Senior police refuse to work past 4pm in pay row

Senior police officers in Scotland are being told to refuse to work beyond 4pm after rejecting a pay offer from SNP ministers.

The Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) said that it had advised superintendents and chief superintendents not to work outside their “core duty hours” of 8am to 4pm.

Stewart Carle, the ASPS’s general secretary, wrote a letter to Jo Farrell, Police Scotland’s Chief Constable, saying that the decision to restrict hours was “not taken lightly” and was “necessary to safeguard the health and resilience of our members”.

He said the only exceptions would be if the senior officer was dealing with “live operational circumstances, fulfilling an on-call function” or had agreed to work a different shift.

Mr Carle wrote that the ASPS would now contact public sector organisations around Scotland to ask that they do not contact its members outside “regular business hours”.

However, he said the ASPS was prepared to put this on hold until later in December in the “sincere and genuine hope that meaningful progress in conciliation can be made”.

He announced the measures after the ASPS rejected the Scottish Government’s pay offer of a 4.75 per cent rise.

This “falls short of what is fair and reasonable” and “fails to recognise the unique and personally restrictive factors of serving in the police”, he told Ms Farrell.

Senior officers want a 5.5 per cent rise, after reducing their previous demand of 5.7 per cent, describing this as a “fair and reasonable” compromise.

Mr Carle pointed out that this would match the pay rise given to NHS workers in Scotland and noted that all chief constables in England and Wales have supported a 6 per cent increase for their officers.

Withdrawing goodwill

Police Scotland chief inspectors earn between £67,223 and £71,553, salaries that would increase to £70,416 and £74,952 respectively if they accepted the Scottish Government deal. Under their 5.5 per cent demand, the pay band would be between £70,920 and £75,488.

Superintendents earn between £79,134 and £93,326, wages that would rise to between £82,893 and £97,759 under the offer made by SNP ministers. This would increase to between £83,486 and £98,459 if their 5.5 per cent demand was accepted.

Chief superintendents take home between £97,894 and £106,509, which would increase to between £102,544 and £111,568 if they accepted the 4.75 per cent rise. The latter is more than the salary for a junior minister in the Scottish Government.

This would increase to between £103,278 and £112,367 if they received a 5.5 per cent rise.

It comes after the Scottish Police Federation, the organisation representing rank-and-file officers, announced at the end of October that officers will be withdrawing their goodwill until further notice as part of the dispute.

Police officers are prohibited by law from going on strike but can choose to withdraw goodwill, or work to rule, as a means of expressing dissatisfaction.

Frustrations are ‘escalating’

In his letter, Mr Carle said the challenges facing ASPS members have become “increasingly severe” with “unprecedented reductions” in the number of superintending ranks. This was placing “unsustainable demands on those who remain”, he said.

He said: “Chief Constable, we are at a critical juncture, with our colleagues in the Scottish Police Federation having withdrawn the goodwill factor so essential to the smooth and effective running of the service.

“This directly affects our members who are the operational commanders and leaders charged with delivering effective policing services.

“As such, I must emphasise that the challenges and frustrations of our members are escalating, and we are seeing the toll this prolonged situation is taking on the mental and physical wellbeing of our members, with sickness absences now arising.

“We trust that the official side will recognise the gravity and unprecedented nature of our concerns, and work with us to reach a resolution that reflects the unstinting commitment and sacrifices our members make daily.”

But Angela Constance, the SNP Justice Secretary, told Holyrood’s justice committee: “I believe the offer of 4.75 per cent recognises their contribution and is also fair and affordable. It is above inflation and it is also in line with the UK review body.”

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “Our senior officers play a vital role in driving and directing the organisation to keep communities safe across the country, and it is right that their public service is recognised and rewarded.

“I am confident they will continue to demonstrate the highest levels of commitment. We note the position of the staff side of the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland to progress to conciliation and arbitration and are committed to cooperating with that process.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have made what we believe to be a very fair offer of 4.75 per cent to police officers, which is above inflation and higher than any pay increase agreed within the Scottish public sector, excluding the NHS.

“This is the maximum affordable offer in the face of public finances that remain under severe pressure.

“The process for agreeing officer pay is ongoing. Police officers in Scotland have consistently been the best paid in the UK, at the minimum and maximum of each rank.”