Avon and Somerset Police Federation

An officer should know for three months ahead their rest days, and the start and end times of their tour of duty. These should not be changed except for exigencies of duty. An exigency is not defined in the police regulations, however the dictionary definition is as good a guide as any and this defines an exigency as 'an urgent or pressing situation'.

The three month roster should be published one month before it is due to commence. If you have received a duty change for a date before the date shown below then you have not had due notice and need to be enquiring of your resource unit the reason for the change of duty and consulting your local federation representative. The notification of the change does not include the date changed and the date on which you were notified. It should be 90 clear days. Any change after the date below will therefore be valid.

REGULATION 22

• i) a reference to a rostered rest day is to be construed, in relation to a member of a police force who is required to do duty on that day, as a reference to a day which according to the duty roster was, immediately before he was so required to do duty, to have been a rest day for the member; and
• ii) a day off granted in lieu of a rostered rest day shall be treated as a rostered rest day.
  • b) A chief officer shall cause each such roster to be drawn up and published, after full consultation with the Joint Branch Board, at intervals not exceeding 12 months and not later than one month before the date on which it starts.
  • c) Each such roster shall set out, for at least three months (except one relating to a part-time member who has agreed with the chief officer on a different period) following the date on which it comes into force, in relation to each member of the force to which it relates:
    • i) his rest days;
    • ii) those days, being public holidays, on which he may be required to do duty;
      and
    • iii) the times at which his scheduled daily periods of duty (rostered shifts for members working variable shift arrangements and for part-time members) are to begin and end; and
    • iv) for part-time members, his free days