Police Regulations: Compensatory Rest

5 December 2025

Q: What is compensatory rest?

A: Compensatory rest is the legal right for a police officer to take their required rest at a later time if they were unable to take it as scheduled because of operational demands.

Under the Working Time Regulations (WTR) 1998, officers must receive certain rest periods - such as 11 hours of daily rest, rostered rest days, and annual leave. If these cannot be taken (for example, because of an unexpected incident or urgent policing need), the officer must be given equivalent rest later.

This ensures officers are not deprived of essential downtime and helps protect their health, wellbeing, and safety.

Q: What main rights do the WTR provide?

A: Under the WTR, workers are entitled to:

1. A 48-hour average weekly working limit over a reference period, unless individually agreed otherwise.

2. A limit for night workers of an average of 8 hours in every 24-hour period (and no more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period involving special hazards or strain).

3. 11 consecutive hours’ daily rest, or compensatory rest, where exceptional circumstances prevent this.

4. A weekly rest period of 24 hours per week or 48 hours per fortnight.

5. An in-work rest break of at least 20 minutes when a working day exceeds 6 hours.

6. 28 days of paid annual leave per year, including public holidays.

7. Free health assessments for night workers.

Q. When does compensatory rest apply?

A: Compensatory rest applies when an officer’s rest is missed due to ‘exigencies of duty’. This means it cannot be reasonably avoided and is not a regular occurrence.

Q: How does compensatory rest work?

A:

• Daily rest: if an officer works through a scheduled 11-hour rest period, they are then entitled to take an 11-hour rest period later. This might mean starting a later shift later or finishing an early shift later.

• Rest day / working on a public holiday: if a rest day or public holiday is cancelled for operational reasons, officers are then entitled to compensatory rest. This could be an alternative rest day or a public holiday at a later date. The details around compensation (e.g. overtime pay in addition to rest) varies depending in the notice given.

 

 

Working Example

Scenario:

PC Smith is scheduled to finish duty at 10pm and is due back on shift at 9am the next morning. This should give the required 11 hours of daily rest.

However, at 9:30pm an urgent missing-person search begins, and PC Smith is required to stay on duty until 2am.

This means PC Smith only gets 7 hours of rest, not the required 11.

What should happen?

PC Smith must be given 4 hours of compensatory rest (the amount of rest they missed) at the earliest opportunity, at a time agreed between them and management. This may mean:

• starting their next shift 4 hours later, or

• taking the 4 hours off on another day.

The key point: the missed rest must be given back.

Q: How much compensatory rest is an officer entitled to?

A: The compensatory rest should be an equivalent period to the rest that was missed. For example, if an officer missed an 11-hour rest period, then they should be compensated by another 11-hour rest period.

Q: What do you do if you miss rest?

A: If you miss a period of rest, you should discuss this with you supervisor as soon as possible. The specific arrangements for how and when you take your compensatory rest should be agreed between the officer and supervisor.

To ensure you can accurately claim your entitled compensatory rest, you are advised to record any overtime worked or hours you are required to work when you were scheduled to be off duty. 

Q: Where can I get more information or advice?

A: You can contact your Federation office or your workplace representative for further guidance.