Stand-by Rules Take Advantage of Members

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Conference
2016 Police & Justice Service Group Conference
Date
16 June 2016
Decision
Carried as Amended

Conference recognises the difficulties that Forces are having in maintaining 24 hour operational cover as a direct consequence of police budget cuts. Many departments have experienced redundancies coupled with an increase in the use of stand-by as a way to provide night-time cover when unsocial enhancements have been withdrawn.

Colleagues such as Crime Scene Investigators (CSI’s) can be expected to work a full shift and then assume a stand-by role only to be called into duty and work throughout the night. The impact on police staff trying to undertake a professional service to the public is further complicated as the expectation exists to report on time for the following days shift. The situation creates a serious health and safety risk to our members who after being called out feel it necessary to return to the workplace having not had the adequate 11 hours of rest under their statutory entitlement under the Working Time Directive. To comply with their contracts of averaging a 37 hour week, police staff are having to take TOIL or hours from their annual leave allocation to make up their time when they’re unable to arrive on time for their next shift and are not reaping the benefit of the paid overtime accrued as a result of the call out. Managers are pressurising staff to take TOIL etc. rather than having to pay short notice of change of start time additional payments and the subsequent knock on effect on subsequent shifts.

Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to:

1)Survey members to see how widespread the problem is, the impact on member wellbeing and the implications on pay and loss of accrued TOIL and annual leave;

2)Campaign for the return of 24 hour cover in all areas of business that the survey shows to be problematic;

3)Contact branches seeking negotiated best practice policies that can be shared;

4)Work with the Police Staff Council to see if corrective additions to the Police Staff Council Conditions of Service Handbook could be considered for negotiation.