Inspectors Need More Flexibility

A NEW national Federation blog that aims to help Inspectors manage their working hours and find some flexibility in their role is very timely, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

The blog addresses issues including how many hours Inspectors need to work, the finer details of Working Time Directive Hours, and concerns raised by the PFEW Wellbeing and Health & Safety Leads.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “This blog has come at a good time, as Federation Secretary Dave Baines and I have been doing some work behind the scenes to get information and surveys from our inspecting ranks.

“Sadly, we hear horror stories of inspecting ranks who are working so many hours that they never have time to take those hours back, so some of them are probably earning less per hour than PCs and Sergeants out there.

“It’s really difficult at the minute, with a lot of demands out there. We are aware that the on-call requirement is causing problems, as is the requirement to fill other full-on roles. We are exploring that with the force from a health and safety point of view.”

Inspectors needed to know their rights, Steve said. He continued: “I think we need a cultural change – across the country, not just South Yorkshire – around presenteeism in inspecting ranks. Those officers shouldn’t have to work 50, 60, 70 hours a week, they should be expected to have a balanced work life, and that’s something that we’re actively working with the force on, because something has got to change.

“In the meantime, if Inspectors are struggling, they definitely need to reach out to us. There are things that we can do in terms of working time directives that we can apply. We can have conversations with senior managers about it. We need to make sure that this isn’t getting out of control.”