Survey results show deep dissatisfaction among Police Scotland staff, says UNISON

Police Scotland is trying to divert attention from some of the most alarming findings in its latest staff survey published today (Monday), says UNISON.

The data exposes widespread dissatisfaction, overwhelming workloads and serious concerns about the wellbeing of employees, says the union.

UNISON says the force has failed to be open and transparent about the survey results by focusing selectively on statistics showing improvements. But the figures show a much starker reality with staff feeling overburdened, undervalued, and unsupported, says the union, with chronic understaffing and mental health issues cited repeatedly as major concerns.

UNISON Scotland police staff branch secretary David Malcolm said: “Police Scotland’s attempt to spin the results of this survey does a huge disservice to its hard-working staff.

“The truth is that morale is at an all-time low and many workers are at breaking point. As many as 29% of staff have experienced bullying and discrimination.

“Police staff are the unsung heroes of the justice system, ensuring the smooth functioning of frontline services under immense pressure.

“Ignoring or glossing over their concerns only deepens the crisis. It’s time for Police Scotland and the Scottish government to stop avoiding the hard truths and deliver meaningful solutions.”

Police Staff Pay Claim 2024/25

UNISON submitted the pay claim for 2024/25 this week. Our claim is for;

A settlement that runs for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

An increase of 7% on all salary points and allowances excluding call out/standby see below with a minimum underpin of £2000 for those earning £28,296 (Grade 3, bottom increment).

An increase to the call-out/standby rate to £35 from 1st April 2024.

An underpinning minimum rate of pay of £15 per hour by 1st April 2025. This will require reviewing Grades 1 & 2 with a view to potentially merging grades to achieve the minimum wage of £15 per hour.

A buyout of all staff TOIL in excess of 35 hours (maximum allowed) at an enhanced rate.

Introduction of a call out for Post Implementation Procedure for accredited stewards of the recognised Trade Unions in line with the Police Staff Council of England and Wales agreement.

Introduction of a Distant Islands Allowance for staff who work in Orkneys, Shetlands, Outer Hebrides, Islay, Tiree and Jura

A no compulsory redundancy agreement.

An additional day leave specifically for St Andrews Day

All markets supplements are to be reviewed, negotiated, and included in the annual pay negotiations for consultation and agreement.

Urgent actions, on how we achieve a no-detriment reduction in the working week to enable members to achieve a better work-life balance. The agreement is to explore reducing the working week with no detriment to 4 days/28 hours. We want to start with a reduction to a 34-hour week at no detriment by 1st April 2025.

The claim is set at a level that we believe recognises the following key points:

RPI I currently sitting at 4.5% (Feb 24) with the overall yearly average (Feb 23-Feb 24) of 9.5%

Private Housing in Scotland has increased by 10.9% in the last year

Typical shopping basket has increased by 4.5% over the year

Total increase in the cost of living over the last 2 years has been 12.5% (all factors taken into consideration)

An appropriate reward is needed for the increased workload and stress placed on staff against a background of unprecedented changes in working practices, VR/VER and the effects of the recruitment freeze across the organisation.

We will be keeping members appraised of our negotiations so please ensure your details are up to date and if you are not a member it is time to JOIN UNISON because #wearepolicestaff

Police Staff Pay Ballot NOW OPEN

Pay ballots have now been emailed to members. Please check your spam and junk folders. There have been issues identified with members who use a work email account and still have “pnn” in the address.

If you have not received a ballot please contact branch@upsscot.org.


UNISON Police Staff Scotland members briefing

Dear member,

I have been elected as branch secretary on an interim basis until our full term election at the next AGM.

Michelle Brewster has now left the branch and we all want to thank her for the hard work and endeavours to improve the working lives of police staff.

Pay

Initial pay talks have proven that Police Scotland do not have enough money to give a pay offer that I would recommend you accept. The Scottish government has been requesting and been provided with additional evidence from PS/SPA and as a result an offer could potentially be on the table within a few weeks.

We made it clear that members are frustrated, angry and disappointed at the delays.

Recruitment Pause

The employer has told us of their disappointment that UNISON chose to release information on the recruitment pause before briefings had reached managers. It was vital for us to get that into the public domain to start building the case in the public mind to fight for our members' jobs.

We already have calls from members being asked to take on the extra duties and in some cases the duties of a higher grade. The answer to that is no... unless they take away some of your existing work!

Contact us branch@upsscot.org if you need support with this.

"Blue Light" Collaboration

As a result of the Resource Spending Review set out by the Scottish Government for the next four years and the need to make savings across the emergency services throughout that period work is in early stages to look at realising efficiencies across service delivery, assets and corporate services.

Fire, police and ambulance are looking at possible collaborative working across corporate functions such as;

1. Digital

2. Finance

3. Strategic procurement

4. Strategy, planning and reporting

5. People

6. Fleet

7. Estate

8. Training, development and learning

9. Transformation and change

10. Driver (blue light) training

They will also consider any potential there may be for greater collaboration between SFRS Operations Controls and Police Scotland contact centres. UNISON is asking for sight of the options appraisal which has been completed but not shared with us.

"CERP" Training

If you work in the C3 ACR or Service Centre you will be aware of a training course asking you to attend at Tulliallan. You DO NOT need to attend at the castle as local training provision is also being put in place.

It is UNISONs view that varying shifts and travelling to Kincardine is not necessary and is disruptive to your work life balance. We actively encourage you to speak to your management with your concerns and select the option to be trained in your substantive place of work.

Annual Leave

Members of staff should not be expected to ask a police officer if they want to take up days in their leave block before being agreed their own leave and should not be refused leave for this reason. Police staff do not have leave blocks. If this has happened to you please report it to your local steward or to the branch

Our branch Facebook page has been very active and engaging recently with many of these matters being discussed. It is one of the fastest methods of communicating with members in the absence of the bulk email system. Why not come along and like the page and keep checking for updates.

Kind regards,

David Malcolm

Branch Secretary

UNISON Police Staff Scotland

PREPARE FOR STRIKE ACTION IS THE WARNING FROM UNISON DEPUTE BRANCH SECRETARY, David Malcolm.

Your branch withdrew from the negotiating and consultation meetings, the JNCC, due to what we regard as the erasure of the trade union’s recognition, position and influence. Requests to amend the agenda to bring much-needed data to the forum; stats of sickness absence, ongoing planning for upcoming org change projects, and the status of staff in the redeployment pool, were met with resistance. The employer side would much rather hold multiple meetings across multiple work streams which stretches TU resources and results in a lack of full participation and consultation with your union.

In order to try and rectify this the UNISON team withdrew from JNCC and asked the new Director of People & Development to work with us to take the JNCC forward, to be a more constructive and valued avenue for the voice of staff.

Meanwhile, divisions and departments across Scotland have taken it as an opportunity to make plans without due consultation, to ignore us in working with staff and to continue with their disregard for our employment rights, ignoring timelines in policies and SOPS, to peruse our members to dismissal without due regard to anything beyond their own aggregated interpretation of morality and law.

Action required

As we work toward trying to improve industrial relations with the SPA and Police Scotland I am sending you this message to ask that you immediately check your contact details and membership record, to ensure they are current and correct.

UNISON must now begin to plan for industrial action and I may soon be writing to you to consult you on a proposal to strike.

Police Scotland chief constable retires at a time when police services are facing unsustainable cuts, says UNISON

Commenting on the retirement of Police Scotland’s chief constable Iain Livingstone, UNISON police staff branch secretary, Michelle Brewster said:

“It is not a surprise that Police Scotland’s chief constable Iain Livingstone is retiring earlier than expected. Police services are facing unsustainable Scottish government cuts, which will set back policing years. I found Iain Livingstone to be honest and genuine and he understood the vital role of police staff in fighting crime and keeping our communities safe.

I would like to wish him all the best in his retirement and thank him for fostering a strong relationship with UNISON. We didn’t always agree but he was determined that we should all work for the good of the communities we serve. We expect the new police chief to follow in his footsteps and to sit down with a new First Minister to get policing on to a positive way forward.

UNISON Scotland to campaign for all Covid responders to be rewarded equally

UNISON Scotland will mount a strong campaign to win the £500 payment announced by the Scottish Government for all public service staff who have kept services going throughout the Covid pandemic.

Delegates at UNISON Scottish Council backed an emergency motion from Renfrewshire branch which welcomed the payments but pointed out that it has missed tens of thousands of our public sector workers across local government and emergency services who have also worked and continue to work throughout the pandemic.

Moving the motion, Brenda Aitchison, in a nod to the panto season, said that council workers are “pure scunnered at playing Cinderella yet again,” and would be telling the Scottish Government, “Oh no you won’t!”

A number of speakers supported the motion, pointing out the wider groups of members who have been unrecognised in this payment.

UNISON Scotland will lobby the Scottish Government to demand all COVID-19 responders across Public Services are rewarded equally; issue an immediate press release highlighting the failure of the Scottish Government to recognise all workers who have put their lives at risk whilst responding to the pandemic; work alongside the STUC in their condemnation of the position taken by the Scottish Government; refer the matter to the Scottish Labour Link Committee and ask them to liaise with Labour MSP’s to raise the matter in the Scottish Parliament; and will establish an immediate online petition to be submitted to the Scottish Parliament.

Please watch out for the petiton and make sure you sign and share it, and ask colleagues, friends and family to sign it too.

Full details regarding the petition will be on the Branch website once available.

UNISON Police Staff Scotland continue to work from home throughout the COVID 19 pandemic in line with instruction from UNISON Scotland.

Initial contact should be by email to branch@uninsonpolicestaffscotland.org

Business Critical Posts

Branch representatives have been attending Operation Talla Gold, Silver and Bronze groups for Police Scotland and SPA Forensic Services in response to the Covid-19 emergency to represent your interests.

At yesterday’s Bronze Business Continuity meeting the employer side has informed us that People Services are asking all business leads to assess their work area, the roles within, and make a judgement on what is “business critical”. If all or part of a business area is deemed to be “not critical” options must be considered for home working, redeploying staff into other business critical areas within the function and if that is not an option then staff should be advised to go home until further notice as per the advice of the Prime Minister and First Minister for non-critical workers.

Any individuals asked to go home are not reporting absent, they will be recorded as “home deployable”. They will be expected to be available during their normal working days as the organisation will look to redeploy some staff to business-critical areas across the organisation.

Branch representatives will meet with Police Scotland to work on a recognition agreement for redeployments to ensure your rights are protected and that guidance is clear.

We are satisfied this is the right direction to take and will continue to monitor the deployment of our members. Thank you all for your support, your emails and examples that have helped us move this issue, and for the service you are providing to keep us all safe.

UNISON Submission to Policing Sub Cttee capital resourcing inquiry (Post Budget)

After police stations began to literally fall apart last year, Holyrood’s Justice Committee began an inquiry into capital spending in Police Scotland. This was part of their pre budget scrutiny of the Scottish Government.  They published their conclusions in November,  the Scottish Government promised to respond soon after the budget. The response came in the form of a four page letter from the Cabinet Secretary that really didn’t add much to what was known – or offer any significant improvement to the current woefully inadequate situation.  The Sub Cttee asked for our comments on the response. We’ve given them…

https://unison-scotland.org/wp-content/uploads/UNISON-Scotland-policing-capital-budget-response-feb-2020-1.pdf

UNISON Police Staff Scotland AGM 2020

Tuesday 11thFebruary

10:30 Conference Room, Old Perth Road, INVERNESS

 

Wednesday 12thFebruary

10:30 Conference Room, Nelson Street, ABERDEEN

 

Thursday 13thFebruary

10:30 Conference Room 1, Bell Street, DUNDEE

13:30 Meeting Room, Rushton Court, DUNDEE

 

Monday 17thFebruary

10:00 Conference Room 2, Scottish Police College, TULLIALLAN

 

Tuesday 18thFebruary

10:00 Lothian room, FETTES

[CANCELLED] 13:30 Conference Room, ST LEONARDS

 

Wednesday 19thFebruary

10:00 Lecture Theatre, GLENROTHES

13:30 Meeting Room, Randolphfield, STIRLING

 

Friday 21stFebruary

10:00 Council Meeting Room 2, Civic Centre, LIVINGSTONE

 

Tuesday 25thFebruary

10:00 Collins & Nelis Room, Scottish Crime Campus, GARTCOSH

15:00 Atrium, 2 French Street, DALMARNOCK

 

Wednesday 26thFebruary

14:00 Conference Room, Motherwell Police Office, MOTHERWELL

 

Thursday 27thFebruary

10:00 Small Conference Room, Govan Comms Complex, GOVAN

 

Friday 28thFebruary

10:30 Conference Room, Loreburn Street, DUMFRIES

Scottish Parliament need data on police officers backfilling posts, says UNISON.

UNISON Police Staff Scotland, the branch of the trade union that represents police staff in Scotland, has criticised the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee because it is unable to understand the extent of police officers back filling police staff jobs, due to lack of data.

The criticism was made in response to the report on post-legislative scrutiny of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 - The Police Service of Scotland, which has been published by the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee.

The report acknowledges that police staff jobs are being back filled by police officers in order to meet financial savings, but says it does not know the extent of problem because they have not been given the information they need to assess it.

David Malcolm, Deputy Police Staff Branch secretary said: “The Policing 2026 project was brought to the trade unions as a way to rebalance the work force. It set out to prevent our member’s jobs being carried out unnecessarily by police officers. After all, police staff provide better value to the public purse and police officers should be out on the street helping the public. We can not allow the salami-slicing of our members jobs to continue. It is bad for police staff and bad for public services.”

Gerry Crawley, UNISON regional organiser said: "This report makes clear that around 2000 police staff have been lost from the organisation. But the committee was not given the relevant data to establish the extent to which police officers have been backfilling posts. Police staff carry out highly skilled roles to protect the public. Work should be done by Police Scotland to provide the information the committee need, as soon as possible.”

You can read the report here: https://www.parliament.scot/newsandmediacentre/111519.aspx

Happy International Women's Day 2019

UNISON is THE women's organisation.

Women make up the majority of our trade unions membership.

Police Staff Scotland branch recognises this importance in our own branch constitution that commits to improving proportionality in our branch.

Our women's group organises and campaigns around women's issues.

Every day we are taking steps toward improving women's involvement in our movement.