Regulation A19 of the police pension regulations is being referred to by a number of Chief Officers. It can be used to forcibly retire officers with over 30 years service in the interests of 'force efficiency'. A number of forces have used the regulation in the past following the announcement of the government cuts to police funding. A group of about 17 forces recently sought legal advice collectively as to any ramifications that invoking the regulation may cause because since the pension regulations came into being the law has changed around retirement ages. It would seem at this time however that A19 is still lawful, albeit the regulation has not been used as yet to be challenged in a court.

An 'Away from Home Allowance' shall be paid to Constables, Sergeants, Inspector and Chief Inspectors of £50 in respect of every night on which the member is held in reserve - which is defined as serving away from his normal place of duty (whether because of s24 of the Police Act 1996 or otherwise).

AND 

is required to stay in a particular specified place rather than being allowed to return home. A member is not held in reserve if they are serving away from his normal place of duty only by reason of being on a training course or carrying out routine enquiries.

A 'Hardship Allowance' of £30, shall be paid in respect of every night when the member is held in reserve AND is not provided with proper accomodation which is defined as a room for sole occupation by the member with an ensuite bathroom.

Away from Home Allowance is subject to National Insurance deductions in addition to Tax deduction. From a tax perspective it amounts to a 'Round Sum Allowance' ('RSA') and is taxable unless covered under a Force's Notice of Dispensation. Suffice to say, HMRC won't include a RSA under a dispensation unless it can be shown that no 'profit' arises.

Officers that are prevented in the course of a tour of duty or shift from obtaining a meal in their usual way will be reimbursed the difference between the meal obtained and the meal they would usually take in the course of that tour.

Officers retained on duty beyond their normal daily period of duty or shift will be reimbursed the cost of any meal necessarily obtained. 

Officers will be reimbursed accommodation expenses necessarily incurred in connection with duty away from their usual place of duty or because of being retained on duty beyond their normal daily period of duty or shift.

In all cases receipts will need to be presented, and the expenditure must be reasonable.

Advance to cover expenses 
Officers may request an advance to cover probable duty expenses incurred when working away from their normal place of duty.

Regulation 35, Police Regulations 2003 outlines claiming expenses.

Reimbursement Of Medical Charges

a) A member of a police force, if the charges are incurred by reason of an injury received without his default (i.e. not the officers fault) in the execution of his duty as a constable, shall be reimbursed any charges incurred in his case under section 77 (charges for drugs, medicines or appliances or pharmaceutical services), 78 (charges for dental or optical appliances), 79 (charges for dental treatment) of the National Health Service Act 1977.

b) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (a), 'injury' and 'injury received in the execution of duty' have the same meanings as they have in the Police Pension Regulations

A subscribing member of the police federation can claim tax relief, and it can be backdated for up to 6 years. You must write to your local taxation office to claim it and a suggested form of words is shown below.

Your Reference (tax reference)

My National Insurance Number (your NI Number)

Date of Appointment (date you joined)

I have been appointment as a Constable in the (insert force name) since the above date.

My Staff Association, the Police Federation of England and Wales, tell me that an agreement has been reached over tax relief on subscriptions since April 1994.
I understand that your Inland Revenue head office reference is:

SAPP/T1644/23/82/MA

I am required to pay, on a calendar monthly basis, various amounts over the last six years as follows: -

January 2005 to December 2005 £15.60 per month
January 2006 to December 2006 £16.12 per month
January 2007 to December 2007 £16.51 per month
January 2008 to December 2008 £17.03 per month
January 2009 to December 2010 £17.55 per month
January 2011 to present date £21.58 per month

I therefore apply for relief on those subscriptions, as per the agreement outlined above.

I also wish to claim the relevant proportion of the £140 per annum also agreed by the Police Federation with you.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours faithfully

Police officers are entitled to take dependants leave in certain circumstances. Police Regulations define a dependant as a spouse, child, parent, someone who lives in your house but not a lodger, and someone you would normally care for. 

Essentially this regulation came about as a result of the Employment Relations Act 1999. Police Officers are not employees and so a Police Regulation (33 Annex T) was brought in. The key to the success of any request for dependants leave is a good relationship between the officer and a well informed manager. 

The Regulations (paraphrasing) say the following. The words in brackets are an interpretation and purely to give some advice. 

'A member of a police force is entitled to be permitted by the Chief Officer to take a reasonable amount of time off during normal duty periods to take action which is necessary to: 

• Provide assistance on an occasion when a dependant falls ill / gives birth / injured / assaulted
• To make arrangements for the provision of care for an ill / injured dependant (ie. perhaps a couple of hours to get someone in to look after them)
• When a dependant dies
• Because of the disruption / termination of care for a dependant (ie. get new nursery place etc / grandparent moves away)
• Deal with an incident which involves a child of the officer and is unexpected and is in school hours when the child should be at school (ie. not summer holidays etc)

You must tell the Chief Officer as soon as possible and tell them how long you will be off. Dependants leave shall be treated as duty time.' 

Police Negotiating Board (PNB) circular 01/22 on dependants leave is pretty unhelpful and clarifies only that this applies to short term difficulties of 1 or 2 days and that the leave is paid leave. 

As a guide if what you ask for is 'reasonable' then it would comply with the above. My view is that it is the Chief Constable who would decide what is reasonable in implementing practice in the work place. It is very hard to put a limit on an annual amount of dependants leave that would be reasonable. Certainly there is no broad rule and each case should be judged on its merits.

The Police Negotiating Board agreed a career break scheme in 2000. The provisions can now be found in Annex O of Police Regulations 2003.

The scheme is available to any officer who has completed their probationary period, subject to the chief constable's agreement. Officers on career breaks under this scheme will remain in the police service. They will not be paid during career breaks and the time out will not count for entitlement to pay increments and paid annual leave. The officer's rank and pay point, and eligibility for replacement allowance will be protected.

An officer living in accommodation provided by the force should discuss his/her future in the property with the chief constable before applying for a career break.

As officers remain members of the force whilst on a career break, they also remain members of the Police Pension Scheme (PPS) or the New Police Pension Scheme (NPPS) - unless they have opted out e.g. an officer who is in the PPS prior to a career break will remain so whilst on the career break and upon their return to service. NB this would not be the case if the member were to resign and rejoin.Officers in the PPS and NPPS remain subject to the pension schemes' death benefits and enhanced ill-health pension provisions whilst on a career break. All officers continue to be covered by the injury benefit provisions where applicable.

The time spent on a career break cannot be bought-back for pension purposes - see Home Office Circular 33/2003.

A 'Hardship Allowance' of £30, shall be paid in respect of every night when the member is held in reserve AND is not provided with proper accommodation which is defined as a room for sole occupation by the member with an en-suite bathroom.

SCHEDULE 6 Removal from office
1. This Schedule shall apply in relation to the removal from office of a member, or the removal from a specified post, of any of the following bodies(hereinafter in this Schedule referred to as 'specified bodies')

• (a) any branch board;
• (b) any liaison committee;
• (c) the conferences arrangements committee;
• (d) each central committee.
• (e) the Joint Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Police Federation

and the expression 'any branch board' shall include, otherwise than in relation to the metropolitan police, the joint branch board, and the expression 'each central committee' shall include the joint central committee.

2. A motion for the removal from office or a specified post of a person under this Schedule shall be sent to the secretary of the specified body in question (or, if the person who is the subject of the motion is the secretary, to the chairman) and shall -

• (a) be signed by at least one third of those qualified to elect the person in question ('the electorate'); and
• (b) contain a statement of the grounds on which those signing the motion consider that the person should be removed from office or, as the case may be, post.

3. On receipt of a motion in accordance with paragraph 2, the secretary (or, if the person the subject of the motion is the secretary, the chairman) shall forthwith send a copy thereof to the person in question and invite him to supply in writing, within 14 days, his comments thereon.

4. At the expiry of the said 14 days, the secretary (or, if the person who is the subject of the motion is the secretary, the chairman) shall send a copy of the motion, and the comments, if any, thereon of the person in question, to each member of the electorate and shall arrange for the members of the electorate to vote on the motion.

5. If a majority of the members of the electorate voting thereon vote in favour of the motion the person in question shall cease to be a member of the specified body in question or, if the motion is to remove the person from a specified post, shall cease to hold that specified post.

6. An election shall forthwith be held to fill any vacancy created by the P.F.59 Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 2660 removal of a person under this Schedule, and a person so removed shall be entitled to be a candidate for office (or, as the case may be for that the post) at such an election.

7. A 'specified post' for the purpose of this schedule shall be the secretary and chairman of a specified body together with, in the case of the Joint Central Committee, the treasurer, and, in the case of the Joint Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Police Federation, the treasurer, vice chairman, deputy secretary and deputy treasurer.

All serving police officers up to the rank of Chief Inspector can become members of the police federation. There are two types of membership. The first is as a non subscribing member. 

The other type of membership which brings additional benefits is that of a subscribing member. The cost currently for the latter is £21.58 a month (£4.98 a week). Student officers will also benefit from reduced subscription fees during the first two years of their service, year one is a quarter of the full amount, year two is half the full amount. The main benefit of this type of membership is the availability of legal advice and support during discipline cases and employment disputes. If you are not currently a subscriber then the application form can be obtained from your local federation branch. In addition since 2015 automatic membership of the Police Federation was removed from legislation so officers can also choose to be non-members.

In addition you can claim tax relief on your subscriptions, the monthly amount deducted won't reduce but the Inland Revenue will adjust your tax coding to take into acount the current amount of relief which is about £140 per year. You need to write to the local tax office and make them aware, a standard letter can be provided by most police federations to their officers. 

When completeing the tax 'proforma letters' they must be completed with your home address details, and not those of your work.

You can retire, you can resign or you can be dismissed.

The first two both require you to give the Force at least a months notice and up to a maximum of three months notice. It takes that long for the payroll and HR systems to get everything in place for you and the Force to part company and all mail is sent to your home address.

Your force will have a form that needs to be completed on which you specify the date you wish to cease being a police officer from as well as some personal details such as forwarding address.

In order to retire you should have completed sufficient pensionable service to allow you retire. This varies within the two current systems and there is also provision for ill-health retirement for those who cannot continue to serve. Further advice will be available from your local federation office or HR department. 

Dismissal by the Force is the end result of either a misconduct hearing, or stage three of either the unsatisfactory performance or unsatisfactory attendance procedures. There is further guidance on these issues elsewhere in the frequently asked questions. If you need any help with this speak to your local rep.

If an officer is unable to report for work due to sickness or injury, they are responsible for personally informing their supervisor of the reason for their absence. This should also include a likely date of return, and any action they are taking to overcome the condition (e.g. visiting their doctor). 

This should be done the day or days before the officer is due to work their next shift, or as soon as possible after the start of the working day. It is helpful if the officer can provide a contact telephone number for the duration of their absence. Other than in exceptional circumstances, the message should not be passed to the supervisor by a partner, family member, colleague, voice mail or text message.

Annex E to Regulation 26 states that as from 22 November 2012 constables and Sergeants may, with the approval of the chief officer, substitute a day which is not a public holiday within the meaning of Regulation 3(1) of the Police Regs for any day which is such a public holiday, with the exception of Christmas Day.

A member shall give the chief officer notice of a proposed substitution not less than two months before the first day of the leave year containing the public holiday for which a day is to be substituted. The chief officer shall, subject to the exigencies of the duty, approve a proposed substitution.

The prescribed process for doing this should be published in your Force and the closing day for notifying substitutions is the 31st January of that year.

Since 2002 Guidance has been offered to the application of the Police Pension Regulations and procedures have been introduced which ensure the independence of the scheme.

In many forces the ill health pension process and injury award process are two separate topics as far as each Force is concerned. In respect of an ill health pension application the follow is an outline;

The Force must refer you to an Independent Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP) if they are considering whether you are permanently disabled from carrying out the 'ordinary duties of a constable'. The referral to the SMP can be either requested by the Force, or by the officer via the FMA, provided it is supported by suitable medical evidence. This process is co-ordinated via the Occupational Health Unit's, Force Medical Advisor.

The test on the 'ordinary duties of a Constable' is intended to be a robust one. It includes physical activities such as arrest and restraint, running and walking reasonable distances, as well as physiological tests, such as understanding and managing information. The inability to do any one of the activities identified would render an officer disabled from "ordinary duties".

The whole process can take many months as the various reports are complied, along with assessments and consultations which may take place.

If, after referral and sight of the subsequent report to the Force from the SMP, you disagree with the SMP's decision, it is possible to appeal to a Police Medical Appeal Board. There are strict timescales to do this so it is essential that you contact your Federation Office as soon as you receive a copy of the SMP's report so that you can get further advice on how to do this from a trained representative.

The fact that you may be permanently disabled does not automatically mean you will be retired. In fact quite the opposite is the case. The Pension Guidance, reinforced by the Disability Discrimination Act, places a presumption that officers unable to perform front-line duties should be retained in the service in other roles.

This is a managerial decision based on the report of the SMP on an officer's capability, the identification of a suitable post, and the completion of a suitable risk assessment. You are able to provide comments on your own wishes, but ultimately it is a decision for the Force whether you are retained or retired.

There is no appeal against this decision and the only challenge would be by Judicial Review if the decision to retain an officer were irrational.

If the decision is taken to retain you then you should be provided with a proper career pathway. Obviously if you are quite young in service this is even more important. For example just because you are disabled does not mean that you cannot be promoted. In fact the Disability Discrimination Act provides that an employer should positively discriminate for disabled people and identify roles that are particularly suitable for disabled people. If you are retained then good practice would be to have a meeting with your line manager and HR Manager to discuss how your future career can be structured and managed. We would encourage you to request such a meeting.

In respect of injury awards: the process of assessment is similar to ill health retirement save for a questionnaire which requests detailed information on an individual assessment to earn and the SMP's assessment of the injury being caused on duty and the affect on the individual's potential to earn. There is an appeal process in respect of the SMP's decision if required. Injury awards currently are made in respect of how the injury on duty has affected the individual's potential to earn at time of assessment by the SMP.

The time taken for an individual to undergo either or both processes is often measured by more than days and weeks, unless the individual is terminally ill.

If you are subject of an injury which occurred on duty, it is vital that you complete all required official documents, i.e. that an accident book entry is made in the station or department accident register and that an injury on duty form (or equivalent) is completed. You should also obtain from the DWP, form BI 100a, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) which should be completed and returned to the appropriate DWP JobCentre Plus.

If you have not yet registered and claimed in respect of your injury then you should do so as soon as possible as any injury award if one is made under the Police Pension will be offset by the IIDB and if that has not been resolved the injury award pension will be abated until the Force Pension Section has documentary evidence supplied showing that the DWP have considered an rejected such a claim or showing the level of assessment and the level of benefit payable.

If you wish to check the appropriate station accident book we suggest you visit the applicable station's admin unit where you were stationed at the time. Likewise your personnel record should have a copy of any IOD forms submitted in respect of any injuries on duty you have suffered, e.g. Polac in 1998, arm injury in 2003, concussion in 2007, etc. If these have not been done then a supervisor should be asked to submit them in respect of each occasion.

If a police officer is retired from the Force in any circumstance they are entitled to apply for Job Seekers Allowance, though the application may be rejected or there may be no allowance payable dependent on circumstances at the time - see the following web page for full advice -

Gov UK JSA

If due to prolonged sickness Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) which expires after six months, is lost then an application for Employment Support Allowance (ESA) would be applicable and a form would be supplied by the Force to the individual along with a certificate in respect of the payment of SSP, both of which would be needed to successfully submit a claim for ESA. Full details of this matter would be supplied at the time by the Force to any individual affected by such actions.

If you are retired, NOT a current officer, then the ESA is detailed -

Gov UK Benefits

this is best claimed in writing and the claim form is here -

ESA 1

If you have not yet registered and claimed ESA then you should do so as soon as possible as any injury award pension, if one is granted under the Police Injury Benefit Regulations may be offset by ESA and if that has not been resolved the injury award pension will be abated until the Force Pension Section has documentary evidence supplied showing that the DWP have considered and rejected such a claim or showing the level of assessment and the level of benefit payable.

When an individual is off sick for such a length of time then they would also be considered by the Force for reduction in pay, the process of which involves the individual, their line manager and District or Departmental HR and the Federation (if we are told), representations can be made to give reasons as to why the pay should not reduced.

If an officer is to be ill health retired then papers will be prepared by HQ HR which will be formally served on the individual and then a 12 week notice period applies before the actual date of retirement.

The pensions administrator will produce a pension forecast if and when required; giving the actual figures when the ill health process has been completed and the retirement approved by the Force.

Whilst ill health pensions once awarded are not reviewable, injury awards are and should be regularly reviewed by the Force according to the Regulations.

Since 2002 Guidance has been offered to the application of the Police Pension Regulations. New procedures have been introduced which ensure the independence of the scheme.

The Force must refer you to an Independent Selected Medical Practioner if they are considering whether you are permanently disabled from the 'ordinary duties of a constable'. The referral to the Selected Medical Practioner can be either requested by the Force, or by the officer provided it is supported by suitable medical evidence. The Federation can assist you to get this if you feel that you should be referred. 

The test on the Ordinary duties of a Police Officer is intended to be a robust one that includes physical activities such as arrest and restraint, running and walking reasonable distances, as well as physiological tests, such as understanding and managing information. The inability to do any one of the activities identified would render an officer permanently disabled from 'ordinary duties. 

If after referral you disagree with the decision of the Selected Medical Practioner you can appeal to a Police Medical Appeal Board. You can get further advice on how to do this from the Federation Office. There are strict timescales to do this so it is essential that you contact the office as soon as you receive the report. 

However, the fact that you may be permanently disabled does not automatically mean you will be retired. In fact quite the opposite is the case. The Pension Guidance, reinforced by the Disability Discrimination Act, places a presumption that officers unable to perform front-line duties should be retained in the service in other roles. 

This is a managerial decision based on the report of the Selected Medical Practioner on an officer's capability, the identification of a suitable post, and the completion of a suitable risk assessment. You are able to provide comments on your own wishes but ultimately it is a decision for management whether you are retained or retired. There is no appeal against this decision and the only challenge would be by Judicial Review if the decision to retain an officer were irrational. 

If the decision is taken to retain you then you should be provided with a proper career pathway. Obviously if you are quite young in service this is even more important. For example just because you are disabled does not mean that you cannot be promoted. In fact the Disability Discrimination Act provides that an employer should positively discriminate for disabled people and identify roles that are particularly suitable for disabled people. If you were retained then good practice would be to have a career meeting with your line manager and personnel officer to discuss how your future career can be structured and managed. We would encourage you to request such a meeting.

I submitted a flexi working request basically returning to full time hours but was sick (certified) over the period I was due to return to work. I was not paid at my full time rate as I expected from that date. The force have told me I won't be paid for my full hours until I return. Is that right?

Regulation 5 of Police Regulations governs part time working.
No they are not right, there is no mention of having to return to work prior to being reappointed full time. As long as you have edvidenced proof, email or letter for example of the agreed date then that is the date of your re-appointment to full-time, or increased hours, whichever is applicable. You should therefore be paid accordingly at higher rate from that date, irrespective of sickness over that period.

I have been asked to perform as an Acting Sergeant/Inspector but have been told there is a qualifying period. Also, am I entitled to overtime? If so, at what rate?

Acting up arrangements are designed to meet short term needs. Each financial year (1st April - 31st March), you are required to work 10 complete days for which no extra payment is made.

The allowance shall only be payable for a maximum of 46 days in any one continuous period. Where a member is absent from duty for one or more periods each of no more than two weeks, he shall be entitled to an acting up allowance in respect of those periods if he would have been entitled to such allowance if he had been on duty throughout those periods (e.g. annual leave / sickness, during acting) there can also be a continuation of entitlement to the allowance across financial years, until there is a break.

Qualified acting Sergeants and acting Inspectors are entitled to Temporary Duty Allowance after those 46 days.

Any overtime incurred whilst acting will be paid at your substantive rank - i.e.

• 1) an Acting Sergeant's overtime will be paid at Constable's rates and
• 2) an Acting Inspector's overtime will be paid at Sergeant's rates but only during the first 10 working days and on any Rest Days or Bank Holidays during the entire period of Acting.

No overtime is payable on a normal working day once the first 10 working days of Acting have been completed by Acting Inspectors.

If you are an officer who has been promoted to a temporary rank, there is no requirement to work a qualifying period and you will in fact progress through the pay scales of your temporary rank until you revert back to your substantive rank. If you are promoted again to a temporary rank, you will automatically start at the same pay point of that rank where you left off when temporarily promoted.

The amount of annual leave you are entitled to is based on years 'relevant service'. 

Service is accrued for each year of completed service in a particular rank. If you leave the service and rejoin after a couple of months, or years, then the total service is the combined total of both periods of service, and this becomes relevant service. If you are not receiving the correct amount of annual leave then it could be that your service is not being 'totalled up' correctly to include all relevant years in a particular rank. 

It may also be worth checking that in relation to your pay that this also reflects completed years relevant service.

Annual Leave Determination Regulation 33, Annex O
Regulation 24(2), Pay (Relevant Service)

Paternity leave is known in the Police Service as:
ORDINARY & ADDITIONAL MATERNITY SUPPORT LEAVE
&
ORDINARY AND ADDITIONAL ADOPTION SUPPORT LEAVE

PATERNITY LEAVE
Police officers (who satisfy the eligibility and notification rules) can take paternity leave in two parts:
1 Ordinary Maternity/Adoption Support Leave
Short term leave available at or around the time of birth or adoption; and 
2 Additional Maternity/Adoption Support Leave
Longer term leave available in the first year of the baby's life or adoption.

EXIGENCIES OF DUTY
All forms of maternity/adoption support leave are subject to exigencies of duty.

ADDITIONAL MATERNITY/ADOPTION SUPPORT LEAVE
An officer who is the father, or partner of the baby's mother, or main adopter and expects to have responsibility for the child's upbringing is eligible for Additional Maternity/Adoption Support Leave. This leave must be taken in one block for a period of between two and 26 weeks to care for the child. It can start 20 or more weeks after the child's birth or placement for adoption and once their partner has returned to work from Statutory Maternity or Statutory Adoption Leave and /or ended their entitlement to Statutory Maternity or adoption Pay, or Maternity Allowance. There can be a gap between the mother or main adopter returning to work and the start of Additional Maternity/Adoption Support leave. This leave must end by the end of the 52nd week after the child's birth or placement for adoption.

ADDITIONAL MATERNITY/ADOPTION SUPPORT PAY
Officers who take Additional Maternity/Adoption Leave may qualify for Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (ASPP) paid at the same rate as the lower rate of Statutory Maternity Pay. An officer will receive ASPP during the time their partner would have been receiving Statutory Maternity or Adoption Pay or Maternity Allowance had they not returned to work. The mother or primary adopter must have been in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay or Maternity Allowance, have returned to work with at least 2 weeks entitlement to pay remaining.

KEEPING IN TOUCH DAYS
An officer who takes Additional Maternity/Adoption Support Leave is entitled to 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days without bringing their leave to an end. This entitlement is separate from the mother's or adopter's entitlement to KIT days.

ELIGIBILITY & NOTIFICATION RULES
Both forms of leave are available to male and female police officers, but there are different eligibility and notification requirements for each form of leave and pay. There is no service requirement for Ordinary Maternity or Adoption Support Leave, but in order to take Additional Maternity or Adoption Leave an officer must have 26 weeks service in a Force by the 15th week before the expected week of the baby's birth or the week in which they are notified of the match for adoption; and must provide 8 weeks' notice that they are going to take Additional Maternity or Adoption Leave.

RECALL TO DUTY
Police officers may be recalled to duty at any time. This should only be for exceptional reasons such as court attendance or a disciplinary hearing.

ORDINARY MATERNITY/ADOPTION SUPPORT LEAVE
An officer can take Ordinary Maternity or Adoption Support Leave in order to care for the child and/or support the child's mother or main adopter in caring for the child. Officers who are the father of the baby, the second parent in a couple who are adopting, or another person nominated by the child's mother can have up to 2 weeks off work (2 x 40 hours/pro-rata for part time officers) to help the mother care for the child at or around the time of the birth or adoption. The 2 weeks do not have to be taken together. Each period of a week can be taken separately.

ORDINARY MATERNITY/ ADOPTION SUPPORT PAY
Week 1: The first week (40 hours/pro- rata for part time officers) is paid at an officer's normal rate of pay.
Week 2: Officers with 26 weeks continuous service at the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth or the date on which they are notified of a child for adoption, are entitled to be paid for the second week (40 hours/pro-rata for part time officers) at Statutory Paternity Pay rate, (the same as the lower rate of Statutory Maternity Pay). This is paid only if the weeks are taken together within the first 8 weeks after the baby is born or placed for adoption.

RECKONABLE SERVICE
All paid leave taken as Maternity/ Adoption Support Leave counts as pensionable service, reckonable for incremental pay and leave purposes and for inclusion in any period of probationary service. Unpaid Ordinary Maternity/ Adoption Support Leave and unpaid Additional Maternity/Adoption Support Leave cannot be bought back for pension purposes.

An outline of the changes to Regulations and Determinations applicable from 1st April 2012 following the circulation of amendments to Determinations issued by the Home Secretary.

Some will require work to be done in Forces in respect of changes to policies, procedural guides, SPP recipient post list ,etc. There are still a couple of changes to Regulations in respect of part time working and replacement allowance which will follow when published by the Home Office.

• The Chief Officer may after consulting with the JBB and the members affected allowing them at least 30 days to make representations - announce that he intends to bring into operation a VSA and bring the arrangements into operation not less than 30 days after that announcement.
• Save for Constables who complete their initial training, or complete two years' service as a constable or a constable on pay point 2 who completes a further year's service between 1st April 2012 and 31st March 2014
• NO Constable, Sergeant, Inspector or Chief Inspector shall move to a higher pay point during that period.
• No new applications for CRTP will be entertained between 1st April 2012 and 31st March 2014, only applications made before the 1st April for those officers entitled to the payment before 1st April 2012 shall continue to be progressed. A re-application by an officer who was in receipt of CRTP as at 31st March 2012 is not a new application.
• The minium overtime entiltlement of four hours for a recall to duty between to shifts is abolished.
• A rest day cancelled with less than 15 days notice is compensated by overtime at time and a half, but the further enhancement of double time for those cancelled with less than five days has been abolished.
• An officer who has a period or periods of maternity leave for which the expected date of birth is the 1st April 2012 or a later date is entitled to be paid as respects the first eighteen weeks of any period or periods of maternity leave, or elect to receive half pay in the fourteenth to twenty third weeks of the period instead of receiving full pay in the fourteenth to eighteenth weeks.
• Essential and Casual users allowances have been increased.
SPPs have been abolished from 1st April 2012, but those officers who are entilted to receive SPPs for the period 1st January 2012 to 31st March 2012 will receive a quarter of the annual amount.
• An 'Unsocial hours Allowance' will be paid to Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors in respect of each FULL HOUR worked by members between 8pm and 6 am. This will be paid in arrears on a monthly basis at the rate of 10% of the members hourly rate of pay.
• An 'Away from Home Allowance' shall be paid to Constables, Sergeants, Inspector and Chief Inspectors of £50 in respect of every night on which the member is held in reserve - which is defined as serving away from his normal place of duty (whether because of s24 of the Police Act 1996 or otherwise) AND is required to stay in a particular specified place ratheer than being allowed to return home. A member is not held in reserve if they are serving away from his normal place of duty only by reason of being on a training course or carrying out routine enquiries.
• A 'Hardship Allowance' of £30, shall be paid in respect of every night when the member is held in reserve AND is not provided with proper accomodation which is defined as a room for sole occupation by the member with an ensuite bathroom.
• There are amendments to removal expenses.

Acting up duties are designed to meet short term needs.

After acting up for 46 days, an officer will be moved from acting duties to temporary promotion unless he/she is not qualified for promotion or there is an overwhelming operational emergency.

In addition to the position after 46 days (acting duties), temporary promotion should be used from the outset when a need has been identified which is likely to be for a lengthy period e.g. maternity or ill health cover or a new project. An officer can only be temporarily promoted if qualified under the Police Promotion Regulations. An officer who has been temporarily promoted to a higher rank will be paid on the point he/she would have been entitled to if permanently promoted. Additional pay on temporary promotion is pensionable. Service in the higher rank on temporary promotion is reckonable for salary increases in both the substantive and the higher rank. Service in the higher rank counts if the officer is temporarily promoted again at a later date.

My childs school was unexpectedly closed for the day & he was sent home. I couldn't arrange childcare. Do I have to use annual leave or time out of the book to care for him?
A police officer may take time off because of the unexpected disruption or termination of arrangements for the care of a dependant, or

To deal with an incident which involves a child of the member and which occurs unexpectedly in a period during which an educational establishment, which the child attends, is responsible for him/her.

Leave taken as time off for dependants shall be treated as duty, but does not apply unless the member tells his/her chief officer the reason for his/her absence as soon as reasonably practicable. Best practice would be to inform a line supervisor of your circumstances ASAP after you become aware of it.

A 'dependant' means, in relation to a member of a police force:

• a) a spouse,
• b) a child,
• c) a parent,
• d) a person who lives in the same household as the member, otherwise than by reason of being his employee, tenant, lodger or boarder.

This also covers when a dependant falls ill, gives birth or is injured or assaulted or in consequence of the death of a dependant.

An unsocial hours allowance will be paid to Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors in respect of each FULL HOUR worked by members between 8pm and 6 am.

This will be paid in arrears on a monthly basis at the rate of 10% of the members hourly rate of pay. If your shift is changed and you do not work a full hour between 2000 - 0600, e.g. called to Court from night shift, you cannot claim the allowance.

Overnight Allowance (Residential Courses Only) - £4.43per night with a maximum of £17.77 per week, however if the officer has to attend a weeks course they can claim the preceding Sunday night at £4.43. Overnight allowance in other circumstances must be receipted and reasonable if any cost has been incurred. 

Force Mileage Rate is 40 pence per mile.

Refreshment/Subsistance - must be reasonable and receipted.

Flat Rate Expense Allowance - £140.00 from 6.4.2008 which is offset against your tax code. 

Also, if you are injured on duty, an officer can claim for the reimbursement of medical charges (Reg 35). The Force must recognise it as an IOD.

London weighting £2,349 (from 1 July 2015)

Dog Handlers Allowance £2,196 (from 1 July 2015)

Bonus payments of between £50 and £500 are payable where the chief officer judges a piece of work by a member to be of an outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important nature.

In April 2012 these payments ceased, and all payments for the first three months of that year were paid pro-rata.

The Police Negotiating Board (PNB) agreed in May 2002 that a Special Priority Payment (SPP) Scheme would be introduced nationally. The Scheme is targeted at front line/operational police officers in particular, and posts may attract payment under the Scheme where they meet the following criteria: 

- carry a significantly higher responsibility level than the norm for the rank or
- present particular difficulties in recruitment and retention or
- have specially demanding working conditions or working environments

An officer must demonstrate they are fully competent in and highly committed to their duties and responsibilities. Payments to officers are made as a single non-pensionable lump sum of no less than £500 and no more than £3,000 in December of each year.

The Bradford Factor, or Bradford Score is a way of illustrating how disruptive frequent short-term absences can be. Bradford scores are used as a way of identifying individuals with serious absence and patterns of absence worthy of further investigation. It is often used as a 'trigger' for performance procedures but is a 'blunt instrument' too often used blindly by HR Managers. The Bradford Calculation is:

S x S x D = Bradford Points Score

S is the number of occasions of absence in the last 52 weeks.
D is the total number of days absence in the last 52 weeks.

The score is only an indicator. All supervisors and managers should be aware of their colleagues reasons for being on sick leave. Any days missed as a result of maternity, disbaility or indeed injury on duty should not form part of the Bradord calculation. The Unsatisfactory Attendance Procedure Regulations state that it is the first line manager that is responsible for invoking UAP procedures NOT a Bradford score generated by a HR Department! The Bradford score is not a replacement for normal supervisory and welfare responsibility. It should rarely need a HR department to point out an individual who may be of concern as regards attendance. The score should not be used in isolation as the driver for UAP procedures as every case is different and all factors should be considered in each case.

Set up in 1996 by the public and police subscriptions to assist in cases of need:-

• Dependants of Police Officers or former Police Officers who die or have died whether before, on, or after the date of the trust deed as a result of an injury received in the execution of duty.
• Police Officers or former Police Officers who are or have been, whether before, on or after the date of the trust deed incapacitated in the execution of duty, or dependants of such officers.

Further information can be obtained by visiting the trust website at www.pdtrust.org, Facebook Page or Telephone: 020 8941 6907

1.
A member of a police force shall at all times abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of his duties or which is likely to give rise to the impression, amongst members of the public that it may so interfere; and in particular a member of a police force shall not take any active part in politics.
2.
A member of a police force shall not reside at premises which are not for the time being approved by the chief officer. What this in fact means is that you must seek permission to reside at your proposed address. Local processes on how this is accomplished will vary but you will not be surprised to hear that there is usually a form to fill in.
3.
(1) A member of a police force shall not, without the previous consent of the chief officer receive a lodger in a house or quarters with which he is provided by the police authority or sub-let any part of the house or quarters(2) A member of a police force shall not, unless he has previously given written notice to the chief officer, receive a lodger in a house in which he receives an allowance under Schedule 3, or sub-let any part of such a house.

Regulation 25, Police Regulations 2003 covers the requirement for police forces to keep personal records for police officers, what such a record should contain and the rights of an officer to inspect their record. The regulation states the following;
(1) The chief officer of a police force shall cause a personal record of each member of the police force to be kept.
(2) The personal record shall contain -
(a) a personal description of the member(b) particulars of the member's place and date of birth(c) particulars of his marriage (if any) and of his children (if any)(d) a record of his service (if any) in any branch of Her Majesty's naval, military or air forces or in the civil service(e) a record of his service (if any) in any other police force and of his transfers (if any) from one police force to another(f) a record of whether he passed or failed to pass any qualifying examination at which he was a candidate(g) a record of his service in the police force and the date of his ceasing to be a member of the police force with the reason, cause or manner thereof
(3) The record of service kept in accordance with paragraph (2)(g) shall include particulars of all promotions, postings, removals, injuries received, periods of illness, commendations, rewards, sanctions other than cautions imposed under regulation 31 of the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999(1) or under regulation 17 of the Police (Efficiency) Regulations 1999(2) but, subject to paragraph (4) -
(i) a sanction of a fine or of a reprimand shall be expunged after 3 years free from sanction other than a caution(ii) any other sanction shall be expunged after 5 years free from sanction other than a caution,(iii) a sanction under regulation 17 of the Police (Efficiency) Regulations 1999 shall be expunged after 2 years free from any such sanction.
(4) In the case of a period free from sanction other than a caution which expired before 1st January 1989, a sanction shall be expunged under paragraph (3) only if the member so requests.
(5) Where following a review of a sanction imposed under regulation 31 of the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 or under regulation 17 of the Police (Efficiency) Regulations 1999 the reviewing officer substitutes for the decision of the conduct hearing or, as the case may be, inefficiency hearing a decision that the member concerned had not failed to meet the appropriate standard or, as the case may be, that the performance or attendance of the member concerned was not unsatisfactory, the sanction imposed by that hearing shall be expunged forthwith.
(6) A member of a police force shall, if he so requests, be entitled to inspect his personal record.

The short answer is yes, but see below for a fuller description.

There's nothing written down specifically in circulars on this, either PNB or HOC (except for reference to code of conduct in HOC 03/2002 - entitled 'Changes to the Police Promotion Examination'). There is a clearer reference in para 14 of annex C to a PPEB (Police promotions Examination Board) Report on the Examination Process prior to that circular which speaks of the candidate being on duty during the examination process. Clarification has been sought from the NPIA (October 2009) and it is their understanding that both examinations (I & II) are duty days and the officer is entitled to it. Dates are notified well in advance (to Chief Constables and candidates) to allow for re rostering of rest days if necessary. Officers also have to be fit and if on sick leave must provide evidence from the Force Medical Officer that they are fit enough for the exams or assessments.

From Annex C to PPEB Report 2001:
14. On the part of candidates, candidates are deemed to be on duty during their examination and are governed by the Police Code of Conduct. Unacceptable language, behaviour or attitudes will be penalised in Part II of the examination. Unacceptable language or behaviour are defined as 'any language or behaviour which falls short of the standards expected of a police officer' under the Code of Conduct in Schedule I to the Police Conduct Regulations. The Respect for Diversity competency area, which will be measured in each exercise in Part II from 1st January 2002, will be used as a basis for recording and evaluating unacceptable language and behaviour. Any candidate who scores a D in Respect for Diversity may fail the examination irrespective of what grades he or she achieves in the other competency areas. The information associated with candidates who display unacceptable language or behaviour may be forwarded to the candidate and their Chief Officer to enable candidates to receive appropriate development in these areas.

The Secretary of State's determination of sick pay under regulation 28 of the Police regulations 2003 provides that a member of a police force who is absent on sick leave shall be entitled to full pay for six months in any one year period. Thereafter, the member becomes entitled to half pay for six months in any one year period. Officers who believe they may find themselves in this situation should contact the Federation Office, as they may be able to claim reimbursement of pay if they are members of a group insurance scheme.

The Chief Constable retains the discretion, however, to extend the period of entitlement to, as appropriate, full pay or half pay. For further details as to how this would affect you, please contact your local JBB office.

The force may reimburse what are known as 'Removal Expenses' in the following circumstances.

If an officer is required to move house in the interests of efficiency of the force, or if the move is due to the exigencies of duty, the police and crime commissioner shall either reimburse the reasonable cost of removal or carry out the removal; reimburse expenses incurred in connection with the sale of the officer's former home; and reimburse expenses (such as estate agent's fees, auctioneer's and solicitor's fees, stamp duty and expenses in connection with the redemption, transfer or taking out of a mortgage) incurred in connection with acquisition of the new home and incidental to the move. 

To qualify for reimbursement, an item of expenditure must be necessary, reasonable and backed by a receipt. 

These provisions do not generally apply to members initially joining a force. Special provisions apply to university scholars whose removal is the result of having finished their studies. For further information, contact your local police federation office, preferably in advance of a move.

On 1st December 2008 new Misconduct & Performace Regulations come into force, also sometimes referred to as the 'Taylor Reforms'. These replaced the previous Misconduct and Unsatisfactory Performance Regulations and significantly change the way that misconduct and performance matters will be dealt with. 

Misconduct Regulations 
Misconduct can be dealt with in three ways.

Where the misconduct is of a very minor nature it may be referred back to your supervision for management action. No formal action will be taken against you but an action plan may be put in place. 

More serious matters, but not so serious that it may mean losing your job, then a meeting will take place on district with a Chief Inspector. If the meeting finds against you then you will be given a written warning (lasts 12 months) or a final written warning (lasts 18 months). 

Should the matter be so serious that continued employment within the Consabulary may come into question (Gross Misconduct), then a Hearing will take place before a misconduct panel. This could result in you losing your job. 

Local Resolutions still remain in place for minor matters. 

Performance Regulations 
If your performance is called into question then your supervisor will have a discussion with you and agree an action plan. Improvement in your work that are deemed to be deficient will be expected. If you fail to improve you will be required to attend a First Stage meeting where you will be served with an improvement notice setting out what is required of you. Although the notice stays in effect for 12 months you will be expected to improve in the required areas within 3 months. Failure to do so, or improving in the first instance and then lapsing at any time within the 12 month period will result in a requirement to attend a Second Stage meeting. 

This will be with a more senior supervisor and may result in a second improvement notice. Failure to improve on this occassion within the three month period or future lapses within 12 months, will result in a Third Stage meeting. This is the final stage and held in front of a panel. This panel has the power to dismiss you. 

In certain cases where Gross Incompetence has been alleged the matter can go straight to a third stage meeting. 

In certain circumstances matters may start off as misconduct but may be put back to district to be dealt with as a performance issue. 

For more detailed information on sepecific areas of the new regulations please use the menu on the left hand side.

The short answer is yes they can, up until the point that sanction is decided, a more full description of the regulations follows. The complainant means the person referred to in the 2002 Act. These are;

• (a) a member of the public who claims to be the person in relation to whom the conduct took place;
• (b) a member of the public not falling within paragraph (a) who claims to have been adversely affected by the conduct;
• (c) a member of the public who claims to have witnessed the conduct; (complaints, matters and persons to which Part 2 applies).

An interested party means a witness or any person involved in the conduct which is subject of the case or who otherwise has a direct interest in the case.

Regulation 31 of the 2008 Misconduct regulations deals with the attendance of complainant or interested person at misconduct proceedings.

(1) This regulation shall apply in the case of misconduct proceedings arising from a

(a) conduct matter to which paragraph 16, 17, 18 or 19 of Schedule 3 to the 2002 Act (investigations) applied;

• Investigations by the appropriate authority on its own behalf
• Investigations supervised by the Commission
• Investigations managed by the Commission
• Investigations by the Commission itself

OR

(b) complaint which was certified as subject to special requirements under paragraph 19A(1)(a) of that Schedule (assessment of seriousness of conduct).

(2) The appropriate authority shall notify in advance the complainant or any interested person of the date, time and place of the misconduct proceedings.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, regulation 33 and any conditions imposed under regulation 32(7), the complainant or any interested person may attend the misconduct proceedings as an observer up to but not including the point at which the person conducting or chairing those proceedings considers the question of disciplinary action. During 2012 the IPCC have made recommendations that this should change and that persons should remain for the whole proceedings, including mitigation unless the officer subject of the proceedings objects. I see few occasions when such an objection would not be forthcoming

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), regulation 33 and any conditions imposed under regulation 32(7), a complainant or interested person may be accompanied by one other person, and if the complainant or interested person has a special need, by one further person to accommodate that need.

(5) Where a complainant or interested person or any person accompanying him is to give evidence as a witness at the misconduct proceedings, none of those persons shall be allowed to attend the proceedings before that evidence is given.

(6) The person conducting or chairing the misconduct proceedings may, at his discretion, put any questions to the officer concerned that the complainant or interested person may request be put to him.

Regulation 32 Attendance of others at misconduct proceedings 
(7) The person conducting or chairing the misconduct proceedings may impose such conditions as he sees fit relating to the attendance under regulation 31 or this regulation of persons at the misconduct proceedings (including circumstances in which they may be excluded) in order to facilitate the proper conduct of the proceedings. 

Regulation 33 - Exclusion from misconduct proceedings 
Where it appears to the person conducting or chairing the misconduct proceedings that any person may, in giving evidence, disclose information which, under the harm test, ought not to be disclosed to any person attending the proceedings, he shall require such attendees to withdraw while the evidence is given. 

Home Office Guidance - Attendance of complainant or interested person at misconduct proceedings

2.221 Where a misconduct meeting/hearing is being held as a direct result of a public complaint, the complainant or interested person will have the right to attend the meeting/hearing as an observer up until the point at which disciplinary action is considered (in addition to attending as a witness if required to do so). He or she may be accompanied by one other person plus (in the case of a particular need e.g. an interpreter, sign language expert etc.) a second person. The appropriate authority will therefore be responsible for notifying the complainant or interested person of the date, time and place of the misconduct meeting/hearing.

2.222 The misconduct meeting/hearing shall not be delayed solely in order to facilitate a complainant or interested person attending the meeting/hearing, although consideration will need to be given to whether the complainant or interested person is also a witness in the matter.

2.223 The complainant or interested person may at the discretion of the person conducting or chairing the meeting/hearing put questions through the person conducting or chairing the meeting or hearing.

2. 224 Where the complainant is required to attend a meeting/hearing to give evidence, he or she will not be permitted to be present in the meeting/hearing before giving his or her evidence. Any person accompanying the complainant and/or the person assisting the complainant due to a special need will not be permitted to be present in the meeting/hearing before the complainant has given evidence (if applicable).

2.225 A complainant and any person accompanying the complainant will be permitted to remain in the meeting/hearing up to and including any finding by the person(s) conducting the meeting/hearing, after having given evidence (if appropriate). The complainant and any person accompanying the complainant will not be permitted to remain in the meeting/hearing whilst character references or mitigation are being given or the decision of the panel as to the outcome. However, the appropriate authority will have a duty to inform the complainant of the outcome of any misconduct meeting/hearing whether the complainant attends or not.

2.226 The person(s) conducting a misconduct meeting/hearing will have the discretion to allow a witness who has attended and given evidence at the meeting/hearing to remain or to ask him or her to leave the proceedings after giving his or her evidence (subject to the right of complainants to be present. See paragraph 2.221).

Complaints are now graded into three categories:

Grade 1
These are complaints which, if substantiated, will result in police officers receiving no more than operational advice. These are not disciplinary findings. Officers will be given the opportunity to give an early account (not under caution) and these cannot be used in formal proceedings. The intention is to conclude these complaints quickly to avoid long waiting periods between officers receiving a notice and them being able to give their accounts and having the matter closed.

Grade 2
Complaints are those of alleged misconduct on the part of the officer. For police officers, if a grade 2 complaint is substantiated it could result in a misconduct meeting, the maximum outcome of which is a final written warning which lasts for 18 months.

Grade 3
These are the most serious complaints which may require a criminal, as well as a Misconduct Investigation. Complaints of this level, if substantiated could result in a Misconduct Hearing, the maximum sanction from which is dismissal without notice from the service.

Where a member is the subject of a criminal investigation no request to provide a duty statement should be made, or if such a request is made, this may be refused. 

Where an allegation of the commission of the misconduct offence has been made, then, whether or not a regulation 15 notice has been served a duty statement may be properly refused, it being a statement 'concerning the matter'. If in doubt seek advice.

NOTES
These can be made at the time of the incident in your pocketbook. This is one of the first places an investigator may look to get an initial 'feel' for an incident. Some officers write a lot in their books, others write very little. Officers may write more than they normally write when they have a feeling that a job 'is not right' or when they feel it may later result in complaint. 

There is nothing wrong in doing this. Occasionally a job is so innocuous at the time it occurs that no notes are made. Don't worry about it, just because it isn't written down doesn't mean that it did or didn't happen. 

I would add a word of caution however when an incident is of a more serious nature, i.e. a death in police custody, serious RTC and other such matters. Writing your initial notes directly after such an event is not always the best thing to do because thought processes will be affected - it is a human reaction to an emotional situation. 

Do not in these circumstances feel the need to 'reactively' make copious amounts of notes until at least a couple of sleep periods after such an incident, i.e. 48-72 hours. Research has shown that these notes will be more accurate. In these extreme circumstances seek the advice of your local or 'on-call' Federation Representative. 

TELL
When you first become aware that you are under investigation accept any notice you may be served politely, sign for it if required, and make no further comment at that time.

If you are asked for a copy of your notebook you should provide it.

Make sure you let your federation representative know about the complaint as soon as possible.

You should then send a copy of any notification you receive, along with any statement you made regarding the incident and copy of your PNB to your local rep. or direct to your federation office.

A quick phone call at this stage to your federation office may not be a bad idea for some initial advice. This step is important as there are shorter and better defined timescales for dealing with complaints under the 2008 regulations.

WRITE
Not all investigations will result in an interview. On many occasions all that may be required is a written response from an officer. A useful and sometimes beneficial way of dealing with the anger that an officer feels when they are subject of a complaint is to write about it. Just take some blank paper, or create an empty 'Word' document if you are more 'computer savvy' and just write about the incident as you recall it. The document does not need to have any formal structure and can be a 'rant' if you so wish.

Include in this document everything you can remember about the job, how you felt, how the job concluded and pay attention to some of the aspects of the complaint alleged as you write it and include these as well.

Include questions and observations that you may have about the complaint that you would like answered, or that you have concerns about. Also include additional information that has come to light regarding the incident since it occurred. This document is for the use of yourself and your 'friend'- nobody else. It assists in a couple of ways;

It can form the basis of any written response that you may wish to make, edited and amended accordingly to reflect your recollection of the incident.

This will save you time in the long run, will be accurate, and is not any duplication of effort.

The document provides an excellent basis for meetings with your federation friend about the incident itself that highlights the issues and concerns you had at the time and subsequently.

Your 'friend' can then use some of these observations as a basis of questions and suggestions when providing lines of enquiry to investigators.

Finally, remember, keeping the Queens Peace is a job that will invite complaints. There is some consolation in the fact that many complaints are later found to be nothing more than misunderstandings or indeed malicious and result in no formal action.

One of the first things that my tutor constable taught me was to treat people as you would expect to be treated yourself unless they dictate otherwise. With that in mind don't let incivility and rudeness be the reason for your next complaint.

Under the 2008 Misconduct Regulations a Regulation 15 Notice has the same effect as a Regulation 9 notice under the 2003 regulations. 

A Regulation 15 notice informs you that you are being investigated for a misconduct matter and It is served upon you as soon as possible so that you are given the best possible chance of recollecting the incident and making notes accordingly. 

Under Regulation 16 of the new regulations you have the right to make a written response to the Regulation 15 notice. However, you only have 10 working days in which to make your response (the day the notice is served is not included in this figure). Failure to do so could result in an adverse inference being drawn against you should the matter go to a hearing. 

It is important that when you are served with a Regulation 15 notice that you contact your Federation Rep. immediately.

POLICE (CONDUCT) REGULATIONS 2008
This post contains general advice. The Police Federation has many trained and experienced 'Police Friends' who can advise you throughout any misconduct proceedings. 

MAKE NO COMMENT, SEEK ADVICE FROM A FED REP EARLY

Misconduct - means a breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

Gross Misconduct - means a breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour so serious that dismissal would be justified. 

Regulation 15- Written Notice
The investigator shall as soon as reasonably practicable (without prejudicing this or another investigation) cause the officer concerned to be given written notice;

• describing in unambiguous language the particulars of the conduct that is the subject matter of the allegation and how that conduct is alleged to fall below the Standards of Professional Behaviour
• outlining whether that conduct if proved would amount to misconduct or gross misconduct informing officer of right to seek advice from the Police Federation

Regulation 16 - Representations to the Investigator
The Regulation 15 Notices include on the back under Explanatory Notes a warning that under Regulation 16 failure to provide a response within 10 working days may lead to an adverse inference being drawn in any subsequent misconduct proceedings.

Officers and Police Friends should be aware that whilst the Regulations encourage officers under investigation to give an early response to service of a Notice, it is not mandatory and careful thought should be given before any written response is given.

Legal advice confirms that if the member is to be interviewed there is no need to consider providing a written response within 10 days. The only circumstances in which it would be advisable to consider making a written response within this time limit is if the investigating officer has indicated that the matter does not merit an interview, which is likely to be on rare occasions, or after advice from the Police Friend it is thought that a response may negate an interview or further investigation.

Police Friends should contact the investigating officer by e-mail or other documentary trail after service of a Regulation 15 Notice to confirm whether it is intended to interview the member and to confirm that should an interview be proposed the officer will reserve his position until that interview.

Regulation 21- Notice of Referral to Misconduct Proceedings
Where a case is referred to misconduct proceedings an officer shall as soon as practicable be given a written notice of;

• the referral
• the conduct and how that is alleged to amount to misconduct or gross misconduct
• the name(s) of person(s) conducting the misconduct proceedings
• whether legal representation is allowed

Regulation 22- Procedure on Receipt of Referral Notice
Regulation 22 requires the response to a Regulation 21 Notice to be served within 14 working days. A failure to respond may lead to an adverse inference being drawn in any subsequent misconduct proceedings.

Officers and Police Friends should be aware that for the adverse inference to arise evidence would need to be given or considered at misconduct proceedings that the member concerned:-

• failed to mention any fact relied on in his case at the meeting or hearing AND
• at the time of responding to the Regulation 15 Notice or Regulation 21 Notice, the officer could reasonably have expected to mention the fact subsequently relied on.

Should the officer intend to admit the failure to meet the appropriate standard then a very brief response may suffice. Should the officer intend to contest the allegation then it is a tactical decision as to how much detail should be included in the officer's account of the relevant events under Regulation 22 (2)(c). Whilst there needs to be sufficient detail to avoid an adverse inference being drawn from a failure to mention a fact later relied on, too much detail is likely to increase the risk of the officer being inconsistent should they give evidence at the meeting or hearing.

Criminal Matters
If you are arrested or interviewed in respect of a criminal matter then any initial legal advice that you receive is covered by the Legal Aid Scheme as it is for any person in similar circumstances.

Due to recent changes in the Legal Aid Scheme you would not be covered for any meetings with a solicitor at their office, nor would you be covered for legal representation at a Magistrates Court and possibly not at Crown Court with the new means testing rules being during 2009).

If the circumstances which led to the Criminal Complaint are DUTY RELATED then you will probably be covered for further representation under Federation Fund rules. If the matter has nothing to do with Police Duty then you will not be covered for legal assistance under fund rules. In all cases your Fed Rep will be able to advise you accordingly.

Misconduct Matters
If you are subject of misconduct proceedings then generally speaking you will be covered by Federation fund rules for legal assistance as deemed appropriate. Please note that in these circumstances you do not have a right to decide who will represent you legally. The Police Federation as a rule will instruct our retained solicitors, Russell Jones & Walker. In cases where there is a conflict the Federation Office has a list of alternative solicitors who have experience in dealing with Police Misconduct, who will be used.

The police (Conduct) Regulations 2008 replaces the Codes of Conduct with Standards of Professional Behaviour as follows; 

Honesty and Integrity
Police officers are honest, act with integrity and do not compromise or abuse their position. (Note that this will include misuse of warrant cards) 

Authority, Respect and Courtesy
Police officers act with self-control and tolerance, treating members of the public and colleagues with respect and courtesy. Police officers do not abuse their powers or authority and respect the rights of all individuals. 

Equality and Diversity
Police officers act with fairness and impartiality. They do not discriminate unlawfully or unfairly.

Use of Force
Police officers only use force to the extent that is necessary, proportionate and reasonable in all circumstances.

Orders and Instructions
Police officers only give and carry out lawful orders and instructions. Police officers abide by police regulations, force policies and lawful orders. 

Duties and Responsibilities
Police officers are diligent in the exercise of their duties and responsibilities. 

Confidentiality
Police officers treat information with respect and access or disclose it only in the proper course of police duties. 

Fitness for Duty
Police officers when on duty or presenting themselves for duty are fit to carry out their responsibilities. 

Discreditable Conduct
Police officers behave in a manner which does not discredit the police service or undermine public confidence, whether on or off duty. Police officers report any action taken against them for a criminal offence, any conditions imposed on them by a court or the receipt of any penalty notice.

Challenging and Reporting Improper Conduct
Police officers report, challenge or take action against the conduct of colleagues which has fallen below the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

Tape recorded interviews under the criminal caution must be conducted in accordance with the Codes of Practice on 'The Tape Recording of Police Interviews with Suspects at Police Stations'. 

The Home Office Guidance on Codes of Practice states: 

'There is no requirement in the Codes of Practice to tape record an interview with a police officer against whom a complaint has been made of behaviour which does not amount to an allegation of a Criminal Offence which is indictable or triable either way.' There are a number of allegations which may lead to Criminal and/or Misconduct proceedings; for example an allegation of assault, where an interview for a possible criminal offence has been tape-recorded. The tape recording will be admissible in a Misconduct hearing relating to the same matter. 

The Police Federation offers the following advice where Misconduct or Criminal/Misconduct interview is tape-recorded. 

1. In pure Misconduct interviews, the choice to tape the interview is that of the accused officer. However, note should be taken of the guidance set out in paragraph 3.23. 

2. The interview shall be conducted in accordance with the Codes of Practice issued by the Secretary of State under Section 60 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. 

3. The interview should take place in a room other than in a custody suite. 

4. Should the accused officer be charged with Misconduct Matters, no charge shall be levied for the supply of the taped record of the interview(s) to a friend or legal representative.

In serious cases, it might be decided that the officer concerned should be removed from his or her normal duties or be suspended during the course of the formal investigation or pending the outcome of misconduct proceedings. Such a course of action should be taken only where it is necessary and in the public interest to do so. In all cases, unless it was impossible or positively undesirable to do son, consideration should first be given to a temporary transfer to other duties rather than to suspension. 

Where an officer is suspended this will be with pay, except where the officer is in custody following conviction, or is absent and his or her whereabouts are unknown, when the suspension will normally be without pay. Neither removal from normal duties or suspension implies any decision about the misconduct case.

Where it has been decided that a misconduct case, whether or not it involves a complaint, should be investigated formally, responsibility for the investigation may be undertaken by the professional standards department. Under the new 'Taylor Reforms' (Conduct Regulations 2008) this investigation may equally be conducted from start to finish locally on the officers district. 

The investigation should be completed as quickly as is practicable and there are now specific timescales. The investigating officer should ensure that the officer concerned and, if there is one, the complainant are kept informed as to the progress of the investigation, provided that to do so would not prejudice the investigation.

A friend may represent a fellow officer in Misconduct matters from the service of a Regulation 15 Notice and throughout the Unsatisfactory Performance Procedures. A friend may be any serving Police Officer. 

Whether or not an officer is to be legally represented they should be reminded at an early stage of the right to be accompanied to the hearing by a friend or, where applicable, a legal representative. The role of the friend or legal representative will be to advise and assist the officer concerned, including speaking on the officers behalf, calling and/or questioning witness and/or producing witness statements, other documentation or exhibits to assist the officers case. Both the friend and the officer concerned should be given adequate duty time to prepare for the hearing (at which the friend may wear plain clothes). The Federation has a number of officers who are specially trained to undertake the role of friend. 

Paragraph 3.23 Home Office Guidance Regarding Interviewing of Officers The object of interviewing an officer about a possible failure to meet standards is twofold; first to provide the officer concerned with an opportunity to give his or her account of the matter and, second, to enable the officer to offer any explanatory detail which might serve to explain or defend the matter. The officer may not be compelled to answer any questions put to him or her during interview. Interviews should be tape-recorded.

A special case hearing, also known as fast track procedures rely on 'incontravertible evidence'.

The special case procedures can only be used if the appropriate authority certifies the case as a special case, having determined that the 'special conditions' are satisfied or if the IPCC has given a direction under paragraph 20H(7) of Schedule 3 to the Police Reform Act 2002. 

The 'special conditions' are that - 

• there is sufficient without further evidence, in the form of written statements or other documents, to establish on the balance of probabilities that the conduct of the police officer concerned constitutes gross misconduct;
and
• it is in the public interest for the police officer concerned to cease to be a police officer without delay.

These procedures are therefore designed to deal with cases where the evidence is incontrovertible in the form of statements, documents or other material and is therefore sufficient without further evidence to prove gross misconduct and it is in the public interest, if the case is found or admitted for the police officer to cease to be a member of the police service forthwith. 

Even where the criteria for special cases are met there may be circumstances where it would not be appropriate to certify the case as a special case, for instance, where to do so might prematurely alert others (police officers or non-police officers) who are, or may be, the subject of an investigation.

Local Resolution is intended to provide a flexible and simple procedure for dealing with complaints of a minor nature which would otherwise attract the full length and formality of the investigation process. Complaints are suitable for local resolution only if the conduct complained of even if established would not justify a criminal charge or misconduct proceedings, and if the complainant if content for the case to be handled in this way. 

The officer appointed to undertake the informal resolution should seek the views of both the complainant and the officer (who should be given access to a friend if he or she wishes) about the matter. 

No apology on behalf of the officer concerned may be rendered unless that officer has admitted the complained of and agreed that it fell below the proper standard. 

No entry relating the attempted or successful local resolution of a complaint should be made in the personal record of the officer concerned or be referred to in future misconduct proceedings.

In deciding matters of fact the burden of proof lies with the presenting officer and the tribunal must apply the standard of proof in civil cases, that is, the balance of probabilities. The straightforward legal definition of the civil standard of proof is that the adjudicator is convinced by the evidence that it is more likely or probable that something occurred that it did not occur. 

Importantly, relevant case law makes it clear that the degree of proof required increases with the gravity of what is alleged and its potential consequences. It therefore follows that, were an allegation is likely to ruin an officer reputation, deprive them of their livelihood or seriously damage their career prospects, a tribunal should be satisfied to a high degree of probability that what is alleged has been proved.

The Regulation 15 notice must state:-

• Nature Of Allegation
• Whether if proven it would be considered as misconduct or gross misconduct and where heard i.e. misconduct meeting or misconduct hearing
• What will happen if change in severity assessment
• Who is investigating
• Right to seek advice from staff association or police friend
• Right to legal representation - misconduct hearing only
• Right to make representations (within 10 working days)
• Case may be harmed if officer does not mention information they later rely on in any misconduct proceedings

When an officer has used force during the course of dealing with incidents, a statement or written response to a complaint should include reference to the 'National Decision Model'. Not only does this assist in the thought processes when dealing with an incident it also assists in ensuring that you get all your evidential points and thought processes into the response. What follows is an 'aide memoir' of some of the points worth considering for each stage of the 'model'.

Intelligence/Information -> Threat Assessment -> Powers & Policy -> Options/Contingencies -> Actions/Review

Statement of Mission and Values

• Is what is being considered consistent
• Want to ensure integrity
• Be willing to take risks to protect rights of all
• What would the police service expect me to do
• What would victim/public expect of me

Intelligence/Information

• Type of call that brought you into contact with the subject
• Time of day and physical setting of the situation
• Marked or unmarked vehicle
• Uniform or plain-clothes
• Number of officers involved

Threat Assessment

• What you observed
• Number of persons involved
• Your initial command

Powers & Policy

• Consider powers of arrest, entry, arrest and use of force
• Consider force policies and Human Rights Legislation

Profiled Subject Behaviour

• Subject's verbal responses
• Subject's non verbal communications (NVC's)
• Subject's physical actions
• Physical comparison between officer and subject - age/gender/size/skill level

Officer Impact Factors

• Were you frightened?
• Did you believe you or another were about to be assaulted?
• Did you believe you or another were about to be injured?
• Physical comparison between officer and subject - age/gender/size/skill level

Officer Response/Tactical Options

• Type of control method used
• Duration of resistance
• Type of de-escalation method used
• Handcuffed? - How applied?
• handucss checked for tightness and double locked

Transport Procedures

• Type of vehicle
• Subjects demeanour and actions during journey
• Where transported to
• Length of journey

Injuries

• Detailed report of officer's injuries (photo if possible as exhibit)
• Detailed report of subject's injuries (photo if possible)
• Details of any first aid rendered

The mnemonic VIAPOAR will help you to remember key elements of the NDM

V Values
I Information
A Asessment
P Powers and policy
O Options
A Action
R Review

Police Council Circular 4/74: Summer Leave

While it is ultimately for the chief officers to decide, officers should, if possible, be able to take two weeks of their annual leave between 1st June and 30th September if they so wish.

Police Regulations 2003, Annex H.

Where an officer is required to do duty, or is recalled to duty, for a period of less than 4 hours on a public holiday or a rostered rest day or, for a part-time officers, a free day, such a period or each such period, shall be treated as though it were a period of 4 completed hours, more commonly referred to as 'claim a minimum of four hours'.

The only exception to this is where a period of not more than one hour of duty on a rostered rest day or, for a part-time member, a free day, immediately follows a normal daily period of duty (or, in the case of a part-time member or a member working in accordance with variable shift arrangements, a rostered shift. In this instance the period of not more than one hour of duty counts as the number of period of 15 minutes actually completed.

If you therefore continue working on from a shift into a rest day (usually crops up on the last night tour into rest days) then you must work 'more than one hour'. That doesn't have to be 15 minutes, it could be just one minute. You can then claim the minimum of 4 hours overtime. If you work less than the 1 hour you can claim only for each 15 minutes, so if you work 36 minutes for example you can claim 30 minutes. The rate of pay is time and one half.

Where an officer is required to duty on a public holiday or on a rostered rest day his/her period of duty shall include the time occupied by him/her travelling to & from his/her place of duty. This will be disregarded where the period of duty exceeds 6 hours. 

Relevant Travelling Expenses may only be claimed where a member of a police force is:-

• A)
  • i) required to perform his normal daily period of duty in more than one tour of duty, or
  • ii) recalled to duty between two tours of duty,

• and travels to and from his home between tours, or, as the case may be, in consequence of his recall (in this paragraph referred to as "relevant travelling")

• B)
  • Relevant travelling expenses shall be treated as expenses incurred in the execution of duty, and, unless they are expenses in respect of which an allowance is payable under these Regulations and determinations there under, the member concerned shall be reimbursed those expenses to the extent they do not exceed such reasonable limit as the chief officer of police may fix.

Regulation 34, Annex V(5), Police Regulations and Determinations 2003

You may be able to claim overtime. The only time this happens is if you are officially on-call, and you receive a telephone call about the matter for which you are on call. This would then be classified as a recall to duty and you may reckon a minimum of four hours overtime at the appropriate rate for the sort of day it is (working day: time and a third; rest day: time and a half, or a public holiday: double time).

The Police Federation does not believe that any officer should be on-call on a rest day or public holiday and have raised the issue with PNB on a number of occasions. The matter has yet to be resolved.

The authority for this derives from the case of Lavelle v Chief Constable of Northumbria, which was about a Police Search Advisor. The Judge said, 

"In the first place it is necessary to see whether on a particular occasion the Claimant was doing something he was required to perform. If he was, it matters not that he does not receive a specific instruction, "you are recalled to duty". He is being recalled to his duty by the fact of the call upon him at a time when it is his duty to respond. For that reason, I would distinguish those occasions when the Claimant was not actually rostered as on-call. On those occasions, he could, if approached for help, do as he did on one occasion and refer the enquiry to someone who was. If on those occasions he took the call, he was strictly, it seems to me a volunteer doing what he did as a matter of goodwill and no doubt because it would reflect well upon him that he did it. 

"Second, I do not think that there would be a recall to duty if the Claimant did not engage in some way with the call in a way that amounted to a performance of his duty as a Police Search Adviser. Even on occasions when he was rostered, if the result of answering the call was simply to deflect it in some way, because there had been a mistake in calling upon him or the call was about something which was outwith his particular expertise, or for some other similar reason, it would not seem to me he was recalled to his duty. But if he engaged with the enquiry and dealt with it within the scope of his duty as a Police Search Adviser, it seems to me that it falls within the Regulations as a recall." 

As an example, an officer is rostered to be on-call in his/her capacity as a Public Order Tactical Advisor (POTA). S/he is at home having completed a tour of duty. The officer receives a telephone call about public order for the sole reason that s/he is a POTA. The officer has been recalled to duty and can claim a minimum of four hours overtime at time and one third as compensation for the disturbance. 

The judgement also makes clear that if the officer was on-call, but contacted about something that had nothing to do with him/her being the on-call POTA, it did not constitute a recall to duty. 

If you are called about a court warning, duty change, or anything else work-related, you are not being recalled to duty and there is no overtime claim. However, the telephone conversation (on-call or not) does constitute working time and should be recorded as such.

The Home Office agreed interpretation is that when assessing the number of days notice given, the day after the officer is made aware of the change in the roster will now count as the first day. The day, which was to have been a rest day, will not be included in the total.

Travel time between home and your usual place of duty is generally not duty time. 

Such travel time shall only be treated as a period of duty when you are:

Required to perform your normal daily period of duty in more than our tour (Split Duty)

Or

Recalled to work between two tours of duty and you travel to and from your home between tours. In calculating any period of overtime the time occupied by a member in relevant travelling shall be treated as a period of duty. The actual time worked will be claimed at the appropriate rate and as such be at time and one third. 

If you are designated either a casual or essential user, use of a motor vehicle for this purpose attracts mileage allowance.

If I remained on my day shift, 8 to 5, then went to a meeting 7pm to 9pm, would this be a re-call to duty and, as such count as overtime at time plus a third?
You should adjust your shift to cover the commitment, so work a 13-21 instead. It would not be a recall to duty because in effect you are not being 'recalled', it is of your choosing. If you needed to work a longer day, having to come in and do the day shift and then continue on then this would be O/T at time and a third.

In relation to a true recall to duty, when required to perform your normal daily period of duty in more than our tour (Split Duty) Or Recalled to work between two tours of duty and you travel to and from your home between tours. In calculating any period of overtime, the time occupied by a member in relevant travelling shall be treated as a period of duty.

If your rest day falls on a bank holiday then you are entitled to have your rest day back (a rest day in lieu). In addition if you work the bank holiday you are entitled in addition for payment at double time. If you would prefer 'TOIL', time off in lieu, then this is your choice and it would also be at the rate of double time.

An officer working an average of 31.5 hours a week over a two week period. One week is for example 3 x 9 hour shifts = 27 hours and the next 4 x 9 hours =36 hours. Overtime is plain time up until 40 hours, and then enhanced. It is the average determined hours (31.5 in this example) as the starting point for plain time up until the 40 hours weekly total despite the fact that one week is a shorter working week.

The overtime does not start until it is over and above your average determined hours, regardless of the week. In this example the officer would have to work 8.5hrs before they received the enhanced pay rate.

An officer should know for three months ahead their rest days, and the start and end times of their tour of duty. These should not be changed except for exigencies of duty. An exigency is not defined in the police regulations, however the dictionary definition is as good a guide as any and this defines an exigency as 'an urgent or pressing situation'. 

The three month roster should be published one month before it is due to commence. If you have received a duty change for a date before the date shown below then you have not had due notice and need to be enquiring of your resource unit the reason for the change of duty and consulting your local federation representative. The notification of the change does not include the date changed and the date on which you were notified. It should be 90 clear days. Any change after the date below will therefore be valid.

a) A chief officer shall cause to be published, in accordance with this determination, duty rosters for members of his force of the rank of constable or sergeant (and inspector and chief inspector in the case of part-time members) and, in the determinations made under the Police Regulations 2003:

i) a reference to a rostered rest day is to be construed, in relation to a member of a police force who is required to do duty on that day, as a reference to a day which according to the duty roster was, immediately before he was so required to do duty, to have been a rest day for the member; and
ii) a day off granted in lieu of a rostered rest day shall be treated as a rostered rest day.

b) A chief officer shall cause each such roster to be drawn up and published, after full consultation with the Joint Branch Board, at intervals not exceeding 12 months and not later than one month before the date on which it starts.

c) Each such roster shall set out, for at least three months (except one relating to a part-time member who has agreed with the chief officer on a different period) following the date on which it comes into force, in relation to each member of the force to which it relates:
i) his rest days;
ii) those days, being public holidays, on which he may be required to do duty;
and
iii) the times at which his scheduled daily periods of duty (rostered shifts for members working variable shift arrangements and for part-time members) are to begin and end; and
iv) for part-time members, his free days

Where, because of the need for extra staffing on a specific day, officers who were rostered to be off duty are invited to volunteer to do duty on that day. The normal compensation arrangements for rest day or public holiday working will apply. 

Responding to a management request for volunteers should not be treated as a request by the officer to do duty on the day in question. Advice on the compensation to which you are entitled is available from your local federation representative and will be in accordance with police regulations.

My rest day was cancelled for an operational reason, I am now no longer required to work on that day as they have scaled the operation down, what am I entitled to?

When an officers rest day is cancelled in anticipation of an operational need for which in any event he/she is not required to attend for duty:

Where the officer is told with more than 7 days (and less than 15 days) notice that he/she will not after all be required to work on his/her rest day, he/she will take the rest day with no compensation. Where the officer is given less than 7 days notice he/she can choose between taking the rest day with no compensation or working on the rest day with compensation in accordance with police regulations. 
PNB Circular 85/9

I was warned that I would be required to work a public holiday to take part in a police operation. My duties were amended accordingly. I was later notified that the operation has been cancelled with less than eight days notice and I am no longer required to work. What am I entitled to?

If you were given less than eight days notice you can choose between taking the public holiday leave with no compensation, or working on the public holiday with compensation in accordance with a previous PNB agreement.

Where a member is recalled to duty from a period of annual leave, he/she shall generally be entitled to compensation at the rate of: -

• (a) where they are recalled for 1 or 2 days (whether or not those days form a single period) an additional 2 days annual leave for each day, or if the member so chooses 1 days annual leave and 1 days pay at double time shall be granted in lieu.
• (b) where the member is recalled for a period of 3 or more days (whether or not those days form a single period) compensation in relation to the first 2 days as (a) above, and for any other days compensation will be at the rate of 1 1/2 days annual leave for each day, or if the member so chooses 1 days annual leave and 1/2 days pay at double time.

Under PNB Circular No.03/15 - The above compensation not only applies to officers actually recalled from annual leave, but also to annual leave that has been pre-booked/scheduled.

PNB Circular 2014/8(Advisory)
The Official and Staff Sides of PNB have agreed that where an officer is required to work on a rest day or free day within a period of annual leave, that day shall be compensated in the same manner as if it were a day of annual leave or a day taken off in lieu of overtime.

For the purposes of this new agreement a period of annual leave is to be defined as a period of absence from duty of 5 or more days where at least one of those days is a day of annual leave and the other days are rostered rest days, days taken in lieu of overtime, public holidays, free days (or days taken off in lieu thereof) or monthly leave days.

This agreement applies in the case of a member of a police force who is required to work on a day scheduled to fall in a period of absence from duty to which this circular applies as it applies in the case of a member who is recalled to duty from such a period. 

This agreement has been reached in addition to the current provisions of Police Regulations 2003, Regulation 33 Annex O paragraph 5 (a), (b) and (c) (or its equivalent in Northern Ireland) i.e. there is no change to the current compensation arrangements for a period of absence of less than 5 days. 

This agreement takes effect from 1 May 2014.

Where the time at which an officer is due to commence a rostered tour of duty is brought forward without due notice (less than 11 hours) so that they are required to commence duty on a day in which they have already completed their normal period of duty. The time for which they are on duty before the rostered commencement time shall be reckonable as overtime and also taken into account as part of that tour of duty. The force day commences at different times in each force.

If the day were a rest day, then the overtime would be at time and one half for the hours worked .

If you are given more than 11 hours notice of the duty change then your working day merely starts at the new time. Do not count the day you were asked or the day you are to work in reckoning the amount of notice. (WINSOR 1)

Working on a public holiday (bank holidays) will always be paid at the rate of DOUBLE TIME whether for payment or time off. This also applies to part time working officers.

When a public holiday falls on a rest day, the bank holiday always take precedence, the rest day MUST be re-rostered to another day (after consultation with the officer). The re-rostered day is a rest day and all conditions applying to rest days apply to it. Should the officer then be required to work on the public holiday he/she would get paid or have time off at the rate of double time, (officers choice).

If an officer is informed that he/she is required to work on a bank holiday with less than 8 days notice, then in addition to getting paid double time for the bank holiday (or time off) he/she would also be entitled to another day off which shall be notified to him/her within 4 days of notification of the requirement and which shall be treated for the purpose of this regulation as a bank holiday.

If an officer works into a bank holiday beyond 0700hrs there is no half hour disregard. If such an officer was scheduled to not be working then the entitlement is double time for a miminum of four hours and a public holiday in lieu.

A member of a police force of the rank of constable or sergeant shall, if required to do duty on a day, which is a rostered rest day, be granted:

Where he/she receives less than 15 days notice of the requirement, payment or time off (officers choice) at the rate of time and a half. The further enhancement of double time for those cancelled with less than five days notice has been abolished for a recall to duty - however NOT for a retention on duty. If you are retained on duty for more than an hour into a rest day then you can claim a minimum of four hours at time and a half, if less than four hours are worked.(WINSOR 1)

Please note when working out the days notice you do not count the day you were asked or the day you are to work.

If you work overtime after hours on your scheduled tour of duty, and you were not informed of the overtime prior to the commencement of this tour of duty, it is classed as unplanned overtime and you cannot claim overtime for the first 30 minutes worked. For example, if your tour of duty is 14.30 x 22.30, you cannot claim overtime until 23.00. Any overtime you claim after that is at time and a third, for payment, or if you wish to claim time off, for the overtime, then for every completed 15 minutes, you are entitled to claim 1 unit and for every 3 units you work, you are given 1 bonus unit.

If you work unplanned overtime on 4 occasions during the same week then on the 5th and any other occasion in which you may have to work overtime you no longer lose the first half hour for the rest of that week.

If you were asked to work overtime prior to the commencement of your tour of duty this is planned overtime and you do not lose the first half an hour when calculating how much time you have worked over.

An officer cannot be on annual leave and certificated sick leave at the same time. Practically, the Force should be notified immediately the officer becomes unfit for duty and the annual leave reallocated to a later date. If an officer wishes to reclaim their annual leave following a period of sickness they will have to produce a doctors certificate for the relevant period. Self certification will not be accepted to reclaim the annual leave in this circumstance.

Annual leave with effect from 1 April 2006

• 22 days (176 hours) for those with less than 2 years' relevant service
• 25 days (200 hours) for those with 2 or more years' relevant service
• 25 days (200 hours) for those with 5 or more years' relevant service
• 27 days (216 hours) for those with 10 or more years' relevant service
• 28 days (224 hours) for those with 15 or more years' relevant service
• 30 days (240 hours) for those with 20 or more years' relevant service

Individual officers with leave entitlement greater than those set out above are to retain their existing entitlement on a personal basis. If you are appointed, promoted, retired or complete a relevant years service part way through an annual leave year, then to calculate your personal entitlement multiple 1/12 of the period of annual leave of the relevant years service by the number of months due at the higher rate (e.g. appointed in October 6 months at lower rate and 6 months at higher rate, to give annual leave entitlement for the year). 

Many forces allow officers to carry over up to five times their longest shift in hours to the following year or the equivalent in days if leave is not calculated in hours.

Casual overtime is dealt with under Regulation 25 Annex G. From 01/01/03, the first 30 minutes of each period of casual (or unplanned overtime) is to be disregarded for either payment or time off. This relates to the first 4 occasions during any week, so for example, if casual overtime was worked on 5 occasions in a week, then on the 5th occasion the first 30 minutes would not be disregarded.

However, if an officer is aware at the commencement of his tour of duty that he is required to perform overtime, that would be classed as planned overtime and would therefore be entitled to the full time worked.

A member of the rank of Constable, Sergeant, Inspector or Chief Inspector shall receive an allowance of £15 in respect of each day on which he spends any time on call.

"Day" means a period of 24 hours commencing at such time or times as the chief officer shall fix after consultation with the Joint Branch Board, and the chief officer may fix different times in relation to different groups of members.

The agreed Force working Day varies from force to force so if you are "on call" for out of office hours your claim may straddle two working days and not one.

The right to a refreshment break is contained within Police Regulation 22 Annex E.

This states that where an officer is on duty for a continuous period of 5 hours or more, time for refreshment shall, as far as exigencies of duty permit, be allowed as in the following table;

Number of Hours Refreshment Time

• Less than 6 hours, 30 minutes
• 6 hours or more, but less than 7 hours, 35 minutes
• 7 hours or more, but less than 8 hours, 40 minutes
• 8 hours or more, but less than 9 hours, 45 minutes
• 9 hours or more, but less than 10 hours, 50 minutes
• 10 hours or more, 60 minutes

The refreshment period should be between the 3rd and 6th hour of your shift, whenever practicable. Therefore it should never be the norm that you are required or rostered to take your break outside this period. Refreshment breaks are granted subject to exigencies of service, which is a pressing need or requirement which cannot be reasonably avoided. However, this does not mean that they can be abused or ignored.

Working Time Regulations covers Police Officers. They set down minimum standards which all workers are entitled to by law. Regulation 12 of the Working Time Regulations provides that were a worker's daily time is more than 6 hours they are entitled to a rest break. This is a minimum standard and does not mean that a 20 minute break should be the norm and Police Regulations can be ignored. What it does set down is your entitlement to take that break. This should be an uninterrupted period and you are entitled to spend this away from your work station if applicable.

When you do not get your entitlement to a refreshment break, or it is interrupted by a requirement to return to duty, you should ensure that this is recorded in your pocket book. You should bring this to the attention of your supervisor.

I am considering adopting a child, will I be entitled to paid leave?

In addition to 5 days police paid adoption leave, adopters who have completed 26 weeks service by the end of the week that they are notified that they have been placed with a child, are eligible for up to a further 26 weeks Statutory Adoption Leave paid at Statutory Adoption Pay rate (SAP). SAP is equivalent to the lower rate Statutory Maternity Pay (from April 2005 £106.00 per week) followed immediately by up to 26 weeks statutory additional adoption leave which is unpaid. Any paid leave taken is reckonable for service - i.e. up to 27 weeks in total for part time officers, the pay for each paid leave day is pro-rata.

Bullying is not a specific offence under any statute but it may be possible to take action under the Health and Safety legislation if it can be shown that the Force did not provide a workplace environment having due regard to the health, welfare or safety of the officer. In circumstances where it can be shown that the treatment resulted in the officer suffering a physical or psychological injury, it may be possible to take a personal injury claim.

In the more extreme cases, the Protection from Harassment Act 1996, and/or s154 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (intentional harassment) may provide legal remedies depending on the circumstances.

The time limit for lodging a claim is dependent upon the legislation that it is alleged to have been breached. A personal injury claim must be presented to the County Court or High Court within 3 years less 1 day of the alleged unlawful act(s).

Discrimination claims must be presented to an Employment Tribunal within 3 calendar months less 1 day from the date of the last alleged act of discrimination. A Protection from Harassment Act claim must be presented to the County Court or High Court within 6 years less 1 day of the acts of harassment.

The Equality Act 2010 does apply to police officers.

It is beyond the scope of this answer to outline the implications of this legislation. A leaflet published by the Police Federation on this subject is available from your local Federation office.

An officer who considers that he/she may have been discriminated against on any of the applicable grounds should contact their Federation office. Your local Equality Liaison Officer (ELO) will be able to support and advise. Please see JBB Circular no. 42/2004.

A complaint to an ET must be made within three months less one day of the act complained of. In cases where resolution appears to be possible but more time may be needed, the member should consider applying for a short stay to the Employment Tribunal. Discrimination claims to an ET must be made on Form ET1, which can be obtained from any Jobcentre Plus, Law Centre, Citizens' Advice Bureau, or on line at www.gov.uk and Ministry Of Justice. Contact your local Police Federation Office for guidance and advice.

Make sure your own behaviour does not cause offence or is misunderstood; 

Be aware of equality and diversity issues and treat everyone with dignity and respect; 

Do not be afraid to stand up against offensive behaviour, harassment or discrimination at work.

Do not be afraid to support any colleagues who are being subjected to offensive comments, conduct, harassment or discrimination. 

Know your force policies on dignity at work, harassment and bullying.

There are several types of unlawful harassment defined under the Equality Act 2010.

The first type of harassment involves unwanted conduct related to one of the defined protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation), which has the purpose or effect of violating a persons dignity or creating an offensive, degrading, humiliating, intimidating or hostile environment for him/her. This form of harassment is unlawful only if the conduct could be reasonably considered as having that effect on the complainant. 

The second type is sexual harassment which is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature where this has the same purpose or effect as the second type of harassment. 

The third type is treating someone less favourably because they have either submitted to or rejected sexual harassment, or harassment related to sex or gender reassignment.

The discrimination legislation provides protection from victimisation when someone has brought proceedings under the discrimination legislation, given evidence or information or anything else in relation to their or anothers discrimination proceedings, or made an allegation of discrimination. Victimisation does not cover a person giving false evidence or information or making false allegations if the information or allegations or evidence are made in bad faith. Police Officers may also be protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act (whistle blowing) should they raise a complaint.

If you feel able, make it clear to the harasser or bully that you object to their behaviour (you may want to take a Federation Representative or a friend with you for support); 

If the behaviour continues, keep a record of the incidents, and 

Speak to your Police Federation Representative, a supervisor or a senior officer to discuss your options;

If necessary, raise a complaint through the Grievance or Fairness at Work procedure, and 

If necessary, seek medical help.

Many forms of behaviour can constitute harassment or bullying, but most significantly, the behaviour is unwanted by the recipient. The behaviour may be deliberate or just misplaced. It may be a course of action or just one event. It can range from violence or assault to less obvious actions such as ignoring someone at work. The following, although not an exhaustive list may all constitute behaviour at work that is harassment or bullying: 

Physical: ranging from gestures or touching to assault or damage to property;

Verbal: the use of offensive jokes, banter, gossip, nicknames, shouting, persistent criticism, threats or patronising language; 

Written: the circulation of offensive notes, letters, emails; 

Display: of offensive material: posters, graffiti, lewd pictures; 

Behaviour: including isolation, noncooperation at work, exclusion from social events or setting unachievable deadlines for work.

The protections of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 extend to breast-feeding workers. (Also, the UK Government is a signatory to a declaration that supports breastfeeding and seeks to encourage the development of facilities to allow for breastfeeding or expressing milk.) A risk assessment must be carried out to identify whether there are any particular risks for you as a breast-feeding mother from the workplace or from the role it is proposed that you perform.

Before you return to work you should discuss this with your force. If you wish to continue to breast-feed after you return to work, you should expect to be provided with hygienic, private (i.e. screened and lockable) facilities and appropriate storage facilities for expressed milk (separate fridge to tea kitty or DNA one).

This will depend on the nature of the training. If risks have been identified by the risk assessment, but you are keen to continue with the training, the Force should consider whether there are any adjustments that could be made to the training programme which would allow you to continue without having to cease the training altogether.

For example, if part of the training involved vigorous role plays, it might be possible for you to continue the training by watching the role plays rather than taking part in them.

In many circumstances operational duties will pose particular risks for a pregnant woman. Forces must undertake a risk assessment and discuss the risks with you. You should discuss those risks with your doctor. 

If there are risks associated with your role the Force may remove those risks from your role or offer you a restricted duties role. If your Force does not do so or does not undertake a proper risk assessment you should discuss these concerns with your Federation Representative immediately.

This depends on the risks that have been identified by the risk assessment in your particular circumstances. The Force should not make any 'knee-jerk' or 'blanket' decisions about your duties without doing a risk assessment, discussing it with you, obtaining medical advice and allowing you to discuss the issues with your medical advisors. 

There should be the opportunity for you to come to an agreement with the Force in the full knowledge of yours and their concerns. There may be parts of the job that could be removed that would enable you to continue doing the main duties of the role.

You do not have an automatic right to work part time, but you may request part time working or other flexible working patterns at any time during your service. The Force must treat your application seriously and consider whether you can work in your current post on a part time basis, whether there is some other post that you could undertake part time, or whether you could job share with another part time worker. The Force should provide you with reasonable operational reasons why you cannot work part time. 

Student officers (probationers) can also work part time, although their probation period may be extended and particular periods e.g. some periods of training may have to be undertaken on a full time basis. If your application is approved it is best to move to part-time when you return to duty from maternity leave, not before or during your maternity leave because your circumstances may change whilst you are on maternity leave.

Unless a Doctor certifies that you are not fit enough to attend you must attend. If you are required to attend when you are on police paid maternity leave, your police paid maternity leave will be extended by the period that you were required to attend, but this will not extend your 26 weeks SMP period. 

If you are in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay, you will lose the SMP for the whole of any week and your statutory maternity leave period will not be extended. You will be paid for the days that you are required to attend court whilst on maternity leave.

This is entirely a matter for you. The exact legal position is unclear, but you should not suffer less favourable or discriminatory treatment because of your desire to breast-feed.

This depends on the risks that have been identified by the risk assessment in your particular circumstances. The Force should not make any 'knee-jerk' or 'blanket' decisions about your duties without doing a risk assessment, discussing it with you, obtaining medical advice and allowing you to discuss the issues with your medical advisors. There are different potential risks for a breast-feeding mother (and her child) in comparison with a pregnant woman and the risk assessment should reflect this. The possible risks could include in increased risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals or other noxious substances, a possible inability to express milk at regular intervals in a safe and hygienic environment and the practical difficulties associated with wearing a protective vest and increased fatigue and stress.

Notify District/Departmental HR department (if you have one) and request a Maternity Pack. Your supervisor should carry out a Risk Assessment immediately and at reqular intervals throughout your pregnancy your views should be considered. 

This pack will be sent to you and will contain details about when to notify the force you are commencing maternity leave, your entitlements to attend appointments, risk assessments and types of duties you can be expected to carry out. Also your entitlements to maternity leave/pay. 

If you encounter any problems, or need support contact your Federation Representative.

An officer who has a period or periods of maternity leave for which the expected date of birth is the 1st April 2012 or a later date is entitled to be paid as respects the first eighteen weeks of any period or periods of maternity leave, or elect to receive half pay in the fourteenth to twenty third weeks of the period instead of receiving full pay in the fourteenth to eighteenth weeks. (WINSOR 1)

You should have access to a private and hygienic room in which to rest and express milk. And separate cool facilities should be available for you to store breast milk securely until you leave work.

You must give 21 days notice in writing of your intention to return to work, unless you are returning on the last day of the maternity period. Your force should undertake a risk assessment of the role they are expecting you to undertake when you return in the same way as they were required to undertake a risk assessment when you were pregnant.

An officer who has a period or periods of maternity leave for which the expected date of birth is the 1st April 2012 or a later date is entitled to be paid as respects the first eighteen weeks of any period or periods of maternity leave, or elect to receive half pay in the fourteenth to twenty third weeks of the period instead of receiving full pay in the fourteenth to eighteenth weeks.

What happens if I have negotiated and it has been agreed that I will return from maternity leave as a part-timer, but on that day, I am sick?
If you have been appointed to start part-time hours on a particular date, you will go onto the part-time pay that you would have been paid had you been available for work.

Your pay and benefits are protected whilst you are pregnant and remain at work. You should not lose any pay or benefits because you were moved from a post which attracted additional remuneration to a restricted duties post as a consequence of your pregnancy.

Yes. Each parent is entitled to periods of leave totalling 13 weeks unpaid leave for each child below the age of 5 (or 18 weeks up to age 18 for parents of a disabled child).

Few forces have a maternity uniform. Most forces expect women to wear their own maternity clothes when their uniform no longer fits. You should check your own force policy agreed at Uniform meeting June 2006, maternity allowance payable ? Contact your local HR Manager for details.