Police Scotland salary and pay scales 2026/27

These scales come from the two-year deal agreed by the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland: 4% from April 2025 plus a 0.4% inflation guarantee top-up, then 3.5% from 1 April 2026. They run to 31 March 2027. Police Scotland is not covered by the September pay award for England and Wales; for those scales see police pay scales.

Constable pay scale from 1 April 2026

Full time, tax code S1257L, 13.7% pension, no student loan, overtime or allowances. Every constable moves to point 1 after a year’s service, then up one point a year, so the top of the scale takes eleven years. In England and Wales it takes six, which matters more than the headline figures suggest (see the comparison below).

Sergeant to chief superintendent

Inspectors and above don’t get paid overtime, so for them the scale is close to the whole of their pay. Above chief superintendent, assistant chief constables earn £164,043 to £174,216, the deputy chief constable £230,580 and the chief constable £281,522.

What a new constable’s first payslip looks like

On £34,001 a year, this is how the deductions fall:

The pension comes off before tax, so Income Tax is worked out on £29,343, not the full salary. National Insurance is charged on the full £34,001, because pension contributions don’t reduce it. If you pay a Police Federation subscription or have a student loan, take those off too.

Scotland or England and Wales: who takes home more?

Police Scotland pays more at the start, and its top constable rate is higher. But the Scottish scale is longer, and Scottish Income Tax takes more once pay passes about £50,600. Year by year, against a constable outside London in England and Wales:

A Scottish constable takes home more for the first 6 years, then less from year 6 to year 9 of service, because an officer in England or Wales reaches the £52,015 top rate after six years while the Scottish scale is still climbing. From year 10 Scotland edges back ahead, and at the top of the scale the gap is £79 a month in Scotland’s favour. Added up over the first ten years, a Scottish constable takes home about £3,300 more.

Promotion tells the same story. A sergeant at the top of the Scottish scale earns £2,861 more than one in England and Wales (£61,036 against £58,175) but takes home £7 a month less. A top-point inspector earns £3,457 more and takes home about the same. The extra salary goes on the 42% Scottish higher rate.

Three things this table leaves out. England and Wales figures are from 1 September 2026 and Scotland’s from 1 April 2026, so each moves at a different point in the year. Progression in England and Wales depends on meeting the pay progression standard. And forces around London add London Weighting or the South East Allowance, which no Scottish post has.

Where the 42% rate starts for an officer

The Scottish higher rate applies to taxable pay above £43,662. Because the pension comes off first, the salary where it starts is about £50,593. On the constable scale, point 8 (£48,940) stays in the 21% band and point 9 (£51,842) is the first where the top slice is taxed at 42%. Every sergeant and inspector pays 42% on part of their pay. The 45% advanced rate starts at a salary of about £86,906, which is every superintendent point.

Overtime lands on top of salary, so for a constable from point 9 upwards, most overtime is taxed at 42% plus 2% National Insurance. Overtime is not pensionable, so no pension comes off it.

Pension: a flat 13.7%

Officers in the Police Pension Scheme (Scotland) 2015 all pay 13.7% of pensionable pay, whatever their rank. In England and Wales the rate is tiered, from 12.88% to 14.22% from April 2026. So a Scottish constable at the start pays a little more than an English one on the same pay, and a superintendent pays a little less. The scheme itself works the same way: a career average pension built up each year and revalued, with a normal pension age of 60. Our police pension calculator shows what you build up; it uses the England and Wales rates, so the contribution line will differ slightly.

Overtime, rest days and public holidays

Constables and sergeants are paid for overtime; inspectors and above are not, except for public holiday working, which was extended to inspecting ranks in the 2025 deal. The main rates:

• Casual overtime: time and a third. For a new constable that is about £21.74 an hour, on a basic hourly rate of £16.30 over a 40-hour week.
• Rest day cancelled with less than 8 days’ notice: double time.
• Rest day cancelled with 8 to 17 days’ notice: time and a half.
• Public holiday working: double time.

With 18 or more days’ notice, you get the rest day back on another date instead of a payment. There is also a £112.05 short-notice rest day working allowance. The police overtime calculator works on England and Wales scales but uses the same multipliers, so you can use it with your own hourly rate.

Allowances from 1 April 2026

The on-call allowance is £43.68 for each day on call, after two 20% rises under the deal. Officers based on some islands get an islands allowance each year:

Others include a dog handler’s allowance of £3,065.78 a year and a plain clothes allowance of £18.50 a month. Allowances are taxable and are added to your pay before tax.

Maternity and adoption pay

From 1 April 2026, officers get 26 weeks on full pay, up from 18. Weeks 21 to 31 can instead be taken at half pay plus half of Statutory Maternity Pay, which stretches the money over a longer leave.

Choosing between Police Scotland and an English force

As a constable, Police Scotland pays more take-home over the first ten years in total, even though an English force outside London pays more in the middle of that stretch. Once you are promoted to sergeant or inspector, the higher Scottish salary is mostly cancelled out by the 42% rate. If you live in Scotland already, you pay Scottish tax whichever force you join, and forces around London change the picture with their allowances. The current deal ends on 31 March 2027, so check for the 2027/28 award before you compare offers.