On call

On Call 

On call is: “A predetermined requirement for an officer/staff to be available, outside of their normal working hours, to attend or undertake duty”. 

An officer/staff who is on call is essentially off duty and free to undertake the majority of their personal pursuits. 

For this reason, on call does not qualify for overtime, for which the officer/staff may become eligible once the recall to duty has taken place. In readiness for duty, it is necessary that the officer on call is: 

1. Contactable by telephone or mobile telephone. 
2. Available to return to duty within a reasonable period of time. 
3. Able to obtain access to appropriate transport. 
4. Fit for duty (this includes not having consumed alcohol, being mentally or physically exhausted (previous extended shifts) or any other personal circumstances that may affect decision making). 

Recall to Duty 

It is important to note that there is a clear distinction between being recalled to duty and being on call. 

There is a “statement of expectation” included in Regulation 25, Police Regulations 2003, that officers may be recalled to duty at any time. A recall to duty would normally arise only in respect of urgent and unforeseen events and all police officers must recognise there is the potential to be recalled to duty to deal with such an incident. This is not the same as being on call which is a pre-determined requirement. 

Constables and sergeants recalled to duty are compensated in accordance with Regulations 25 and 26 (Recall to duty and minimum compensation for rest days/public holidays; there is no minimum payment for a recall between two tours of duty). All ranks would be compensated under regulation 33 for being recalled from a period of leave. 

Work on a rest day for Inspecting ranks would also be subject to compensatory rest under Regulation 26. 

If an officer has to take some action as a result of a phone call then this would be considered a recall to duty.  However, just answering a query would not constitute a full recall. 

If an officer is on call and required to attend the City; this is recall to duty. 

If an officer is required to attend a different location to carry out a duty, this is recall to duty. 

If an officer remains at home but is required to perform work, make calls, arrange meetings, tasks etc they can claim in periods of 15 minutes. 

Working Time Regulations 

Care must be taken to avoid breaching the Working Time Regulations. While officers are not, as a rule, on duty whilst on call (and therefore, hours on call do not count for working time purposes) unless and until they are contacted and/or called out to report for or undertake duty, managers must be aware that the requirement of any officer to undertake duty will be working time. In order to avoid a breach of the WTR it will therefore be necessary either to ensure that any call would not interrupt an entitlement under the WTR or that Regulation 18 (excluded sectors) or Regulation 21 (special cases) applies. Where officers are called they should not be retained on duty any longer than absolutely necessary.  

An exception would be where the requirement of on call includes staying at a specific location (e.g. a hotel). It would be recorded as working time with, where necessary, compensatory rest days or annual leave applied.  Please note, this is different from being away from home. 

Application General 

Officers can be on call (on an agreed basis) only at a time when they are not rostered to be on duty. However, no officer should be permanently required to be on call.  

There should also be predetermined periods (e.g. a day, weekend or week at a time) when officers who agree to be on call will be notified of a requirement and time span not normally exceeding 7 days in a 28 day period. In some roles, the requirement to undertake on call duties will be fundamental while for others it will be purely voluntary. 

Application Detail 

The requirement for officers to be on call within a directorate must be assessed by the directorate head and agreed by the relevant member of the chief officer team (COT). 

On call rotas must include clear written arrangements for: 

• The hours in the day an officer will be on call. 
• The days of the week an officer will be on call. 
• The minimum (1) and maximum (7) consecutive number of days in any period. 
• The restrictions, if any, to be imposed on an officer who is on call, including the requirement to respond to a telephone call, the requirement to attend the normal place of duty, the requirement to attend a temporary place of duty, the equipment (and access to the equipment) necessary to attend an incident and the requirement to be retained away from home, e.g. in a hotel, or be within a specified geographical area. 

The above would need to be measured after consideration is taken of the following: 

• The freedom to be away from home.  
• The freedom to engage fully in personal commitments, e.g. family life, activities or business interests, consumption of alcohol, etc.  

Allowances & Claims for being on call 

An officer of the rank of constable, sergeant, inspector, chief inspector, superintendent or chief superintendent shall receive an allowance of £20 in respect of each day on which s/he spends any time on call.  

For the purposes of this allowance the 24 period will commence at the moment that the on-call requirement commences.  Each new period will commence at the end of that 24 hour period.  

Appendix A 

Approved On Call Roles