to the income tax and national insurance regimes. In particular:
" The income tax personal allowance will rise to £7,475, but the salary level at which employees begin to pay the higher rate of income tax (40%) will fall from £37,400 per annum to £35,000 per annum.
" Employee national insurance contribution (NIC) rates will rise from 11% to 12% for those who earn between £139 a week and up to £817 a week and from 1% to 2% for those who earn anything over £817 per week.
I hope that you find this information helpful to understand the true impact of the Winsor recommendations on you take home pay. The PFEW will engage fully on negotiations over these recommendations, but we have no intention of agreeing to any changes which would see a fall in our members' pay and conditions of service. As I have tried to do throughout this process, I will continue to keep you updated on developments.
Regards
Ian Rennie
General Secretary
Police Federation of E&W
Dear Colleagues ( email dated Sat 19th March)
On Friday we became aware of the circulation of an e-mail communication from Tom Winsor to Chief Constables requesting their urgent assistance and co-operation in ensuring that their police officers and staff are properly informed about the likely effects of the implementation of his review of pay and conditions. He asks them to circulate a letter and a ready reckoner that is also available on his review website, which he states officers and staff can use to dispel misleading information about the effects that his proposals will have on police pay.
This resulted in the circulation of my e-mail above, from which it is clearly evident that Tom Winsor is being selective as to the information he wants officers to focus on. This is clearly an attempt to generate support for his proposals by creating uncertainty and division between officers.
It is important that we bring this information to the attention of our members as a matter of urgency and if you have not already done so I would be grateful if you could circulate my e-mail to members in your force.
My personal thanks to those of you that have provided important comments and information to enable us to react quickly to this disappointing strategy of Tom Winsor, whose review in proposing to remove almost £500M from police pay, can now be seen for exactly what it is, a cynical attack on police pay and conditions.
We are grateful for your continued support at this difficult time for policing.
Regards
Ian Rennie
General Secretary
Police Federation of E&W
Dear Colleagues (e mail dated Mon 21st March)
On Friday 18th March 2011, we became aware of the circulation of an e-mail communication from Tom Winsor to Chief Constables requesting their urgent assistance and co-operation in ensuring that their police officers and staff are properly informed about the likely effects of the implementation of his review of pay and conditions. He asked them to circulate a letter and a ready reckoner that is also available on his review website, which he states officers and staff can use to dispel misleading information about the effects that his proposals will have on police pay.
This resulted in my communication above, from which it is clearly evident that Tom Winsor is being selective as to the information he wants officers to focus on and is a blatant attempt to generate support for his proposals by creating uncertainty and division between officers. This is particularly disappointing considering that the Home Secretary has yet to inform the Police Negotiating Board as to which of his proposals she considers should be the subject of negotiation. The adoption of this strategy by Tom Winsor clearly shows that his review, which proposes to remove almost £500M from police pay, can now be seen for exactly what it is, a cynical attack to reduce police pay and conditions.
It is important that you are aware of the full facts and not fooled by this misleading information provided by Winsor.
We are grateful for your continued support during this difficult time for policing.
Regards
Ian Rennie
General Secretary
Police Federation of E&W