At the end of this article you will find an extract from a recently released PFEW briefing paper which concerns the latest PNB negotiations regarding the much discussed 'on-call' allowance.

To say the very least we are far from happy with what we're reading!

Firstly it is and always has been the Met IBB's stance that we should not be negotiating for an allowance that in our opinion can only legitimise an outdated and outmoded practice that is outside Police Regulations and thus not lawfully enforceable.

But that said we need to comment on what has now been published as we find it quite astonishing.

Can we say here and now that we were- until reading this paper- completely unaware that the Staff Side negotiating position had so significantly changed and for the worse.

We thought we were claiming for different amounts to be paid depending on rank. We now discover that its a one size fits all claim based on the pay scale of a 3 year PC!

We were also under the impression that the claim for the inspecting ranks would be for something in the range of a base amount of £50. It was always envisaged that the cost would be 'punitive' to stop police authorities abusing the practice and using it as a option to police on the cheap. 

We personally hoped because it would suit our published aim to condemn on-call to history's dustbin, that the amount would be so small that our members who still Volunteer (against our advice) to do On Call would realise they are being abused and undervalued and stop volunteering.

Well the Official side offer of a whole £10 is beyond our wildest dreams in this respect.

What an insult! We hesitate to call it derisory because we think its way beyond that!

We believe we have and are being badly let down by our lead negotiator on this issue and we intend to raise my concerns about their performance in the appropriate manner.

"Standby/On Call

Following the decision of the PAT that there should be a national on-call allowance, the Home Secretary wrote to the PNB Chair in September confirming his acceptance in principle of the findings of the PAT. However, he urged the PNB to discuss what it saw as the major difference between both Sides in the potential costings of such an allowance. 

The On-call Working Party met on 19 October and agreed to establish a Technical Working Group (TWG) to look at the sources of data for determining the nature, frequency and costs of on-call. In addition, Staff Side agreed to participate in a number of joint visits to forces to examine their use of on-call.

Since 19 October there have been three meetings of the TWG and two further meetings of the Working Party. During these meetings discussion focused on the quality of the data being identified through the joint visits. At the last meeting, however, both Staff Side and the Independent Chair impressed upon the Official Side the importance of being in a position to negotiate on the level of an allowance at the January PNB meeting. 

At the January PNB, the Official Side’s initial position was that it would prefer to defer this item to a further meeting of the Working Party. After some pressure from Staff Side, the Official Side did make an opening offer of a flat rate of £10 per occasion of on-call.

Staff Side rejected this, while demonstrating some flexibility by modifying its claim to 0.1 percent of a three-year constable’s salary for a duty day, 0.2 percent for a rest day and 0.5 percent for a day during a period of annual leave, as opposed to the same percentages of a five-year constable’s salary.

The Staff Side Secretary read a statement into the minutes of the meeting registering Staff Side’s disappointment. A special meeting of the PNB Federation Ranks has been arranged for 9 February 2010."