Operation OTTER 2012
The force working day for those engaged on the Operation will be 06.00 to 06.00 Rest Day working – the general rule for this operation is that all rest days will be rerostered for those working on duties directly engaged in the operation. However, whilst every Duties Officer has been required to provide you with at least one Rest Day immediately prior to your commencement of Otter duties and one rest day immediately following, there may be a logistical problem with moving all your rest days. If this is the case, you may find that one or more days of duties whilst on Otter will be agreed for payment as rest day working. If this is the case, the hours on these days will be paid at time plus one half. You will be told which days this applies to. In general, duties on the operation will be of 8 or 8.5 hours on site, to include briefing time. There will be travelling involved and again, in general, transport will be provided. Travelling time, on transport provided, will form part of duty time. Any other travelling time is not part of duty time, including travelling by your own means where transport is available. Individuals will be advised as to whether they have a claim for mileage where they are required to travel to a transport pick up point. There are exemptions provided in the Working Time Regulations which allow, in special circumstances, which this operation is, for hours of duty and rest periods to be set aside for the duration of the operation. These have been agreed with the planning team. Some officers will be required to be on site for an early shift on day one of the operation, which will inevitably mean travelling prior to 06.00 and therefore on a rest day. Compensation for this will be paid in line with Regulations. You will be required to have every duty verified by a line manager and any overtime claimed, authorised by the planning manager for your discipline1, before payment is made. Payment can only be made if you have no SAP errors – this is our responsibility. Similarly, officers working a night duty on the last day of the operation will be travelling home after 06.00. You will be required to book off duty once you reach your home station. The hours between this time and 06.00 will be regarded as your duty for that day. The balance of hours will be shown on SAP duties as ‘Special Leave’ or similar and you will not be required to work any additional hours on that day, the following day should be shown as a rest day for you by your own Duties Officer. Payment of claims will be dealt with as quickly as possible but it is unlikely that payments in respect of this operation will appear in your pay before the December pay period. If they can be processed 1
Please see your Officers Guide earlier, they will. SAP is being re‐configured to automatically pay you for any unsocial hours you work in the following months’ pay. You will only be paid this if you have no SAP errors. Officers who are required to be accommodated away from home during the operation will be required to stay in facilities which comply with current Regulations. The changes introduced after Winsor mean that instead of you being paid for a 16 hour shift when accommodated, you will be entitled to £50 per night Overnight Allowance as well as overtime for the actual hours you work. Hardship allowance of £30 per night is payable if the accommodation is not suitable, i.e. it is not en‐
suite or you have to share with another officer. You will need to claim these allowances. Instructions on how to make these claims, where applicable will be given during and after the operation. Any overtime claim for accommodated officers will be dealt with in the usual way, via SAP. To clarify the above, if you are offered accommodation and choose not to use it, you will not have a claim for these allowances. Briefings during Operation Otter will take place each day at the Holiday Inn at 06.30, 14.30 and 22.30. Federation representatives are deployed on the Operation and available at all times, there will be a Federation Representative on duty at the Information desk in the Holiday Inn on both day and night shifts. Where ever possible other representatives will attend these briefings. The Federation Office at HQ will be open during office hours, 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. Contact us Internal dialling ‐ 44434 Direct ‐ 01273 404211 e‐mail ‐ [email protected] Lastly, please remember, you will constantly be in the face of the media in more ways than one. You may not see the camera, but it will see you. We are proud to represent our membership but are not actively looking for ‘agents’ to find us business!!