- Conference
- 2024 Police, Probation and CAFCASS Conference
- Date
- 7 June 2024
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Police Officers are not employees but servants of the Crown. Their conditions of service are governed by statute contained within Police Regulations, including those around conduct and pensions and updates from The Home Office. Police Officers are not allowed to be members of a Trade Union but may join The Police Federation (for ranks from PC to Chief Inspector), the Superintendents Association or the Chief Police Officers Staff Association (CPOSA).
Police Staff are employees in a specific role, often at a specific location, who work to a contract of employment. The terms of the contract are made up by terms and conditions underpinned by employment legislation, Police Staff Council Terms and Conditions, and locally negotiated terms and conditions. Police Staff can join a Trade Union.
There is a clear difference in the employment status of police officers and Police Staff. Police officers being under statutory regulations, with prescribed terms and conditions which can be changed by the secretary of state by amendments to or the introduction of legislation. Police Staff terms and conditions can be changed through a process of negotiation, individually, locally and through collective bargaining.
Over the years, the differences between police officers and Police Staff have become increasingly blurred with Police Staff being dealt with as though we are police officers or failing to consider Police Staff because the emphasis is on police officers. As a result, Police Staff been included in legislation and processes meant for police officers.
The use of language and how we are described and how we allow ourselves to be described, masks the differences between police officers and Police Staff. Very often our trade union is described as a staff association or a support network. We are a trade union, and we should be proud of that fact and we should ensure that our employers are aware of that. If we allow ourselves to be described as something we are not, is it any wonder that we are treated as though we are something we are not.
We are Police Staff; we are employees and we are a Trade Union.
Conference calls on the SGE to:
1)Encourage branches to use correct terminology in their dealings with employers, by providing information and definitions that highlight Police Staff status.
2)Use appropriate terminology in its communications with branches, employers, Home Office, NPCC, APCC and Police Staff Council.
3)Where inappropriate terminology is used, adopt a policy of challenging and correcting mis-assertions.