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6.11 FLEXI-TIME (INSPECTOR, CHIEF INSPECTOR AND SUPERINTENDING RANKS)
Inspecting and superintending ranks are able to accrue and take flexi-time with effect from 1 April 2023, enabling officers to balance work and home life while still ensuring that Service needs are met. The following rules have been agreed for the scheme:
| Element | Rule |
| Accounting period | The annual leave year is broken into 13 four-week accounting periods for flexi-time. |
| Positive balance | A maximum of 16 hours credit can be carried over into next accounting period. |
| Time off | Up to 2 full normal working days can be requested during each accounting period. This can be taken in days, half days or hours. Time off is subject to operational demands and should be requested 24 hours in advance. However, short-notice time off should be accommodated where possible. |
| Negative balance and time back | A maximum of 8 hours deficit can be built up within an accounting period. Any deficit must be made up as soon as reasonably practicable and should not be carried into the next accounting period |
| Balance on leaving/changing role | Flexi-time balance should be zero upon leaving the Service or changing role. Flexi-time in credit will not be paid on leaving and time owed will be claimed back from final salary. |
| Core hours and Flexi-time bandwidth | The starting point for hours worked is an officer’s published duty roster. Neither inspecting nor superintending ranks receive overtime so all hours of the day should be open to flexi-time. |
| Flexi-time and part-time additional hours | Normal rules regarding additional hours for part-time officers will apply and should be claimed in the first instance before flexi-time is accrued. This is important because part-time additional hours are pensionable. |
| Flexi-time and the requirement to work on a rest day, public holiday or annual leave | Flexi-time cannot be accrued where an officer is otherwise compensated for the actual time worked e.g. paid for a double-lock deployment or in receipt of a RRRD for the requirement to work on a rest day. The normal working hours on a day which was a rest day and has now become a normal working day is 8 hours, regardless of whether the officer works on a VSA or not. Therefore, any duty performed beyond 8 hours in total (cumulative) can be accrued as flexi-time. |
| Flexi-time and on-call | The on-call allowance is a payment to recognise the restrictions placed on the officer during the period they are on-call, not the time actually worked. Therefore, where an officer is on-call between rostered shifts, any hours actually worked within that period would count towards flexi-time accrual, because the officer is not otherwise being compensated for that time worked. If there was no call-out/ requirement to work within that period, then there would be no flexi-time accrued. Any requirement to work on a rest day during a period of on-call would be compensated in line with Regulations, as per the scenario above. |
| Flexi-time and WTRs | Flexi-time does not affect the personal responsibility for all officers to record their own working time. |