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3.4 SICK LEAVE AND PAY
(a) An officer is entitled to be absent from duty on account of injury or illness (or being in quarantine) provided that a registered medical practitioner has certified the officer to be unfit for duty. However, with the consent of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), an officer may be absent without a certificate of unfitness where this period does not exceed seven days. This seven day period includes days where the officer is not rostered to work.
(b) An officer who is absent on sick leave is entitled to full pay for six months. Thereafter, the officer becomes entitled to half pay for six months.
(c) The period during which sick pay is paid and the rate of sick pay is calculated by deducting from the officer’s entitlement on the first day the combined periods of paid absence during the rolling 12 month period.
(d) The chief constable may, in a particular case, determine that for a specified period an officer who is:
- entitled to half pay while on sick leave is to receive full pay, or
- not entitled to any pay while on sick leave is to receive either full pay or half pay.
(e) On such occasions the chief constable may from time to time determine to extend this period.
(f) Whilst each case must be considered individually, the PNB considers it would generally be appropriate for the chief constable to exercise the discretion favourably where:
- The chief constable is satisfied that the officer’s incapacity is directly attributable to an injury or illness that was sustained or contracted in the execution of his/her duty or
- The officer is suffering from an illness which may prove to be terminal; or
- The case is being considered in accordance with the PNB Joint Guidance on Improving the Management of Ill Health and the police authority has referred the issue of whether the officer is permanently disabled to a selected medical practitioner
- The Force Medical Adviser advises that the absence is related to a disability as defined by the Equality Act (”A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”) and the chief constable considers that it would be a “reasonable adjustment” to extend sick pay, generally speaking to allow (further) reasonable adjustments to be made to enable the officer to return to work.
(g) In cases where the SPA wish to question the original assessment of unfitness for duty there are clear rules outlined within Annex 13 section 1b of the determinations.