Officers should not work on their rest days or be called into work on their days off, South Yorkshire Police Federation has warned.<\/p>\n
Chair Steve Kent was speaking following proposals to weaken protections around officers\u2019 rest days.<\/p>\n
In their submission to the Government-controlled Police Remuneration Review Body, the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council has proposed removing a safeguard, with officers paid at time and one-third, calculated in 15-minute increments, for the exact time worked.<\/p>\n
The submission also seeks to tighten the rules around how cancelled rest days are re-rostered.<\/p>\n
But Steve warned that this system could be abused, leaving officers\u2019 wellbeing in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cYou’d have officers being called in for an hour on their day off and you’d have officers being kept on indefinitely because of proposed changes to the way they are paid. I have already made representations to our Chief about this and these discussions are ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the way that police officers are treated and the way that police officers can be called to duty at any point, even on holidays, this is a frankly shocking proposition that would likely be abused across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Police Federation of England and Wales is fighting the changes, with its \u2018Hands Off Our Rest Days\u2019 campaign; part of the fight for better pay, working conditions and support for police officers.<\/p>\n
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