Detective Sergeant Salary
The short answer
A detective sergeant outside London takes home £37,788 to £39,608 a year — £3,149.03 to £3,300.69 a month — after income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions.
Detective Sergeant Pay Scale (basic, outside London)
| Pay Point | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Pay Point 2 (entry) | £55,443 | £4,620.25 |
| Pay Point 3 | £56,573 | £4,714.42 |
| Pay Point 4 (top) | £58,175 | £4,847.92 |
Take-Home Pay After Tax, NI and Pension
| Pay Point | Gross | Pension | Tax | NI | Net | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay Point 2 (entry) | £55,443 | £7,452 | £7,084 | £3,119 | £37,788 | £3,149.03 |
| Pay Point 3 | £56,573 | £7,603 | £7,280 | £3,141 | £38,548 | £3,212.35 |
| Pay Point 4 (top) | £58,175 | £7,819 | £7,575 | £3,174 | £39,608 | £3,300.69 |
Detective Sergeant pay is the ordinary sergeant scale — the role does not attract a separate rate. Figures are outside London on the standard tax code, with no overtime and no student loan.
Check your own figure
A detective sergeant is paid on the ordinary sergeant scale. The detective role does not carry a separate rate, and moving into it does not change an officer's pay point.
The sergeant scale starts at pay point 2 rather than 1 — there is no pay point 1 — which regularly confuses officers comparing payslips after promotion. It runs to pay point 4, so most DSs reach the top within two years.
Sergeants remain eligible for overtime, which matters more than the scale suggests. Overtime is not pensionable, so no contribution is taken from it, but the whole amount is exposed to income tax and National Insurance. For a DS whose basic pay sits below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, the first slice of overtime is worth noticeably more after deductions than the slices that follow it.