Police officers will take action short of a strike from Friday in part of an ongoing dispute over pay.

The Scottish Police Federation has asked for an uplift of 5.7% for 2024-25, but no formal offer has been made by Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Government.

A 7% wage rise was agreed last year following a lengthy dispute, which came after an initial claim of 8.5% was repeatedly rejected.

Police officers are forbidden by law from striking, but the SPF has said that all federated staff will withdraw their goodwill from Friday.


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That means they will 'work to rule', meaning starting and finishing shifts at their rostered time, and not taking things like PPE home with them regardless of where they're next on shift.

The SPF says such things, as well as taking radios home to charge, amount to "free policing hours" and are taken for granted by the force.

David Kennedy, the general secretary of the SPF said earlier this month: "The Chief Constable, the SPA and the Scottish Government have let the service down.

“We are the backbone of the public sector. We pick up everything else that others don’t do, and we continue to do so.

"What is keeping the police service afloat isn’t policy or procedure. What’s keeping it afloat are the people who work for the service – the cops – yet they’re being treated with total contempt.

“We demand to be treated fairly, and to be treated with the respect that our members who are hard-working police officers deserve."