A 90 day clock is available on each topic page (for example the ‘Advice’ page), and can also be viewed below:
Police officers should know their rest days, free days, public holidays on which they are required to work and specific start and finish times of scheduled periods of duty at least three months in advance under Regulation 22 and Annex E of Police Regulations. These should not be changed except for exigencies of duty.
The term ‘exigencies of duty’ appears on a number of occasions in Police Regulations and Determinations (2003) and, as it is not defined in Regs, is open to an element of interpretation. On most occasions it is used referring to the drawing up of duty rosters and any changes to those rosters. A change of duty is the most likely cause of tension between officers and Resource Management.
Police Negotiation Board Circular 86/09 did offer a definition of an exigency:
situations where a pressing* demand, need or requirement is perceived that is not reasonably avoidable and necessitates a change of roster. Changes to rosters should only be made after full consideration of welfare, operational and practical circumstances rather than purely on financial grounds.
*In this context the word pressing relates to the expected situation at the time when the duty is to be performed rather than the time when the duty roster is changed i.e. the reasons for a change may be known many months in advance but still be pressing.
It is clearly not possible to produce an exhaustive list of all the potential reasons that may necessitate changes. By way of example, however, unforeseen public order situations, court attendance, essential training, covering short notice absences due to sickness/restrictions etc would justify changes to rostered duties.
Repeating annual events where policing demand can be foreseen in advance such as Christmas, New Years’ Eve, Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night etc should not constitute an exigency, unless there was late notice intelligence which substantially changed the threat assessment for the event. Neither should it cover large events we know will happen such as Royal Ascot, Henley Regatta, Reading Festival etc.
We believe that if an event is foreseeable, it is reasonable for the force to plan officers’ duties well in advance. It is not good planning to have duties for a foreseeable event only notified at late notice. It is also not good for officers and their work/life balance and competing demands of family life outside of work.
The three month roster should be published one month before it is due to commence. If you have received a duty change for a date before the date on the home page then you have not had due notice and need to be asking Tasking and Resilience the reason for the change of duty and consulting your local federation representative. The notification of the change does not include the date changed and the date on which you were notified. It should be 90 clear days.
A) A chief officer shall cause to be published, in accordance with this determination, duty rosters for members of his force of the rank of constable or sergeant (and inspector and chief inspector in the case of part-time members) and, in the determinations made under the Police Regulations 2003:
i) A reference to a rostered rest day is to be construed, in relation to a member of a police force who is required to do duty on that day, as a reference to a day which according to the duty roster was, immediately before he was so required to do duty, to have been a rest day for the member; and
ii) a day off granted in lieu of a rostered rest day shall be treated as a rostered rest day.
B) A chief officer shall cause each such roster to be drawn up and published, after full consultation with the Joint Branch Board, at intervals not exceeding 12 months and not later than one month before the date on which it starts.
C) Each such roster shall set out, for at least three months (except one relating to a part-time member who has agreed with the chief officer on a different period) following the date on which it comes into force, in relation to each member of the force to which it relates: