Update on Restricted Duties
Tom Winsor in his Winsor II Review of Police Pay and Conditions of Service recommended changes in Police Regulations with a view to making it easier to remove officers who were unable to perform the full range of police duties as a result of injury or illness. (See Winsor Recommendations 38, 39, 40, 41 and 71). Other proposed reforms included the removal of remuneration for such officers after twelve months of being on restricted duties (removal of the so called X factor which equates to the lower of 8% of gross salary or £2,922).
Several PNB and PAB Working Group Meetings have taken place since January between the Staff Side and the Official Side in an attempt to reach agreement on these proposals. During the course of these negotiations it became clear the Official Side wished, in fact, to introduce reforms to restricted duty which went further than the Winsor proposals themselves.
Unfortunately, although the two sides were agreed on several proposed reforms of the current arrangements, the Staff Side registered a ‘failure to agree’ to the Winsor Recommendations in respect of restricted duties at the PNB meeting held on 24th July.
Staff Side’s position remains that the fundamental problem in dealing fairly with police officers who are on long term restricted duties is the artificial suppression by many forces of the number of ill health retirements in the police service.
At yesterday’s PNB meeting the Independent Chair of PNB, John Randall, considered whether the two sides would benefit from conciliation in respect of the inability to agree the proposals on reform of restricted duties; he decided in the event that the two sides were so far apart from agreement that conciliation was not appropriate. As a result these matters will now proceed to the Independent Police Arbitration Tribunal. Members will be updated further in due course.