Allowances & Expenses

For full details and current rates see Regulation 34 Annex U, or contact the Gloucestershire Federation Branch.

Refreshment Breaks

Your right to a refreshment break is contained within Police Regulation 22 Annex E. This states that where an officer is on duty for a continuous period of 5 hours or more, they are entitled to a refreshment break, as far as exigencies of duty permit.

Exigencies of service are a pressing need or requirement which cannot be reasonably avoided. However, this does not mean that refreshment breaks can be abused or ignored.

Police Officers are paid for their refreshment break as they are required to remain available to return to duty. Regulations offer little protection when refreshment breaks are not taken or interrupted so we must rely on other legislation to assist, such as Working Time Regulations, as shown below.

Breaches of the Working Time Regulations can be dealt with by an Employment Tribunal or complaint to the Health and Safety Executive who can issue the Force with an improvement notice, or even prosecute the Force if the situation is not improved.

Expenses - Food & Accommodation

Officers should review the 'Claiming Expenses or food & accommodation Policy on the Force Intranet for further information regarding financial claims. 

Members who are prevented in the course of a tour of duty or shift from obtaining a meal in their usual way will be reimbursed the difference between the meal obtained and the meal they would usually take in the course of that tour. It is expected that Officers will refresh/take meals by their usual method without making a claim if it is reasonable to do so.

Members retained on duty beyond their normal daily period of duty or shift will be reimbursed the cost of any meal necessarily obtained. Members will be reimbursed accommodation expenses necessarily incurred in connection with duty away from their usual place of duty or because of being retained on duty beyond their normal daily period of duty or shift.

To be entitled to claim, the claimant must:

1. Have been prevented from taking their meal/refreshment in the usual way, or have been retained on duty beyond their normal tour of duty
2. Have incurred additional cost

In relation to Point 1 above, members must be retained on duty for more than 2 hours in order to claim.

In all cases receipts should normally be presented, and the expenditure must be reasonable. The claim is required to be supported by an itemised receipt, and where VAT has been charged, an itemised VAT receipt is required. Visa/Credit/Debit card receipts are not acceptable.

Advance to cover expenses

Members may request an advance to cover probable duty expenses incurred when working away from their normal place of duty.

Motor Vehicle Allowances

Motor vehicle allowances for members using their own vehicles for duty are payable at “Essential User” or “Casual User” rates according to the member’s designation. Rates are adjusted annually. See PNB circulars for current rates.

Relevant Travelling Expenses

Members may be reimbursed relevant travelling expenses if required to perform the normal daily period of duty in more than one tour of duty, or recalled to duty between two tours of duty. Expenses shall be reimbursed to extent that they do not exceed such reasonable limit as the Chief Officer may fix.

Mileage Claims

When calculating any allowance, it was 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 will cease 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 ten miles longer in any one direction.

For a Temporary Posting, the member is eligible to claim for a period of 3 months from the date of posting.

Dog Handlers’ Allowances

A dog handler’s allowance – designed to compensate for caring for a dog on rest days and public holidays – is payable where a police dog is kept and cared for at the member’s home.

A further 25 per cent of the allowance is paid for each additional police dog kept at home.

The annual rate of this allowance is, with effect from 1 September 2020, £2,400 (Annex U: (amendment) Regulation 34, Police Regulations 2003)

Bonus Payments

Bonus payments, of between £50 and £2000, are payable where the Chief Officer judges a piece of work by a member to be of an outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important nature.

Teams can now be subject to a bonus between £50 and £100 if the same criteria as the individual bonus is reached.

Reimbursement of Medical Charges

Reimbursement is available for NHS medical or dental charges incurred because of an injury received in the execution of duty without default on the part of the member.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) - Prescriptions

You can get a HRT prescription prepayment certificate (HRT PPC) from the NHS if you have been prescribed an eligible hormone therapy (HRT) medicine. Further details can be found via the Gov.UK website; HRT PPC Link