This paragraph applies to a period of absence from duty of 3 or more days, where at least one of the days is a day of annual leave and the other days, if not days of annual leave, are rostered rest days, days taken in lieu of overtime, public holidays (or days taken off in lieu thereof), or any combination thereof.
Recalled for 1 day or 2 days an additional 2 days annual leave for each day recalled or 1 days annual leave & 1 days pay at double time, for each day.
Recalled for 3 days or more As above for the first two days then 1 ½ days annual leave or 1-day annual leave & half days pay at double time in lieu of each such day recalled thereafter.
Regulation 33 covers the above. Annex 0, Paragraph 5(a) of Police Regulations and Determinations 2003, which goes on to say under Paragraph 5(b).

Q2 I had to remain at work at the end of my shift what can I claim?

A If you work overtime after hours on your scheduled tour of duty, and you were not informed of the overtime prior to the commencement of this tour of duty, it is classed as unplanned, 'casual' overtime and you cannot claim overtime for the first 30 minutes worked.

For example, if your tour of duty is 07:00 - 15:00, you cannot claim overtime until 15:30. Any overtime you claim after that is at time and a third, for payment or time off.

If you work unplanned overtime on 4 occasions during the same week, the first day of the week being Monday, then on the 5th and any other occasion in which you may have to work overtime you no longer lose the first half hour for the rest of that week.

If you were asked to work overtime prior to the commencement of your tour of duty this is planned, 'rostered', overtime and you do not lose the first half an hour when calculating how much time you have worked over.

Q3 I had to remain at work at the end of my shift after nights going onto a rest day what can I claim?

A If you are required to work over following a night shift and this is going into your rest day, you are entitled to claim up to 1 hour overtime at time & a half. After that hour if you still have to remain on duty you will get a minimum of 4 hours at time & a half even if the period of overtime is less than 4 hours. You do not lose the 1st half an hour.

Q4 What can I claim for working on a rest day?

A A member of a police force of the rank of constable or sergeant shall, if required to do duty on a day, which is a rostered rest day, and they received less than 15 days notice of the requirement to work, they are entitled to payment or time off (officers choice) at the rate of time and a half. Please note when working out the day’s notice you do not count the day you were asked/notified or the day you are to work. This also applies to part time working officers.

Q5 What can I claim for working on a bank holiday?

A Working on a bank holiday officers of the rank of constable or sergeant, will always be paid at the rate of DOUBLE TIME, whether for payment or time off. This also applies to part time working officers.

When a bank holiday falls on a rest day, the bank holiday always take precedence, the rest day should be re-rostered to another day. The re-rostered day is a rest day and all conditions applying to rest days apply to it. Should the officer then be required to work on the bank holiday he/she would get paid or have time off at the rate of double time, (officers choice).

If an officer is informed that he/she is required to work on a bank holiday with less than 8 days notice, then in addition to getting paid double time for the bank holiday (or time off) he/she would also be entitled to another day off which shall be notified to him/her within 4 days of notification of the requirement and which shall be treated for the purpose of this regulation as a bank holiday.

Q6 I was told I had to start my shift earlier than scheduled, what can I claim?

A Where the time at which an officer is due to commence a rostered tour of duty is brought forward without due notice (less than 8 hours) so that they are required to commence duty on a day in which they have already completed their normal period of duty. The time for which they are on duty before the rostered commencement time shall be reckonable as overtime and also taken into account as part of that tour of duty. The force day commences at 06:00 hours but is dependent on your role, with LPT and VIT having at start time of 07:00 hours.

If you are given more than 8 hours notice of the duty change then your working day merely starts at the new time. If the time you are brought on at is before the start of the force day for your role. following a rest day then you will be eligible to claim rest day over time (minimum 4 hours).

Q7 I am being asked to change my duties at short notice, can they do that?

A The Chief Officer shall cause to be published duty rosters for members of his/her force after full consultation with the Branch Council at intervals not exceeding 12 months and not later than 1 month before the date in which it starts. Each roster will set out for at least 3 months the following:

His/her rest days
Public Holidays in which he/she may be required to do duty on
The time at which his/her scheduled daily period of duty begins & end
For part time members his/her free days
Intervals of at least 11 hours between the end and the beginning of the next shift
An interval between rostered rest days not exceeding 7 days

Where alterations are made to an annual duty roster after its publication these changes must arise from the exigencies of duty (unless they are made at the officer’s own request or have otherwise been agreed with the Branch Council).

The term exigencies of duty, should be interpreted as relating to situations where a pressing demand, need or requirement is perceived that is not reasonably avoidable and necessitates a change of roster. In this context the word, pressing, relates to the expected situation at the time when the duty is to be performed rather than the time when the duty roster is changed, ie the reasons for a change may be known many months in advance but still be pressing.

Changes to rosters should only be made after full consideration of welfare, operational and practical circumstances rather than purely on financial grounds. Because rosters are produced annually a number of unforeseen reasons for changes may subsequently arise. It is clearly not possible to produce an exhaustive list of all of the potential reasons, which may necessitate changes. However, by way of example, unforeseen public order situations, court attendance and essential training would justify changes to rostered duties. An officer should be told as soon as the requirement for the change is known.

Q8 My rest day was cancelled for an operational reason, I am now no longer required to work on that day as they have scaled the operation down, what am I entitled to?

A When an officers rest day is cancelled in anticipation of an operational need for which in any event he/she is not required to attend for duty:

Where the officer is told with more than 7 days (and less than 15 days) notice that he/she will not after all be required to work on his/her rest day, he/she will take the rest day with no compensation.
Where the officer is given less than 8 days notice he/she can choose between taking the rest day with no compensation or working on the rest day with compensation in accordance with police regulations.

Q9 What travelling time can I claim when working on a rest day?

A Where an officer is required to duty on a public holiday or on a rostered rest day his/her period of duty shall include the time occupied by him/her travelling to & from his/her place of duty. This will be disregarded where the period of duty exceeds 6 hours.

Travelling expenses may also be claimed, for the journey, this ceases when there is no travel time included in the overtime.

Q10 I was recalled to duty from home, what can I claim?

A Travel time between home and your usual place of duty is generally not duty time.

Such travel time shall only be treated as a period of duty when you are:

Required to perform your normal daily period of duty in more than one tour (Split Duty) or recalled to work between two tours of duty and you travel to and from your home between tours.
In calculating any period of overtime in respect of being recalled between two tours of duty, an officer can only claim for the time worked plus travelling time (1 hour).
The minimum of 4 hours pay for a recall to duty has been abolished.

Q11 My son's school was unexpectedly closed for the day & he was sent home, I couldn’t arrange childcare, do I have to use annual leave or time out of the book to care for him?

A A police officer may take time off because of the unexpected disruption or termination of arrangements for the care of a dependant, or to deal with an incident which involves a child of the member and which occurs unexpectedly in a period during which an educational establishment, which the child attends, is responsible for him/her.

Leave taken as time off for dependants shall be treated as duty, but does not apply unless the member tells his/her chief officer the reason for his/her absence as soon as reasonably practicable. Best practice would be to inform a line supervisor of your circumstances ASAP after you become aware of it.

A “dependant” means, in relation to a member of a police force:

a) a spouse
b) a child
c) a parent
d) a person who lives in the same household as the member, otherwise than by reason of being his employee, tenant, lodger or boarder

This also covers when a dependant falls ill, gives birth or is injured or assaulted or in consequence of the death of a dependant.

Q12 What will I get paid if I work after 8pm?

A Officers from the rank of constable to chief inspector will receive an additional 10 per cent of their basic pay for all hours worked between 8:00pm and 6:00am, including overtime.

This payment is not pensionable and should be paid for each full hour actually worked. Where overtime is worked between 8:00pm and 6:00pm, the rate of the allowance is still 10 per cent of basic pay, not 10 per cent of the overtime rate. The allowance is paid in full in respect of each full hour worked – the 'Queen's half hour' is not excluded.

Q13 What will I get paid if I have to work away from home?

A 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 he or she is serving away from his or her 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 he or she is serving away from his or her 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 overtime and travelling time.

Q14 As part of my role, I’m being required to work away from my normal parade station. Can the force do this on a regular basis and what are my rights?

A Yes the force can require you to work away from your normal place of duty.

Under regulation 22 police regulations & determinations when you are working at a place other than your normal parade station then travel time has to be included into the working time. You can claim travel expenses for any excess of travel beyond your normal parade station.

Under the workforce agreement made between the Chief Officer and police federation. It clearly defines that travel time is to be included as working time when travelling on the Chief Officers instruction between home and place of duty, not being the member’s usual place of duty, at any time other than the rostered starting or finishing time for the day which also complies with police regulations & determinations.

Q15 I was kept on duty and worked into a day that was scheduled for annual leave what can I claim?

A Working into annual leave is not contained in either Reg 25 (overtime) or Reg 26 (PHL/Rest Day) of police regulation & determinations, so it is not classified as overtime. Regulation 33 (Annex OO) does state that it is compensation for being recalled to duty. It is also applicable for officers required to work on an Annual Leave day as well, therefore covering the retained on duty scenario. The rates that can be claimed in compensation are available on the Regulations - Annual Leave page and depend on the individual circumstances.

Once the recall from annual leave has been compensated, the day reverts to whatever the rostered duty was (eg 07:00-16:00, 10:00-18:00, Rest Day) that was booked off. At this point, Reg 25 & 26 come into play and any overtime that would normally be payable is payable.

Q16 What am I entitled to if I volunteer to work on a rest day / public holiday?

A If a member requests to work on a rostered rest day or public holiday the day shall be treated as a normal duty day and the member will be granted another day off in lieu, which shall be treated as a rest day or public holiday (as appropriate).

However, Home Office Circular 39/1985 states that responding to a management request for volunteers should not be treated as a request by the officer concerned to perform duty on the day in question. Therefore, in these circumstances the normal compensation arrangements for rest day or public holiday working will apply.

Diary

December 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

Diary

X

Facebook

Reps

Discounts

Frequently Asked Questions

Hot topics

Diary

X

Facebook

Reps

Discounts