Part Time Working

Police Officers who work full time are paid an annual salary for 40 hours duty per week. Officers who work part time are paid an hourly rate pro rata to the salary they would receive if they were full time.

A full time officer is entitled to a number of annual leave days commensurate with their police service, each day having the value of 8 hours paid leave. A part time officer is entitled to the same number of annual leave days as a full time officer, however each day will have a pro-rata value according to their agreed hours of duty. For example, if an officer performs 20 hours duty per week they will be entitled to 4 hours paid leave for each annual leave day, giving a total number of annual leave hours for the year that is half the entitlement of an equivalent full time officer.

If part time officers work additional hours to their agreed hours of duty, then providing they have worked less than 40 hours in total for that week, compensation for those additional hours is paid or taken off at plain time. The first half hour is not discounted from the additional hours worked because this is not classed as overtime. Only additional hours worked over 40 hours per week attract an enhanced rate of pay.

Note: Any hours worked in addition to the agreed hours, up to a maximum of 40 hours a week, are pensionable and pension contributions will automatically be taken from 1 July 2007.

A part time Officer’s duty roster will comprise of duty days, free days, rest days and public holidays.

• A duty day is when the Officer will be performing their duties.
• A free day is when it has been agreed that the Officer will not work and is defined as not being a duty day, a public holiday or a rostered rest day.
• A rest day is defined as neither a duty day or a free day. Both full and part time officers are entitled to 2 rest days per week.
• A public holiday occurs on Christmas Day, 26th December, New Year’s Day, Easter Monday and any other bank holiday dates.

Whilst a full time officer is entitled to 8 hrs paid leave on each of the public holidays, part time officers are entitled to public holiday leave on a prorata basis according to the number of hours they perform duty, for example:

• If a part time officer works 20hrs per week they are entitled to 50% of the hours of public holiday leave received by a full time officer, equivalent to 4hrs paid leave for each Public Holiday.
• If a part time officer works 32hrs per week they are entitled to 80% of the hours of public holiday leave received by a full time officer, equivalent to 6.4hrs paid leave for each Public Holiday.

If a part time officer’s free day falls on a public holiday, the day is treated as a public holiday and the officer is entitled to their pro-rata hours of paid public holiday leave. These hours should be accommodated as time off within their shift pattern.

A part time officer who performs duty on a public holiday receives the appropriate rate of pay for the hours of duty they perform.

If a part time officer is rostered for duty on a public holiday and they take the day off, they would owe the force the difference between the pro-rata hours of paid leave they receive for the public holiday and the number of hours for which they were rostered for duty. These should be worked as additional hours within their shift pattern.

If a public holiday falls on a rest day both part time and full time officers are entitled to have their rest day re-rostered to another duty day.

If the part time officer has the rest day rerostered, and takes the day off as a public holiday, they are only entitled to the pro-rata hours of paid leave they receive for a public holiday. They would owe the force the difference between these hours and the hours of duty they had been scheduled to perform on the day to which the rest day was reallocated. These hours should be worked as additional hours within the shift pattern.

Alternatively, subject to local agreement, the officer could take the day off as a rostered rest day and the force would owe the officer the pro-rata hours of paid leave they would have received for the public holiday. These hours are paid leave and should be accommodated as time off during the shift pattern.

Both part time and full time officers are compensated in exactly the same way for Rest Day working:

• if the officer receives more than 15 days notice the rest day should be reallocated within 4 days of it being cancelled;
• if the officer receives less than 15 days notice then they should be paid at the appropriate rate of pay for Rest Day working, or they may elect to take the time off in lieu of payment.

When Part Time Officers are required to perform duty on a free day it attracts the following compensation:

1. If the duty is one that only that officer can perform (e.g. attendance at court) and:
   • the officer receives more than 15 days notice, the free day should be reallocated within 4 days of it being cancelled;
   • the officer receives less than 15 days notice then the additional hours should be paid at plain time or alternatively taken as time off equal to the duty time worked.
2. If the duty is one that can be performed by any officer (e.g. operational policing) and:
   • the officer receives more than 15 days notice, the free day should be reallocated within 4 days of it being cancelled;
   • the officer receives less than 15 days notice they should be paid at the appropriate rate of pay for Rest Day working.

A full time officer appointed prior to the 1st September 1994 is entitled under his/her terms and conditions of service to be provided with a house or quarters free of rent, or to be paid a housing or transitional rent allowance.

Officers in receipt of housing/transitional rent allowance who commence part time working should be paid the allowance pro rata and on returning to full time working should receive the full allowance.

A partner/spouse of a part time officer, who is also a serving Police officer in receipt of housing/rent allowance and who resides with the part time officer, is entitled to an increase in their housing/rent allowance to compensate for the pro rata reduction in the allowance paid to the part time officer.

Home Office guidance provides that “A part time officer who, prior to commencing part time service, was provided with accommodation may continue to reside in such accommodation if his/her Chief Constable considers that it is conducive to meeting the operational needs of the force”. Part time officers living in Police owned accommodation should check their force policy/orders.

An officer who works part time will receive pro rata London and South East Allowance.

A part time officer should receive pro rata payment of an allowance only if the expense for which the allowance is paid reduces with the reduction to part time hours.