Allowances

What do I get paid if I have to work away from home?

Changes to the arrangements for officers serving away from their normal place of duty - including on ‘mutual aid’ in another force area:

• These changes apply to those officers who are deployed away from their normal place of duty whether in or out of force a new ‘Away from home overnight’ allowance of £50 will be introduced and will be payable for every night on which an officer is ‘held in reserve’
• An officer is ‘held in reserve’ if they are serving away from their normal place of duty and is required to stay in a particular, specified place rather than being allowed to return home
• An officer is not ‘held in reserve’ if they are serving away from their normal place of duty only by reason of being on a training course or carrying out routine enquiries
• Payment of a new hardship allowance of £30 per night if ‘proper accommodation’ is not provided to an officer who is ‘held in reserve’. The definition of ‘proper accommodation’ is a single occupancy room with use of en suite bathroom facilities
• The Secretary of State’s approval for the existing mutual aid arrangements set out in PNB circulars 86/15, 88/9 and 95/8 (often known as the ‘Hertfordshire agreement’) is withdrawn. Officers on mutual aid should now be paid in accordance with the determinations for the hours they work, including where applicable over-time and travelling time.

I am not working at my normal parade station can I claim for a meal?

If an officer is unable to obtain a meal in their usual manner and, as a result, it costs the officer more money, then the officer can claim the difference between what they normally pay and the cost of the replacement meal.

There is no distinction between an officer being on a scheduled tour of duty or being required to work on a rest day. It all hinges around being able to obtain a meal in their normal manner. If they can’t then they can claim.

So, for example if the officer normally takes sandwiches to work, they are placed in the fridge on arrival at work and then the officer is detained away from the station due to operational requirements and is unable to eat the sandwiches then the officer could obtain a replacement meal.  If the officer usually buys a meal on duty and is prevented from doing so as normal and necessarily incurs extra expense, then that extra expense can be claimed (i.e. the cost of the usual meal subtracted from the one he/she had to buy).

In respect of officers having to remain on duty past their normal daily period of duty, (those officers who have been placed on 12 hours) once the officer goes beyond 2 hours of their normal scheduled tour of duty they are entitled to claim for a meal they then obtain. This must be reasonable and backed by a receipt.

In conclusion, unless the officers can show they were unable to obtain a meal in their normal manner and have deducted the cost of that meal from the replacement meal the claim will fail.