I have had to return from Annual Leave to attend court, what can I claim?
Where a member is recalled to duty from a period of annual leave, he/she shall generally be entitled to compensation at the rate of: –
- where they are recalled for 1 or 2 days (whether or not those days form a single period) an additional 2 days annual leave for each day, or if the member so chooses 1 days annual leave and 1 days pay at double time shall be granted in lieu.
- where the member is recalled for a period of 3 or more days (whether or not those days form a single period) compensation in relation to the first 2 days as (a) above, and for any other days compensation will be at the rate of 1 1/2 days annual leave for eahc day, or if the member so chooses 1 days annual leave and 1/2 days pay at double time.
Under PNB Circular No.03/15 – The above compensation applies to officers actually recalled from annual leave, and to annual leave that has been pre-booked/scheduled.
I had to remain at work at the end of my shift what can I claim?
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 overtime and you cannot claim overtime for the first 30 minutes worked. For example, if your tour of duty is 14.30 x 22.30, you cannot claim overtime until 23.00. Any overtime you claim after that is at time and a third, for payment, or if you wish to claim time off, for the overtime, then for every completed 15 minutes, you are entitled to claim 1 unit and for every 3 units you work, you are given 1 bonus unit.
If you work unplanned overtime on 4 occasions during the same week 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, or at the start of the duty, this is planned overtime and you do not lose the first half an hour when calculating how much time you have worked over.
What can I claim for working on a bank holiday?
Working on a bank holiday 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 MUST 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.
What can I claim for working on a rest day?
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, be granted:
Where he/she receives less than 15 days notice of the requirement, 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 or the day you are to work.
(This includes if the Force mandates that your RD is cancelled for operational requirements).
I was told I had to start my shift earlier than scheduled, what can I claim?
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 7 A.M.
If the day were a rest day, then the overtime would be at time and a half for a minimum of 4 hours.
If you are given more than 8 hours notice of the duty change then your working day merely starts at the new time.
I am being asked to change my duties at short notice, can they do that?
The Chief Officer shall cause to be published duty rosters for members of his/her force after full consultation with the Joint Branch Board 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 joint branch board). 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, i.e. 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 and at the latest, by midnight on the calendar day before the changed period of duty commences.
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?
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 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.
What travelling time can I claim when working on a rest day?
I was recalled to duty from home. What can I claim?
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 our 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, the time occupied by a member in relevant travelling shall be treated as a period of duty.
If you are designated either a casual or essential user, use of a motor vehicle for this purpose attracts mileage allowance.
Compensation for volunteering to work on a rest day or public holiday.
Where, because of the need for extra staffing on a specific Day, officers who were rostered to be off duty are invited to volunteer to do duty on that day. The normal compensation arrangements for rest day or public holiday working will apply.
Responding to a management request for volunteers should not be treated as a request by the officer to do duty on the day in question. Advice on the compensation to which you are entitled is available from your local federation representative.
What is my Annual Leave entitlement?
Annual leave with effect from 1 April 2006
22 days (176 hours) for those with less than 2 years’ relevant service
25 days (200 hours) for those with 2 or more years’ relevant service
25 days (200 hours) for those with 5 or more years’ relevant service
27 days (216 hours) for those with 10 or more years’ relevant service
28 days (224 hours) for those with 15 or more years’ relevant service
30 days (240 hours) for those with 20 or more years’ relevant service
Individual officers with leave entitlement greater than those set out above are to retain their existing entitlement on a personal basis. If you are appointed, promoted, retired or complete a relevant years service part way through an annual leave year, then to calculate your personal entitlement multiple 1/12 of the period of annual leave of the relevant years service by the number of months due at the higher rate (e.g. appointed in October 6 months at lower rate and 6 months at higher rate, to give annual leave entitlement for the year).
An officer working with Gloucestershire Constabulary is allowed to carry over five times their longest shift in hours to the following year. By way of an example an officer working on a response team whose longest shift is 10 hours would be allowed to carry over 50 hours of annual leave to the following year.
What happens if I get sick on my Annual Leave?
An officer cannot be on annual leave and certificated sick leave at the same time. Practically, the Force should be notified immediately the officer becomes unfit for duty and the annual leave reallocated to a later date.
If on an Early Shift (0800-1700) I then went to a meeting between 1900-2100, would this be a Recall to Duty? Should this be overtime at time and a third?
You should adjust your shift to cover the commitment, so work a 13-21 instead. It would not be a recall to duty because in effect you are not being ‘recalled’, it is of your choosing. If you needed to work a longer day, having to come in and do the day shift and then continue on then this would be O/T at time and a third.
In relation to a true recall to duty, when required to perform your normal daily period of duty in more than our 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, the time occupied by a member in relevant travelling shall be treated as a period of duty.
What is the difference between casual and planned overtime?
Casual overtime is dealt with under Regulation 25 Annex G. From 01/01/03, the first 30 minutes of each period of casual (or unplanned overtime) is to be disregarded for either payment or time off. This relates to the first 4 occasions during any week, so for example, if casual overtime was worked on 5 occasions in a week, then on the 5th occasion the first 30 minutes would not be disregarded.
However, if an officer is aware at the commencement of his tour of duty that he is required to perform overtime, that would be classed as planned overtime and would therefore be entitled to the full time worked.
