Why work for us
Between us, we’re all the difference. Between us, we are Sussex Police.
Even though we’re one of many regional forces, there’s only one Sussex Police. So, our commitment to our people goes beyond providing jobs; we want to foster long-lasting careers and nurture you with support, opportunities and a truly inclusive work environment.
We do more than others might expect. We prevent crime, lead successful operations and complex investigations, make arrests, and go the extra mile to keep our local communities safe. From patrolling neighbourhoods and responding to emergencies to conducting criminal investigations and community policing, we have specialist teams, roles, and skillsets dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of the people we serve.
We’re a force for good, united in our purpose to protect Sussex and we’re the change we want to see in our community. Across our variety of roles, we have built a community that thrives together because being part of Sussex Police is more than a place to work; it’s a place to belong.
How we work together and interact with the public and stakeholders is unique, and as well as being a differentiator for us as a force, it’s a further source of pride for us, and we’re confident it will be for you, too.
Come and join us and find out.
We carry the public service ethos. We want to make a difference in the county and our communities. We understand the good we can do individually and collectively. We understand our responsibilities and fulfil them in our actions.
It’s not about the uniform for us – it’s about the person inside it. We have a strong and robust sense of team.
We embrace tolerance, trust, empathy, openness, patience and teamwork, but we know we can always do more to maintain our safe, open and welcoming culture.
We’re committed to creating a fairer, more inclusive, more diverse and more equitable workplace where all our people and our county can thrive.
Sussex Police are wholly committed to building an anti-racist police service by creating equality of opportunity and preventing inequality of protection.
Being anti-racist means that we are proactively challenging racism and actively changing the policies, behaviours and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions at an individual and organisational level.
We promise to challenge injustice, ensure fairness and to uphold anti-racist principles, within our organisation and communities. We pledge to act with courage, take responsibility for our actions and have a zero-tolerance approach to racism. Read our full anti-racism statement.
Salary – Specific salary information for roles you are interested in can be found on individual adverts. Each role has a linked salary scale meaning your salary could increase up to two times a year, once with any agreed increases to the scale and secondly as you move up the pay scale, in recognition of skills and experience. Aside from the base pay for a role, enhanced pay for working unsocial hours, overtime or on public (bank) holidays may also apply.
Pensions – When you start you’ll automatically join either the police staff or police officer pension scheme*, which are career average revalued earnings schemes. Both your pension contributions and those made by Sussex Police (which are higher than the minimum employers have to make) will build up your pension during your career into a guaranteed pension with an optional lump sum.
(*unless you are a transferring officer where different pension eligibility may apply)
Everyday spend and housing benefits- In addition to a variety of offers available, including the Blue Light discount card and keyworker housing schemes, we offer workforce benefits which include money saving offers on everyday essentials, for example, discounted top-up cards for popular supermarkets, train and bus discounts, and cheaper gym membership and mobile phone rates.
As a fast-moving, dynamic force there is plenty of opportunity to move roles and progress. We offer a range of development opportunities as well as the training, mentoring and coaching support you need for the role you undertake. Additional resources are also in place to support leadership development including the funding and achievement of additional qualifications where required.
Flexible working – Policing is 24/7 however we know you have commitments outside work. We’re invested in supporting people in balancing their life with work.
Leave – annual leave allowance varies according to role; minimum of 30 days for police officers and 32 days for police staff (both figures include the average of eight paid public (bank) holidays per annum). A variety of paid leave types are also available to help with unexpected situations, for example, emergency dependents leave. There are also options for taking extended periods of unpaid leave.
Health and wellbeing –
we have a variety of services in place covering health, financial and mental wellbeing, including guidance and support, an employee assistance programme, financial support for unexpected bills and for reducing borrowing costs, a discounted contributory healthcare scheme and awareness and development days.
We have on-site gyms and a range of sports clubs for you to join, all of which aim to promote health, friendship and fun. We also encourage our people to work together in network groups which challenge and ensure Sussex Police is always be seeking to improve what it offers to people who work here. An example of this is the Parenting portal, created by the Parenting Group, which is accessible from any device and designed to help parents stay in touch whilst away from work on parenting leave types; it can be accessed here.
These networks include:
- Sussex Police Race Equality Network
- Evolve (Gender Equality Network)
- Enable (Disability and Carers Association)
- Sussex Police LGBT Network
- Sussex Police Interfaith Forum
- Sussex Police Christian Fellowship
- Police Federation
- Unison