National Insurance and the state pension

The National Insurance scheme was established in 1948 to provide unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, retirement pensions and various other benefits to employees and pensioners in the United Kingdom (UK). From the contributions an initial allocation is set aside for the National Health Service (NHS) and the remainder held in the National Insurance Fund (NIF) which […]

Away from Home Overnight Allowance

The Police Staff Council (PSC) Handbook 2017 introduced payment of an overnight allowance payable to police staff in certain circumstances. Sadly many months after its welcome inclusion in the handbook the circumstances under which the allowance can be paid remains unclear in many police forces. Conference therefore calls for those entrusted to negotiate with the […]

Equal Pension

Conference notes that: 1)The Supreme Court decision in Walker v Innospec in July 2017, that upon John Walker’s death his husband should get the same pensions as would a wife had he married a woman, relies upon European Union (EU) law and sets aside a provision of the United Kingdom’s Equality Act 2010 that permitted […]

Bring All of Probation Back Into Local Democratic Control

This conference notes the Government’s decision to bring all offender management work currently carried out by privately owned Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) back into the public sector from the Spring of 2021. This is an admission that the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms have failed despite the best efforts of CRC staff and some CRCs […]

AMENDMENT TO STANDING ORDER SO2.1

In SO2.1 Delete “end of one Retired Members’ Conference” and insert “time of their election onto the Standing Orders Committee”.

Police and Justice employers and Workplace Adjustment Passports

Conference notes that although disabled workers are legally entitled to reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, some Police and Justice employers continue to delay or seek to avoid implementing reasonable adjustments. In particular adjustments agreed with one manager may disappear when staff move teams or change managers. Some employers have implemented workplace adjustment passports. […]

Negotiating disability leave policies with Police and Justice employers

Disability leave is time off from work for a reason related to someone’s disability. It is an example of a reasonable adjustment which Police and Justice employers have a duty to provide to disabled staff under the Equality Act 2010. It is different to sick leave – in many cases the worker is not actually […]

Dental Care

This Conference recognises that older people find it difficult to afford the cost of National Health Service (NHS) dental care. Regular dental checks can detect other more serious medical conditions, such as oral cancer and heart disease, and, as such, act as preventative health screening. Conference, therefore, calls upon the National Retired Members’ Committee to […]

Facility Time Shambles

Effective organisation. Effective representation and effective negotiation can only take place when we have effective trade union facility time agreements. We have again seen the Private Sector Probation Services put the National Probation Service (NPS) to shame, with their facility time agreements and their negotiating structures. The NPS are fettered by Cabinet Office Guidelines on […]

Remember Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy (EVR) and Other Broken Promises?

During Transforming Rehabilitation (TR1) UNISON worked extremely hard to protect staff during the split and staff transfer. We managed to secure a staff transfer agreement to ensure additional protections to the staff transfer scheme and an Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy scheme to remunerate staff who were asked to leave the Probation Service. We are now facing […]

Shame on YOU, End Low Pay in Probation NOW

When it comes to low pay, the Private Sector Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have put the Civil Service to shame. The vast majority of CRCs have abolished Band 1. They have got rid of a pay scale that would have paid staff less than the minimum wage. The National Probation Service (NPS) on the other […]

Misconduct Interviews

Police Staff who are subject to a misconduct investigations will be interviewed by Professional Standards Department (PSD) as part of the investigation. These interviews are often undertaken by detectives who are serving police officers and will be very similar if not the same as a criminal interview. These interviews will often be recorded and later […]

How many bites of the cherry?

Police Staff are probably under the most stringent scrutiny and procedural process than any other employees. At present we can be subject to a criminal investigation, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation, a misconduct procedure and vetting all at the same time. If an employee is acquitted through criminal process, they will usually […]

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Investigations

IOPC investigations continue to be an area of concern to our members. Very often the involvement in these investigations is a cause of great anxiety. Members are always concerned and worried about the potential outcomes of such investigations which is often the cause of the anxiety. Reassurance is of vital importance to members who are […]

Dealing with the effects of post-traumatic stress

Many of our members work with the public in the best and worst of situations. Our call management staff can be dealing with a missing from home one minute and a murder the next. Very often our call management staff are the first port of call for those intending to complete a suicide and the […]