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What is happening with our shifts
Right Shift? - Balancing the organisation and the individual.
One of the first things that Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell did when he came to North Yorkshire in May 2007 was to signal a review of who we had working the 5 Band shift system and how that related to North Yorkshire Police delivering the maximum with all the resources we have.
This is not just an issue for North Yorkshire Police. You only have to look around you and you will see similar questions being asked in West Yorkshire, Humberside, South Yorkshire, Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria. The drivers for this are common:
- Matching resources to demand in a world where officer numbers are reducing
- Health & Safety legislation
- Reducing the overtime bill
Throughout the Summer and Autumn period of 2007 we pressed Jon Porter to commence meaningful dialogue on this shift review. We nominated our team of Mark Botham, Tim Hutchinson and Mick Lynch to discuss any proposals but it was not until the task was passed to Supt. Dave Coutts at the end of November that we saw any movement or contact. Throughout the process our stance has been:
- There is no need to rush this. Let's get it right rather than let's get it quick! And let's listen to the people who actually do the job as to what will work.
- Any proposal should be based on a Supply/Demand Match, backed up by evidence, so as to ensure best cover & best operational safety of officers on the ground.
- Any shift system that isn't 24/7 current 5 Band should move forward through the day i.e.. Earlies to Lates and that officer welfare considerations are highlighted -number of days off balanced with length of shift and utilising the Health & safety Executive's fatigue index. 12 hours shifts, although attractive to some because of the number of days off, are very damaging to health. Sadly nationally there have been too many people killed or seriously injured while driving home after a long shift for us to entertain that.
- The system must be manageable and managed by the Duties Teams. If it isn't then we end up messing people about to cover short notice changes. Training days should still be ring-fenced. If flexible start times are included then these should be part of a 3 month roster. After all we all know that Christmas is coming and that the East Coast gets busier in the summer.
- It must work for the people we need to work with outside the organisation - courts, public, partner agencies etc. If we fail to meet this then officers will have their rest days cancelled and that directly impinges on their home life. It is an avoidable mistake.
The original proposals in the Shift Pattern Review represent a variable shift arrangement in that they depart from a normal daily period of duty (as set out in Police Regulations) of 8 hours which you can access by clicking here:
We prepared a document setting out the SLT & JBB stance on each option:
Under Police Regulations a VSA (shift pattern of anything other than 8 hour shifts) can be introduced by the Chief Constable only if they have been agreed with him by the Joint Branch Board. The Joint Branch Board needs to be satisfied that it has the authority to signify to the Chief Constable that the proposed arrangements can be agreed.
The Regulations and the Determination are silent on how the Joint Branch Board gains the necessary mandate from its members to signify its agreement to the proposed arrangements.
In order to ensure we have a mandate from you the membership to enter into agreements, and acting on legal advice we have obtained we conducted a ballot of the membership between 29th April 2008 and 15th May 2008.
Shift system 1 the rota for officers who work a 24/7 shift pattern. Safer Neighbourhood Patrol Team, Safer Neighbourhood Response, RPG Officers, Firearms Support Officers, Custody Officers was supported by Senior Leadership Team and by the Joint Branch Board, 91.6% of you the members voted in favour.
Therefore subject to successful negotiation on Variable Shift Agreement and Workforce Agreement this can be introduced
Shift system 2 the rota for Area CID, Catch and Convict Unit, SNU (OPSU, CMU), DSU, Area Intelligence Unit and other Office based officers who currently work 5 band non 24/7 was supported by Senior Leadership Team (SLT) but not supported by Joint Branch Board. You the members rejected it universally with a vote against of 79.1%. It meant that alternative options were required to be put forward from the force for consultation and negotiation.
Shift system 3 the rota for Safer Neighbourhood Officers who currently work 5 band non 24/7 was supported by (SLT) and was supported in principle by the Joint Branch Board but felt to need further work. With a vote in favour of 45.7% and a vote against 54.3% - the Joint Branch Board did not get its required mandate and so further negotiation had to take place on this option.
Shift system 4 the rota for Neighbourhood Support Teams was supported by (SLT) and was supported in principle by the Joint Branch Board but felt to need further work. With a vote in favour of 52.5% and a vote against of 47.5% - the Joint Branch Board did not get its required mandate and so further negotiation had to take place on this option.
Shift systems 5-8 which are 8 hour options (those that can be imposed by the Chief Constable in the absence of an agreed Variable Shift Agreement) These were not supported by SLT nor by the Joint Branch Board and you the membership showed you did not want to return to an 8 hour shift system with a vote against of 80.5%.This signals clearly the need for all sides to negotiate a settlement.
93.3% of respondents answered yes to the question do you think the JBB should press for a review of any changes made to shifts after 6 and 12 months using the force's business case for change and a staff satisfaction rate as the measurements of success? And in relation to any change to relocation policy in light of shift changes 95.7% of you voted in favour of remaining as we are at present with a policy of no more than the 20 miles each way plus certain accepted journeys. ) These views therefore must be an integral part of any work the Joint Branch Board do in relation to shifts.
Developments since 15th May 2008
Whilst the Senior Leadership Team of the force wish to make it clear that they do not wish to retain the current system do not be pressurised into voting for patterns which you do not wish to give the Joint Branch Board the mandate to agree.
The potential alternative of any form of 8 hour shift system is something neither the Joint Branch Board nor the force wish as it will not address any of the drivers for change. For that reason the Joint Branch Board did not support systems 5-8 in the original shifts review document. You the membership made it clear you did not want an 8 hour shift system either.
That is why we have worked tirelessly on your behalf to try and broker more acceptable shift patterns which include dedicated training days, it is why we negotiated a new implementation date of 1st December 2008 (3 months later than originally proposed) and is why we are running a further ballot between 1st and 10th July 2008.
The results of these ballots and the decision of the Joint Branch Board which it informs will impact on the Welfare, Health and Work Life balance of the officers working within North Yorkshire Police.
We have been presented with options by the force and have negotiated tirelessly with the force to try and secure the best possible outcome for our members. We are aware that some of these changes may be unpopular. We need to make it clear IT WAS THE FORCE WHO WANTED THESE CHANGES AND SET THE PARAMETERS. We have therefore had to work within them as neither the force, the Joint Branch Board, or as shown in the results of the first ballot - you the members, wanted 8 hour shift patterns.
One of the things we have continually asked is about the business case for the night detectives. The force are adamant that at this time there remains a requirement for 1 DS and 2 DC's to work full nights. The force have also made it clear that DI and DCI's will not be required to work full nights and that HQ DS's and DC's can be included in this rota to reduce the burden on Area CID.
The second ballot
We ask you to support the options put forward by the force in the second ballot (which are the result of lengthy negotiations). But we urge you to endorse that support as conditional upon the following:
- Reviews take place of any changes made to shifts after 6 and 12 months using the force's business case for change and a staff satisfaction rate as the measurements of success all the above shift systems by the force in consultation with federation and that included in the reviews will be an examination of the requirement for CID night cover and a review of training requirements;
- That no training day may be cancelled for a pressing operational reason unless with the consultation and agreement of the federation;
- That serious attempts are made to fully utilise all the available training days. The additional day shift which falls on the Friday of week 15 in shift pattern one, will be identified as a normal working day. This day however will be used for training should demand arise.
We will ensure the force complies with its legal obligations in relation to duty rosters. There are 3 basic things to remember. A roster, once published, must last for at least 3 months and in practice not more than 12 months. A new roster must be published at least a month before it comes into force, and should succeed rather than replace the previous roster unless there are exigencies of duty which mean a change to the previous roster is necessary. In the absence of exigencies of duty there is no power in the regulations to change a roster or to reissue it in an amended form during the period for which it was originally published.
What has happened since August 2008?
Using the results of both shift ballots it was agreed by the Joint Branch Board to accept the proposed shift systems put forward by the force. This is conditional upon all the above. We have negotiated an implementation date of 9th February 2009 which means you can continue to plan for Xmas and the New Year.
As a result of issues raised by you the membership and your federation representatives we have been negotiating on amended shift patterns for CID and Case Builders. Further ballots have taken place of staff affected and we hope to reach an amicable solution based on a consensus.
We have been working on a revised Workforce Agreement and a Variable Shift Agreement - our proposals have been checked twice by our legal advisors. We await the force response as we do not agree at present with what they are suggesting.
We have also made representations that a number of you the members have contacted us to state the rota you now have from February does not bear resemblance with what you were balloted on and what the JBB signaled it agreement to with the force. Once we have the force response on this we will place a link here.
We have also been working with UNISON and the force on a Diversity Impact Assessment. We have had the drafts the force have produced checked by an independent experienced advisor on such matters and are hopeful of negotiating a successful outcome.
