Police superintendent salary 2026/27

Pay points

Pension contributions come out before tax, which brings many superintendents back under £100,000 for tax purposes. Above that, you lose £1 of personal allowance for every £2 of income, an effective 60% tax rate. See our guide to the 60% tax trap.

What a superintendent takes home

A superintendent on the first pay point is on £87,123 and takes home about £4,471 a month after tax, National Insurance and pension. On the top point, £102,480, take-home is about £5,104 a month. A chief superintendent at the top of the scale is on £119,838 and takes home about £5,773 a month. The extra take-home from each step is smaller than the extra salary, because earnings above the higher-rate threshold are taxed at 40%, plus the pension contribution, and above £100,000 you start losing your personal allowance.

Superintendents receive no overtime, but they are eligible for the on-call allowance, which was extended to superintending ranks in April 2020 and is worth £35 a day since September 2025. Many superintendents are on call regularly, so it is worth tracking on your payslip. They are represented by the Police Superintendents’ Association.

How promotion to superintendent works

Superintendent promotion is run by each force. A typical process is an application against the Competency and Values Framework followed by an assessment and interview; South Yorkshire, for example, ran its superintendent promotion process in September 2026 with a written application form asking candidates what they see as the differences between their current role and that of a superintendent. The College of Policing profile says a superintendent will typically have operational experience at inspector or chief inspector level.

There is also a Fast Track route from inspector to superintendent. It involves a national application form, an in-force sift and selection, and attendance at a national assessment centre, and participating forces offer a development programme and promotion mechanism that advances participants to superintendent within two years. Forces confirm individual places.

Beyond chief superintendent

Ranks above chief superintendent and below chief constable, assistant and deputy chief constable among them, require candidates to have completed the Senior Police National Assessment Centre and the Strategic Command Course. Pay moves onto a different framework. An assistant chief constable post at Norfolk was advertised in early 2026 at £120,489 to £135,756, with a car or car allowance on top. See inspector salary for the ranks below, and the 60% tax trap for how to manage the personal allowance taper.