Officers urged to take greater responsibility for managing rest days and annual leave

13 May 2026

Matt Paisley, Suffolk Police Federation vice chair, is calling on members to ‘get on top of’ their rest days and annual leave entitlement, as concerns grow over the number of rest days being owed across the Force.

His comments follow a Freedom of Information report, released by Police Oracle, which showed that Suffolk officers are owed a total of 7756 rest days - the equivalent of 21 years.

“When you take time off, make sure you’re coding it correctly,” said Matt, adding: “Annual leave should be booked as annual leave, and cancelled rest days should be taken and recorded as rest days.”

Matt said the Federation is continuing to work closely with the Force to improve support for officers, but stressed that individuals must also play their part by re-booking cancelled rest days as early as possible and ensuring time off is recorded correctly.

Concerns have been raised that some officers are accumulating large numbers of owed rest days, with balances expected to rise further over the busy summer period.

“Of course, these figures are not acceptable,” Matt continued. “The more they build up, the bigger the problem becomes - and they’re only going to increase over the summer.”

The issue has highlighted what has been described as a ‘vicious cycle’ facing policing. Many officers feel pressure to work additional shifts because of financial pressures, while the Force also needs officers available on the ground to meet operational demand.

However, Matt says failing to take adequate rest can have serious long-term consequences for both wellbeing and performance.

“Our members can only do their best if they have had adequate rest,” said Matt, adding: “We can’t lose sight of just how important it is to look after ourselves.”

Adequate rest

Officers were also reminded of the wider personal benefits of taking leave at appropriate times, including spending time with family and friends and allowing time to mentally reset.

“Taking time when it suits you benefits your family life and helps reset your brain,” Matt added. “You have to think about what condition you’ll be in if you continue building these days up.”

While acknowledging the Force must continue improving support systems and staffing pressures, Matt said officers must also take ownership of their own rest and recovery.

“The message is simple, if a rest day is cancelled, get it booked back in straight away,” he said. “The Force needs to play their part, but so do officers. At the moment, we’re not getting on top of it.”