The Home Secretary has announced that she will accept in full the decision of the Police Arbitration Tribunal in respect of the recommendations in the Winsor Review’s first report. This document attempts to explain the changes proposed in the first report from the Winsor Review and how far they have been modified by the recent decision of the Police Arbitration Tribunal.
1) Overtime
Winsor recommended the following:
- Casual overtime should be reduced from time and a third to just plain time
- The minimum hours for being recalled between duty should be abolished and instead paid at plain time for the hours worked plus travelling time.
- Officers should no longer receive double time for working on a rostered rest day with less than five days’. Instead all rest day working with fewer than 15 days’ notice should be at time and a half.
- Police officers should be able to nominate seven days in addition to 25 December which will count as their public holiday entitlements. If they have to work on those days with less than 15 days’ notice, they will receive double-time, but an ACC must authorise the cancellation of their nominated public holiday.
The PAT has modified these proposals. While the recommendations in relation to recalls to duty, rest days and public holidays have been retained, all casual overtime will still be payable at time and a third rather than plain time. This will also apply to any travelling time for recalls between tours of duty.
2) On-call
Winsor recommended a national on-call allowance of £15 for each occasion of oncall after the officer in question has undertaken 12 on-call sessions in the year.
The PAT did not make an award, meaning that this recommendation was not accepted. In explaining why it did not make an award, the PAT stated that the proposed level of £15 was “rather low”, given:
- The high level of skills required to be possessed by officers who are on-call.
- The proposed 12 on-call sessions qualifying period.
- The fact that an amount of £23 per session has been applied in Scotland.
The PAT agreed with Staff Side that the issue of on-call should be examined as part of Winsor Part Two.
3) Variable Shift Arrangements
Winsor recommended that Chief Officers will no longer need JBB agreement before bringing into operation a variable shift arrangement (VSA).
Unfortunately the PAT accepted this recommendation. Now Chief Officers will only need to consult, rather than agree, a VSA with the local Joint Branch Board. They will also have to consult with the affected officers and take full account of their individual circumstances, including the likely effects of the new arrangement on their personal circumstances. New shift arrangements should not be brought into effect earlier than 30 days after the communication of the decision of the Chief Officer.
4) Part-time working
Winsor recommended that an officer wishing to return from part-time to full-time working, must be appointed within two months if the force has a suitable vacancy, and within four months of the written notice being received.
The PAT has accepted this recommendation.
5) Mutual Aid/Held in reserve
Winsor recommended that:
- The Hertfordshire Agreement should no longer apply for officers on mutual aid, and that officers should be paid for the hours they are required to work each day, plus travelling time to and from the place of duty.
- That the definition of ‘proper accommodation’ should be revised to describe a single occupancy room with use of en suite bathroom facilities. Where such accommodation is not provided, the officer should receive a payment of £30 per night. The current definition of ‘higher standard accommodation’ should be removed and not replaced.
- Officers held in reserve on a day and who have not been paid for any mutual aid tour of duty that day, should receive the on-call allowance of £15 for that day.
- The PAT has modified these proposals:
- The PAT has awarded that officers on mutual aid who are unable to return home are to receive a new 'Away from Home Overnight Allowance' of £50 per night, as well as payment for all hours worked plus travelling time to and from the place of duty.
- The PAT has accepted the definition and payment level in respect of ‘proper accommodation’.
- The PAT has not made an award in respect of an on-call allowance (see above).
6) Pay increments
Winsor recommended that all officers below the top of their pay scale should be suspended at that increment for a two-year period.
The PAT has modified these proposals. The first three steps on the constables’ scale will be excluded from the proposed suspension.
7) Competence Related Threshold Payments
Winsor recommended that Competence Related Threshold Payments (CRTPs) should be abolished.
The PAT has modified these proposals. CRTPs will remain in place for those who already receive them, but there will be a two-year freeze on new applications.
8) Special Priority Payments
Winsor recommended that Special Priority Payments (SPPs) should be abolished all outstanding SPPs should be paid on a pro-rated basis.
The PAT has accepted this recommendation.
9) Housing Allowance
Winsor recommended that:
- Housing replacement allowance should remain, but that it should not go up for an officer if their personal circumstances change, for example if they receive a promotion.
- The existing framework, by which the amount an officer receives reduces when he or she lives with another officer also receiving the allowance, should remain.
The PAT has accepted this recommendation.
10) Role-related pay (EPAA)
Winsor recommended that an interim Expertise and Professional Accreditation Allowance (EPAA) of £1,200 per annum should be introduced for officers in the following categories:
- Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) accredited detectives
- Officers accredited to Public Order Level 1 or 2
- Officers in possession of Authorised Firearms Officer status
- Officers who have worked in Neighbourhood policing for three years
These roles were chosen without any apparent transparency and Staff Side hade concerns that they would lead to an increase in the gender pay gap. There was also evidence that forces would restrict the numbers of officers which could access these roles.
The PAT did not make an award, accepting Staff Side’s view that rewarding officers in particular roles or with specific skills should be properly examined in Part two of the Winsor Review, looking at longer term reform.
11) Unsocial Hours Payments
Winsor recommended that all constables, sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors should receive an additional 10 per cent of their basic pay, on an hourly basis, for any hours worked between 8:00pm and 6:00am. This allowance would not be pensionable.Winsor estimated that officers on a standard eight-hour alternating shift system within a four-team pattern would receive an average unsocial hours allowance of:
- Constables – £1,200 per annum
- Sergeants – £1,500 per annum
- Inspectors – £1,900 per annum
- Chief Inspectors – £2,100 per annum
The PAT has accepted this recommendation.
What happens next? Clearly officers will have questions about the implementation of the PAT ruling. The PAT did not specify a deadline for any of its recommendations to be implemented, but it did envisage that the necessary changes to administrative processes to implement its recommendations would have been completed by 1 April 2012.
Subsequent to the Home Secretary’s announcement, we expect a Home Office Circular and draft determinations for consultation within the Police Negotiating Board, which would set out the timeframe in respect of the implementation and detailed operation of the changes set out in the PAT ruling.
IAN RENNIE
General Secretary
30 January 2012
