2. Pay and benefits

Policing London is a genuinely rewarding experience – not just for the satisfaction you get from helping make the capital safer for everybody, but for the pay and benefits you’ll receive too.

Your starting salary will be calculated based on your current reward package. All officers in the Met receive additional allowances on top of the national pay scale to reflect the London working location. These allowances currently stand at £2,373 per annum pensionable London Weighting Allowance and £1,011 per annum non-pensionable London Allowance.

You may qualify for a rent or housing allowance depending on your current terms and conditions. If you are not entitled to rent or housing allowance, you will receive an additional amount of £3,327 for non-pensionable London Allowance.

We know that the salary package on offer will be important for you to understand, so please do contact us if it's helpful to talk through your current situation.

Transferring officers who have been in service since December 2013 will have access to the Association of Train Operating Companies Scheme (ATOC), which will allow travel within 70 miles of London using National Rail and TfL.

For those who transfer having joined as a police officer from January 2014 onwards, you will have access to the Rail Delivery Group Scheme (RDG), which will allow travel within 35 miles of London using National Rail and TfL.

Both of these schemes allow unlimited travel for business and private use, for a small monthly payment. Each scheme runs from April each year, with this year's full payment being £813.29 deducted from your monthly salary in twelve instalments. If you join part way through the year, you can expect to pay a proportion of the annual payment in your first year.

In addition, you'll have access to a wide range of discounts and special deals with major high street stores, retail outlets and other organisations nationwide. Many of our Met buildings have subsidised staff restaurants, so this facility may be available to you depending on where you're normally based.

You can expect to have between 25 and 30 days of paid holiday each year, depending on your length of service. This is in addition to public holidays, and an average of two rest days per week.

We make provision for a number of other forms of leave, including:

  • Maternity, paternity and adoption leave
  • Special leave with and without pay
  • Carers leave
  • Parental leave
  • Career breaks of up to five years

Flexible working can be applied for during the transferee application process. However you must have had 26 continuous weeks of employment in policing. Each case is looked at individually and on its own merits. We will consider all requests and will try to accommodate them provided they fit with the operational demands of the BCU and wider organisation. We expect you to be flexible and we strive to be a flexible employer. This does mean that you can't suddenly stop and go home in the middle of a suspect interview or while taking a victim statement just because you're scheduled shift has ended. The good news is that you'll be advised of your shifts in advance of joining and so can plan your work-life balance accordingly.

Metfriendly offers a number of financial services for Met employees, including:

  • Savings products
  • Investment products
  • Protection products

There are options available to those looking to relocate to London. To understand details of the SharetoBuy scheme, visit their website.

We offer a contributory health scheme to our officers, along with other benefits such as free eye tests and spectacles for those who are regular computer users.

We pride ourselves on being a caring employer, and provide a range of support initiatives to help with both your personal welfare and that of your family:

  • Support for employees with caring responsibilities, such as flexible working arrangements
  • Occupational health and welfare counselling, ranging from psychotherapy to financial guidance
  • Resettlement and outplacement support and services
  • A subsidised convalescence home
  • Holiday play schemes to help with childcare
  • A range of development and mentoring schemes
  • Membership of the Police Federation and Staff Associations to support and represent your needs

We offer our employees, as well as their family and friends, a range of subsidised leisure and sporting activities / opportunities.