Officers working on rest days to catch up with demand

15 March 2017

Surrey's police officers are coming in on their rest days and before shifts start to catch up with work, the Federation has said.

Officers are under pressure and feeling stressed, said Mel Warnes, Chair of Surrey Police Federation, and it is taking its toll on many bobbies’ wellbeing.

And staffing levels are also having an impact.

Mel said: “Officers may not be able to make the arrests that are on their workload – outstanding arrests are a big thing. We are finding that officers are either coming in on their rest days, staying later after early turns or coming in early before a late turn, which obviously puts stress and worry onto them.”

Officers on the Safeguarding Investigation Unit are particularly vulnerable, Mel added. She said a number of people on SIU had told the Federation about having to come in on rest days, when they are already working excessive hours on top of their normal shifts in order to meet demand.

And many officers are also having their rest days cancelled at the last minute.

She added: “I think the force is getting much better in resourcing for events like the Epsom Derby and Ride London.

“Officers should know their working days 90 days in advance. They know what their shifts are and they know when their rest days are.

“To change any of that within 90 days there has to be shown there’s an exigency of duty, and if there isn’t – if it is to cover shortfall of officers or to cover leave and things like that – that isn’t an exigency. That is an issue within force and it shouldn’t matter to an officer who wants to either put in leave or take their rest day. They should be allowed to do that.”

Officers need to make sure they highlight any issues with their supervisors, Mel added, as well as contact occupational health if they are experiencing symptoms of stress.

“Sometimes there is a reluctance to go and see occupational health as officers think maybe that looks bad on their record,” she said, “but it is about looking after yourself.

“This is, at the end of the day, only a job, and your own wellbeing is more important than that.

“So I would just encourage people to make sure that they look after themselves and don’t do too much. If their workload is too much, let supervisors and management know.”