Overtime row set to cost police force £3m
‘We had to resort to the courts’
POLICE Scotland faces a bill for millions of pounds after losing a court battle about overtime payments.
It is understood that thousands of officers past and present could claim payouts totalling a reported £3million after the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) brought a landmark case at the Court of Session, Edinburgh.
Lady Wise ruled that officers are entitled to one extra shift payment for every 24 hours they work away from home, and it is believed frontline staff can now make claims dating back to June 2012.
Some 200 officers were said to have submitted claims in the past month, with 400 more expected to follow suit. Depending on their rank and length of service they can claim up to £250 per shift.
It could drill a further hole in the finances of Police Scotland, which has a £200million funding gap.
A test case was brought by armed Royal Protection officer Thomas Barnes, who guarded the Queen and her family at Balmoral in the summer of 2015.
He was said to be one of 60 police officers who complained to bosses about overtime payments being blocked.
Constable Barnes was housed in a four-star hotel in nearby Ballater, Aberdeenshire, while working but he argued he was still on call as he was not permitted to return home.
With the backing of the SPF, in April he asked for a judicial review of the denied overtime.
According to reports, an announcement was made on the force’s intranet last month calling for officers to make applications for the payouts, following the case resolution.
Those eligible are likely to include officers sent to work in different parts of the UK, or detectives posted abroad to work on cases.
Police Scotland’s lawyers claimed that staff working away from home were not on call. But SPF representatives won by claiming the officers were technically being ‘held in reserve’ – a state which clearly denotes having a potential duty to perform work.
Police Scotland said: ‘We are aware of the decision of Lady Wise. Our objective throughout was to secure best value for Police Scotland by ensuring that officers were paid correctly.’
It added that since the judgment it has been ‘working with the SPF to establish a procedure for the submission and consideration of officers’ claims. Appropriate budgetary provisions have been made’.
SPF deputy general secretary David Kennedy said: ‘We very much regret that we had to resort to the courts to resolve this matter but the judgment clearly vindicates our decision to do so. Our members are the most flexible workforce in the whole country and can be expected to work anywhere at any time and without notice.
‘We’ve never argued against that but we expect that flexibility to be matched with fair remuneration.’
Police finances have been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks.
This month an audit of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) – which holds the force to account – revealed a deputy chief constable received £67,000 to move house. The SPA also authorised a £53,000 payment to settle the officer’s personal tax bill.