Cancelled rest days: know your regs

18 June 2026

Officers whose rest days have been reinstated for this coming Saturday are being advised to check Police Regulations to understand what they are entitled to.

The issue is covered on our Police Regulations pages as follows:

Q. I have been informed that I am no longer required to work, and my rest day has been reinstated. What am I entitled to?

A. This depends on how much notice you are given. When working out the number of days’ notice you do not count the day you were informed or the day you are due to work.

·       If you are given eight or more days’ notice that you will no longer be required to work on the rest day, your rest day will be reinstated and there is no compensation

·       If you are given less than eight days’ notice you can choose between taking the rest day with no compensation or working on the rest day for the appropriate compensation in accordance with regulations.

For example, if you were being compensated with a re-rostered rest day, then you can choose to work and claim a re-rostered rest day. If you were being compensated with payment or TOIL (your choice) at time and a half, then you are entitled to the same. However, you are only entitled to a minimum of four hours plus an hour travel.

So, just to clarify, this Saturday’s rest days were cancelled with more than 15 days’ notice which means anyone working will receive a 8 hours’ RDIL. Any additional working will be paid at time and a third.

It doesn’t matter when the officer is told of their TOD as this isn’t a requirement under the regulation.

The regulation is satisfied when the cancellation notice is given as from that point until rest days are reinstated everyone reverts to a working day.

If rest days are reinstated with less than eight days’ notice then officers can elect to work but only for a RDIL. It would be perverse if officers could elect to work and receive payment when their colleagues who have been required to work would get a RDIL.

West Midlands Police Federation has done a great deal of work around the cancellation of rest days which has resulted in this being significantly reduced. However, the branch was satisfied that on this occasion there was no other suitable alternative.