What is an Exigency of the Service?

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Conference
2008 Police Staff Service Group Conference
Date
16 June 2008
Decision
Carried

Conference you may recall this issue being raised a few years ago by the North West Region. Yet Conference it has become a phrase that is now being used almost on a daily basis when managers want to change/cancel annual leave, rest days, shifts etc.

Merseyside’s Chief Constable, on a forum, agreed with Chief Constable Mike Todd’s understanding, in that an “exigency is an unplanned or unforeseen event”.

UNISON were happy with this but over the last couple of years the meaning has expanded to include all annual events that Resources Managers have all year to plan for, i.e. Halloween, New Year’s Eve.

Staff are only too willing to accommodate changes and support their forces when a high profile murder or unforeseen incident occurs but the continual voice of a Manager telling staff that their rest days are being re-rostered over Halloween/bonfire night is unacceptable. What about our work/home life balance that Managers are always quoting to us?

All our forces have different high profile events to resource throughout the year but staffing resources should be better managed.

Conference therefore instructs the Service Group Executive to seek to negotiate through the Police Staff Council a definitive, clear and unambiguous definition of exigency of service as an unplanned or unforeseen event.