The determinations contain a number of important changes to police pay and conditions of service, as part of the implementation of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) Agreement of 9 May 2002. The changes include:
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giving a statutory basis to the new competence-related threshold payment (Annex F) and special priority payment (Annex U) schemes;
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the new federated ranks’ pay scales from 1 April 2003 (Annex F)
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the halving of plain clothes allowance to £129 from 1 April 2003 (Annex F)
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the abolition of the annual duty roster, replaced by three-month duty rosters drawn up in consultation with the joint branch board (Annex E)
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the change in the trigger point for the higher premium payment for rostered rest day working from 8 days to 5 days (Annex H)
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the abolition of subsistence, refreshment and lodging allowance, replaced by a system of reimbursement (Annex V)
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the change of the rules on overtime so that the half hour disregard of casual overtime applies where an officer has elected for time-off in lieu as well as where he has elected for an overtime payment (Annex G)
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new rules on sick pay to put in place the cumulative method of calculating sickness absence over the previous year when determining an officer’s entitlement to sick pay (Annex K)
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the abolition of the minimum 16-hour requirement for officers who work part-time
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the abolition of the job share requirement for ranks of superintendent or above who wish to work part-time
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the abolition of removal allowance, replaced by a system of reimbursement (Annex V)
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the abolition of frozen manning allowance
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the abolition of the recurring escort duty allowance, although that allowance should continue to be paid as an allowance approved by the Secretary of State under regulation 34 of the Police Regulations 2003
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the abolition of firearms’ users standby allowance and the allowance for searching or fingerprinting badly decomposed bodies.
DETERMINATIONS UNDER THE POLICE REGULATIONS 2003
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by regulations 10, 11, 12, 14, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 45 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Police Regulations 2003, (“the Regulations”) has determined that:
(a) the standard of eyesight which must be met by a candidate for appointment to a police force is that specified in Annex A;
(b) the experience required by a person appointed as a chief constable shall be that specified in Part 1 of Annex B;
(c) the range within which any fixed term of appointment must fall and the circumstances in which such an appointment may be extended shall be those specified in Part 2 of Annex B;
(d) the circumstances in which a vacancy must be advertised and the contents and manner of publication of such advertisements shall be those specified in Part 3 of Annex B;
(e) periods of probation shall be applicable as specified in Annex C;
(f) the circumstances in which a member of a police force may retire shall be those specified in
Annex D;
(g) the normal periods of duty of a member of a police force (including periods allowed for refreshment), variable shift arrangements which may be brought into operation, requirements relating to duty rosters and circumstances in which travelling time may be treated as duty shall be those specified in Annex E;
(h) the rate of pay for members of police forces shall be the rate for the time being applicable to such members in accordance with Annex F;
(i) the circumstances and manner in which a member of a police force is compensated in respect of overtime shall be as specified in Annex G;
(j) the circumstances and manner in which a member of a police force is compensated in respect of time spent on duty on public holidays and rostered rest days shall be as specified in Annex H;
(k) the circumstances in which a member of a police force is entitled to receive a temporary salary and the rate of that salary shall be those specified in Annex I;
(l) the circumstances in which a member of a police force is entitled to be temporarily promoted and the rate of salary on such promotion shall be those specified in Annex J;
(m) the entitlement of members of police forces to pay during periods of sick leave shall be as specified in Annex K;
(n) the entitlement of female members of police forces to pay during periods of maternity leave shall be as specified in Annex L;
(o) the rules in accordance with which the intervals at which members of a police force are paid are to be fixed and the manner of calculating pay shall be as specified in Annex M;
(p) Parts 3 and 4 of the Regulations and determinations thereunder shall have effect in relation to a University scholar in accordance with Annex N;
(q ) the entitlement of a member of a police force to annual leave shall be as specified in Annex O;
(r) the circumstances in which a member of a police force shall be entitled to be absent on account of injury or illness are those specified in Annex P;
(s) the circumstances in which a female member of a police force may take leave for the purposes of ante-natal care are those specified in Annex Q;
(t) the circumstances in which a female member of a police force qualifies for maternity leave are those specified in Annex R;
(u) the entitlement of a member of a police force to maternity support leave, parental leave and adoption leave shall be as specified in Annex S;
(v) a member of a police force shall be entitled to be permitted to take time off for dependants in accordance with Annex T;
(w) a member of a police force shall be entitled to any allowance specified in Annex U in accordance with that annex:
(x) a member of a police force shall be entitled to reimbursement of expenses in accordance with Annex V;
(y) the uniform and equipment to be issued to a member of a police force shall be as specified in Annex W.