Maternity Changes Should Encourage Female Recruits

17 December 2020

Changes to maternity and adoption leave for police officers will help encourage female recruits to the force, Kent Police Federation Chair Neil Mennie has said.

From 4 January, officers on maternity or adoption leave are to receive full pay for 26 weeks – up from the current entitlement of 18 weeks.

Neil said: “This is a really important step. It is crucial that we encourage female officers into the job – they are an intrinsic part of policing.

“A good police force must be reflective of its society. Female officers must have the confidence to have families and to be able to afford to have those families, as well as take a good period of time off in order to look after their children before they return to work.

“They should be fully supported by the force in this. So this is a really helpful move in encouraging that and making sure that we look after them. Anything we can do to encourage more female applicants into the force can only be an added bonus.”

Alex Duncan, Secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), described the changes as a “win-win for both society and forces”.

He added: “Policing is keen to improve diversity and to be better reflective of society. In order to do this, it’s important not only to attract a more diverse workforce but to retain it.

“This is a positive step in enabling those on maternity or adoption leave to be able to better balance having a family with remaining in the police.”

PFEW has pushed for these extra pay benefits through the Police Consultative Forum (PCF), the voluntary forum for employer and staff representative bodies.

The new Regulations also state that officers will have the option of receiving half pay from weeks 22 to 31 of their maternity or adoption leave, instead of full pay from weeks 22 to 26, if they choose.

Any officer who started their maternity leave after 1 September 2020 will get the new entitlement.

When the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) first mooted the increased maternity pay last year, Chair Martin Hewitt said it was part of proposals to make a career in policing more attractive and retain more officers.

A 2012 survey of all female police officers found that more than four in 10 had seriously considered quitting, with many saying that the force didn’t take into account women’s particular circumstances both when they were pregnant and when they returned to work after having a child.

Since then police bodies have pushed for reforms to increase diversity and inclusion in policing.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for pay and conditions, said: “Chief Constables unanimously endorsed the proposals to increase maternity and adoption entitlements. The proposals were also supported by staff associations, and were endorsed by the Police Remuneration Review Body in their sixth report.

“The proposals are another positive step towards promoting the wellbeing of our officers and ensuring that policing attracts and retains the best people. They will support the effective delivery of the Police Uplift Programme to recruit an additional 20,000 officers.”