When I have a rest day re-rostered to another day why do they take time off my card?

Every officer is required to work 2080 hours in a 12 month period (52 weeks x 40 hours = 2080) this is then reduced by taking away the PHLs. 8 x 8 = 64 hours. You also take away your annual leave quota dependant on service which leaves you with the amount of hours you have to work in any given year on your published duty roster. 

A re-rostered rest day cannot be put onto a card for officers to use at a time to suit them, when a rest day is re-rostered it has to be put onto the duty roster and retains all the rights of a rest day. 

If your re-rostered rest day is moved to a day when you are rostered to work longer than 8 hours it follows that you owe the force those hours you haven’t worked. 

The only time a rest day can be put onto an overtime card is if the officer chooses to receive time off for working the rest day, then the officer has to take off the time within 3 months of working that rest day or it reverts to payment. 

In respect of a rest day being a day that is not the case. Annex H Determination for Police Regulations 24 & 26 tells us that a rest day is to be paid at 3/64 for every 15 minutes worked which means a rest day is 8 hours duration (96/64 = 8 hours at 1 ½ ).

For officers working a VSA Annex E Determination for Police Regulation 22 tells us that officers working full time shall get the equivalent 2 rest days per week and a day’s leave for each PHL, the same as officers working a normal daily period of 8 hours. Effectively this means all officers should have a minimum of 104 rest days per year but officers working a VSA will have more. 

If a re-rostered rest day is moved to a day which is less than 8 hours duration then the force owe the officer the difference in hours taken off for the rest day. 

In respect of a day being a day, Annex H Determination 3) e) is telling us that the Chief Constable sets the start time of a day for a period of 24 hours. Generally the start time is 7 AM. 

The same principal applies on a PHL. When a shift pattern is drawn up the PHLs will be overlaid onto the rota, so if a PHL falls on a day when rostered to work a 9 hour shift you will have to work the extra hour somewhere else to make your total hours back up to 2016. This is to make up the shortfall between PHL leave and your rostered shift hours for that day.