Police officers are considering a rare mass march in the runup to the royal wedding to protest against job losses, rising pension contributions and the prospect of widespread pay cuts.

Police anger towards the government has intensified following the publication of a wide-ranging report that recommends that at least four out of 10 police officers take a pay cut of up to £4,000.

In his review, former rail regulator Tom Winsor said the maximum pay cut would be between £3,000 and £4,000 a year, while the maximum gain would be between £1,500 and £2,000.

The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, has accused the government of bullying over pay because officers cannot strike.

It said officers faced "cataclysmic" cuts of up to 25% in their spending power as a result of the Winsor review, as well as the two-year pay freeze and a rise in pension contributions.

The chairman of the federation, Paul McKeever, said officers were "very upset" at their "unfair treatment" and were exploring all options to challenge the cuts. He said he could not rule out judicial action.

"This is a major, major turning point for policing in this country," he said. "Nothing is out of bounds at this time."

McKeever said officers would take whatever action they could to curb "rock-bottom morale", adding that a police march in the buildup to the royal wedding was one possibility.

"There is a lot of anger, disillusionment and sagging morale for officers," he said. "They do not know why they are being singled out."

Although Winsor noted in his report that police officers are "comparatively" well remunerated for their jobs, he said the system needed to be reformed to recognise the "hardest jobs done in the most demanding circumstances".

He recommended that skilled police officers be paid up to £2,000 more, and said a new expertise and professional accreditation allowance of £1,200 would be introduced for most detectives, firearms, public order and neighbourhood policing teams.

Those in middle- and back-office roles, meanwhile, may lose up to £3,000 a year in allowances.

Other key recommendations included the suspension of bonuses for all chief officers and superintendents and the scrapping of the £1,212 competence-related threshold payment and "discredited" special priority payments of up to £5,000.

The 323-page report aims to save £60m in the annual overtime budget, leading to a total saving of £485m over three years and resulting in £635m being reinvested in frontline policing.

The review found that police pay was 10%-15% higher than that of other emergency workers and the armed forces – and up to 60% higher than the average local earnings in regions such as Wales and the north-east.

Winsor also reported that only 57% of officers regularly work unsocial hours.

"In short, some skilled police officers working unsocial shifts in response roles will receive up to approximately £2,000 more in cash terms per year than at present, whereas those in what are sometimes called middle- and back-office roles will not receive any additional pay and may experience a reduction of up to £3,000 in their allowances," said Winsor.

Those working between 8pm and 6am should get an extra 10% on their basic hourly pay, he said.

Winsor added: "These recommendations will allow the police to provide a more efficient, economical and effective service to the public while providing officers and staff with a fairer deal.

"People should be paid for what they do and how well they do it and the service needs modern management tools to operate with the greatest efficiency and economy in a time of considerable national financial pressure and restraint."

Winsor also found there was no need to introduce a power to bring in compulsory redundancy for police officers.

The chief constable of Manchester, Peter Fahy – a spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said the review would "lay lasting foundations for the police service".

He added: "There are hugely difficult decisions to be taken in forces across the country but the majority of the police service are realistic that sacrifices will have to be made."

The report came as the association claimed that 28,000 jobs would be lost in forces across England and Wales under the government's budget cuts.

Last week, the home secretary, Theresa May, warned that reductions in officers' take-home pay were "unavoidable" amid efforts to minimise frontline job losses.

The Acpo estimate of a loss of 12,000 officers and of 16,000 civilian staff, made in a confidential memo for ministers and published in the Guardian, is fewer than the 40,000 officers' jobs the Police Federation originally feared would be at risk.

But the projection could change after the Winsor report and the review of public sector pensions on Thursday.

About 244,000 people are employed by the 43 police forces across England and Wales, including 143,000 officers and 101,000 civilians.

The projected cuts represent a fall of about 12% in overall staff numbers over four years, an 8% cut in officer numbers with one in six civilian staff losing their jobs, Acpo said.

The estimate is based on the actual cuts decided by the majority of police authorities, along with projections to cover those that have not yet settled on a final figure.

Police budgets will be cut by 20% over the next four years, but the impact on each force will come down to how reliant they are on government money, with urban areas being hit the hardest.

Key findings and recommendations

• A reduction in the police budget of £1.1bn over the next three years, saving the taxpayer £485m and allowing £635m to be reinvested in frontline policing

• 40% of officers would face a pay cut of between £3,000 and £4,000

• Skilled police officers would get a pay rise of between £1,500 to £2,000

• All chief officer and superintendent bonuses should be suspended and £1,212 competence-related threshold payments should be scrapped, along with "discredited" special priority payments of up to £5,000

• A new expertise and professional accreditation allowance of £1,200 should be introduced for most detectives, firearms, public order and neighbourhood policing teams.

• Those working between 8pm and 6am would get an extra 10% on their basic hourly pay

• Police are "comparatively well paid", earning 10%-15% more than some other emergency workers and up to 60% more than the average local earnings in regions such as Wales and the north-east

• Police forces should be able to offer voluntary redundancy payments, but there is no need to introduce a power to bring in compulsory redundancy for officers