Working away from your usual place of duty

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?

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 also claim travel expenses.

When calculating any allowance, it has been common practice for police forces to deduct the commuting distance between home and work from the total mileage claimed for work related duties. As of 1 June 2020, this method of calculation ceased and there will be no deduction for commuting distance, save where the journey is substantially the same as the daily commute and the distance travelled is less than 10 miles longer in any one direction. In such cases you can only claim for the extra mileage travelled to the new location.

Under the workforce agreement made between the chief officer and the Police Federation, it clearly defines that travel time is to be included as working time when travelling on the chief officer’s 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.

In respect of officers finishing early or starting late from their scheduled tour of duty this does occur as the LPU do not want to pay out over-time for travelling to and from work, but the regulation does state “time spent in travel outside of rostered duty hours” which does suggest that officers are expected to work their rostered shift and anything additional having been added to the working time would be overtime.

REGULATION 22 ANNEX E REFERS

Duty 22. - (1) The Secretary of State shall determine –

(e) The circumstances in which travelling time may be treated as duty

(3) In making a determination under paragraph (1)(e) the Secretary of State may –

(a) Confer on the chief officer discretion to fix a limit on the travelling time which is to be treated as duty.