1) I have had to return from Annual Leave to attend court, what can I claim?

You will be entitled to the following:-

• Recalled for 1 day or 2 days
• An additional 2 days annual leave for each day recalled or 1 days annual leave & 1 days pay at double time, for each day.
• Recalled for 3 days or more
• As above for the first two days then 1 ½ days annual leave or 1-day annual leave & half days pay at double time in lieu of each such day recalled thereafter.

Regulation 33 covers the above. Annex 0, Paragraph 5(a) of Police Regulations and Determinations 2003, which goes on to say under Paragraph 5(b);

This paragraph applies to a period of absence from duty of 3 or more days, where at least one of the days is a day of annual leave and the other days, if not days of annual leave, are rostered rest days, days taken in lieu of overtime, public holidays (or days taken off in lieu thereof) or monthly leave days, or any combination thereof.

Under PNB Circular No.03/15 - The above compensation applies to officers actually recalled from annual leave, but also to annual leave that has been pre-booked/scheduled.

2) I had to remain at work at the end of my shift what can I claim?

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 14.00 x 22.00, you cannot claim overtime until 22.30. 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.

3) I had to remain at work at the end of my shift after nights going onto a rest day what can I claim?

If you are required to work over following a night shift and this is going into you rest day, you are entitled to claim 1 hour overtime at time and a half for the 1st hour. After that hour if you still have to remain on duty you will get a minimum of 4 hours at time and a half even if the period of overtime is less than 4 hours. You do not lose the 1st half an hour.

4) What can I claim for working on a rest day?

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. 

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

5) What can I claim for working on a bank holiday?

Working on a bank holiday 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 bank 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 bank 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.

6) I was told I had to start my shift earlier than scheduled, what can I claim?

Where the time at which an officer is due to commence a rostered tour of duty is brought forward without due notice (less than 8 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 7 A.M.

If the day were a rest day, then the overtime would be at time and a half for a minimum of 4 hours.

If you are given more than 8 hours due notice of the duty change then your working day merely starts at the new time. (Reg 25 )

7) I am being asked to change my duties at short notice, can they do that?

The Chief Officer shall cause to be published duty rosters for members of his/her force after full consultation with the Joint Branch Board at intervals not exceeding 12 months and not later than 1 month before the date in which it starts. Each roster will set out for at least 3 months the following:

• His/her rest days. 
• Public Holidays in which he/she may be required to do duty on.
• The time at which his/her scheduled daily period of duty begins & end.
• For part time members his/her free days.
• Intervals of at least 11 hours between the end and the beginning of the next shift.
• An interval between rostered rest days not exceeding 7 days.

Where alterations are made to an annual duty roster after its publication these changes must arise from the exigencies of duty (unless they are made at the officer’s own request or have otherwise been agreed with the joint branch board). The term exigencies of duty should be interpreted as relating to situations where a pressing demand, need or requirement is perceived that is not reasonably avoidable and necessitates a change of roster. In this context the word, pressing, relates to the expected situation at the time when the duty is to be performed rather than the time when the duty roster is changed, i.e. the reasons for a change may be known many months in advance but still be pressing.

Changes to rosters should only be made after full consideration of welfare, operational and practical circumstances rather than purely on financial grounds. Because rosters are produced annually a number of unforeseen reasons for changes may subsequently arise. It is clearly not possible to produce an exhaustive list of all of the potential reasons, which may necessitate changes. However, by way of example, unforeseen public order situations, court attendance and essential training would justify changes to rostered duties. An officer should be told as soon as the requirement for the change is known and at the latest, by midnight on the calendar day before the changed period of duty commences.

8) My rest day was cancelled with less than 15 days notice 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 4 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 5 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.

9) I was recalled to duty from home, what could I claim?

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

10) My sons' school was unexpectedly closed for the day and 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 spouse
• a child
• a parent
• 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.

If you can't find what you are looking for here please feel free to contact the Federation Office.

11) What information can we access regarding the pension reforms?

The following PDF provides an overview of the Pension Reform and the information available to you:

Federation News: Police Pension Reform (September 2012) (PDF)