The pay cut you’ve heard about is the so-called ‘X Factor’ reduction, one of the proposals put forward by Sir Tom Winsor in his review of police pay and conditions. The proposed pay reduction would apply to officers who were not ‘fully deployable’ and whose ‘limited duties’ status would adversely impact on Force resilience, with certain exemptions such as officers injured whilst carrying out policing duties. As ever, the devil is in the detail – no one can agree on how deployability and Force resilience should be tested, and in any case there is considerable resistance to implementing what has already proved to be an unpopular and controversial measure. The DPA has campaigned against X Factor since its proposal, as we believe it to be fundamentally unfair.

The good news is that no one’s pay will be cut in the near future – the advice from the Federation is for officers subject to a pay reduction of this nature to seek legal advice on their position.

Disability Confident is the Government’s positive action scheme to encourage employers to recruit, retain and develop disabled staff. Membership of the scheme is voluntary – employers who sign up and meet the criteria can display the Disability Confident logo.

As of 2022, most police forces have joined the scheme, with the majority being at Level 2 (Disability Confident Employer) and an increasing number achieving Level 3 (Disability Confident Leader) status. Check with your local Diversity & Inclusion team to confirm whether your Force is accredited.

The Disability Confident gov.uk webpages include a list of employers participating in the scheme.

If you are considering joining as a police officer, the good news is that you are not expected to have a perfect bill of health. The police service does not place a blanket exclusion on certain disabilities/conditions – the Equality Act 2010 (superseding the Disability Discrimination Act) requires that each medical issue should be considered on its merits. That said, a disability or condition that prevents a candidate from undertaking a significant part of the role of police officer is unlikely to be accepted.

We recommend getting in touch with the Recruitment Department of the Force you’re interested in joining to discuss your particular disability/condition. Bear in mind that different Forces may interpret the guidelines differently – some Forces may accept medical conditions that others reject.

The following Government webpage may be useful:
National recruitment standards – medical standards for police recruitment

There are also many opportunities for joining as a member of police staff, which includes uniform roles such as Police Community Support Officers and Crime Scene Investigators. Most police forces are accredited under the Disability Confident scheme, which means that they actively encourage applications from the disabled community and support career progression for disabled members of staff. Look for the Disability Confident logo on the Force’s website.