A. What are the present pay scales?

The pay of Superintendents and Chief Superintendents in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is negotiated between the Staff Side and the Official Sides of the Superintendents’ Committee of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB). The resulting pay scales are published in PNB Circulars (available at the website of the Office of Manpower Economics) and in Home Office Circulars (available at the Home Office website). Links from the Association’s website will take you to the current pay scales

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B. How many Rest Days am I entitled to?

Police Regulations 2003, Regulation 22, Annex E, paragraph 4 e) state that Superintendents and Chief Superintendent are permitted 8 monthly leave days. Subsequent Regulations state that a ‘month’ is defined as a period of 28 days.

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C. How much Leave am I entitled to?

Police Regulations 2003, Regulation 33, Annex O paragraph 1) a) i) state that the Leave entitlement is 31 days for Superintendents and Chief Superintendents.

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D. Can I get advice about pension issues from the Association?

The Association is able to give predictive pension calculations. This enables a member to see what their pension will be and the calculation will include the amount of any commutation entitlement. Similar calculations will be available from force Finance Departments and it is a good idea to get a calculation from you force Finance Dept as it will be the force that will be paying the pension in the future.

There is also a responsibility on forces to provide information about the Police Pension Scheme to contributing members. Many forces produce a booklet about the Scheme. Likewise force Finance/Pension Departments should be able to answer specific queries. A Guide to the Police Pension Scheme produced by the Home Office is available on our website.

However, if Association members have either general or specific pension queries then National Office is available as a source of information. For example, the Association has the details of a number of Superintendents who have retired under the 30 plus Scheme who are willing to talk to officers thinking about retiring under this scheme

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E. What is the Association’s structure?

Every member of the Association will be a member of a Branch which will either be one of the 43 Home Office England and Wales forces, the British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary or Isle of Man.

Each Branch will hold three meetings during the year and will elect a Branch Executive. Each Branch is a member of a District. There are 5 Districts covering England and Wales. District meetings are held three times a year and each District annually elects two of its members to become members of the Association’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

In addition to the ten District places on the NEC there are three ‘reserved’ NEC places to represent women, BME and LGBT members. Annual elections take place for these three places. All NEC members enjoy full voting rights.

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F. Who works for the Association?

The Association has four full time police officers, who are seconded from their home police forces, in the roles of President, Vice President, National Secretary and National Deputy Secretary.

The Association also has a Professional Standards Co-ordinator, a Communication Manager, a Marketing Manager, a Finance Officer, a Personal Assistant to the National Secretary and an Administrative Officer.

The Metropolitan Police Branch of the Association has a full time Branch Secretary. All other Branch officers of the Association undertake their Association responsibilities as well as their roles in their force.

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G. Who can join the PSAEW?

Only serving police officers who are Superintendents or Chief Superintendents in one of the 43 Home Office England and Wales forces, the British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary or Isle of Man can join the Association.

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H. Should Acting Superintendents join?

A Chief Inspector who undertakes duties as an Acting Superintendent remains a Chief Inspector and a member of the Police Federation. PNB Circular 08/4 sets out when an Acting Superintendent should be temporarily promoted to the higher rank.

A Superintendent or Chief Superintendent who undertakes duties as an Acting ACC remains a member of the Association and they continue to enjoy all the benefits and protections of being an Association member.

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I. Should Temporary Superintendents join?

A Chief Inspector who is promoted to the rank of Superintendent, whether substantively or temporarily, can no longer be a member of the Federation and should join the PSAEW.

A Superintendent or Chief Superintendent who is promoted to the rank of ACC, whether substantively or temporarily, can no longer be a member of the Association and should join the Chief Police Officer’s Staff Association (CPOSA).

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J. What is the subscription rate?

The annual subscription rate is set either by a vote at the Association’s Conference or by a postal ballot of the membership. The present (2009/10) membership subscription rate is £348 a year (which is £29 a month). In most Branches the subscription is paid by Direct Debit. The subscription is eligible for tax relief as professional fees

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K. Does the Association look after me if I’m the subject of complaint or other investigation?

This is a big area of work and responsibility for the Association so the answer is … Yes.

For many Superintendents being complained about or the subject of investigation is a new and unpleasant experience. There is some straight forward advice for members set out in the next few paragraphs.

Members at Risk – General Guidance

• Subject of Criminal Investigation in connection with your work?
• Received a Regulation 9 Notice?
• ‘Named’ in Employment Tribunal papers?
• Subject of a Civil Action?
• Difficult Inquest or Public Inquiry coming up?

If the answer to any of the above is ‘yes’ then you are probably ‘at Risk’ and you need to look after your interests – the good news is that the Association is in a position to help, support and advise you.

Things to do (and things not to do)

Don’t panic – but just because you are a Superintendent don’t believe you can handle it without proper advice and support.

Don’t be rushed into making a response or putting pen to paper – just because you are a Superintendent don’t believe you can make it go away by explaining your side of the story.

Let your Branch Chair or Secretary know. The Branch will pick up any welfare issues - just because you are a Superintendent don’t believe you won’t be affected in some way.

Tell the Association National Office (0118 984 4005) or make contact with the Association’s Professional Standards Co-ordinator direct (Tom Moran 07973 285260). You must be registered ‘at risk’ straight away – it is a condition of the Legal Protection Policy.

The Association then has access to a ‘Panel of Friends’ who will, depending on an assessment of what is going on, provide you with a colleague from another force who can be with you throughout the process. The Friending system is well established and it works. Don’t be tempted to get advice from someone (maybe a conventional friend) who is neither trained nor insured to give such advice and may not give good and correct advice.

The Association also has access to lawyers who, again if necessary and appropriate, will be tasked to provide you with advice and representation.

Don’t go and get your own legal advice. It will not be paid for by the Association and our experience suggests that if it is from the wrong people it will often be bad and ill informed advice.

The above guidance covers defensive cases only – when you are on the receiving end.

If you are considering taking proactive action (e.g. defamation, discrimination) then you need to consider the below

The Association does not have insurance cover for proactive cases

Don’t spend any of your own money presuming that the Association will pay it back. If the Association is going to support you in a proactive case you need to make a business case out and then submit it to your Branch Chair or Secretary who will then bring it forward for consideration. However, the Association may well look to you to jointly fund an initial legal prospects opinion and may well seek an undertaking that you will repay any monies spent by the Association if a financial settlement with the other party is achieved.

Speak to National Office at an early stage if you are considering proactive action and believe you have a case.

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L. What should I do if I get a Regulation 9/15 notice?

Please see the guidance contained in the above FAQ regarding how the association will support you.

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M. How does the Association negotiate my pay and conditions?

The workings of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) and the Police Advisory Board of England and Wales (PABEW) are not easily explained in a few sentences. There are strict rules about which matters are dealt with at PNB (matters which are ‘negotiable’) and which matters are dealt with at PABEW (matters where the outcome is ‘advisory’ to ministers).

There is a Superintendents’ Committee within the Police Negotiating Board which is made up of two Sides; the Official Side (representing the employer) and the Staff Side. The Staff Side comprises representatives from the Association’s National Executive Committee and the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents and the Superintendents Association of Northern Ireland. The Negotiating Secretary of the Staff Side is traditionally the National Secretary of the PSAEW. All matters that affect the pay and conditions of service of Superintendents and Chief Superintendents are dealt with within the Superintendents’ Committee, unless they affect all police officers in which cases they are dealt with in the Full Committee of the PNB.

The Full Committee of the PNB deals with all issues relevant to every police officer, regardless of rank. The PNB and the PABEW meet at least four times a year but Working Groups and Technical Groups will meet as required.

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N. How are the finances of the Association managed?

The National Deputy Secretary also holds the post of Association Treasurer. There is a Finance Committee to which the Treasurer reports and the National Executive Committee oversee the work of the Finance Committee. The Association’s Rules dictate the purposes for which Associations funds can be used

The membership subscription, Legal Protection Insurance premiums and sponsorship account for approximately 70% of the Association’s income. The remaining 30% comes direct from the Home Office.

Each District is allocated a percentage of the subscription Income and these District Funds are managed by the Treasurer and Officers of the District.

The Annual End of Year Accounts are audited and are published in the Association’s Annual Report.

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O. How does the Association make its policies?

The policy making body of the Association is the National Executive Committee (NEC) – see the FAQ about the Association’s structure above. However, the Association does not have a ‘policy’ on everything. The NEC will seek to have a firm policy on the key issues of the day but it would be unrealistic for the Association to have a policy on everything that can be involved in policing.

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P. How can I find out if the Association has a formal policy on something?

There is a link on this website to the published policies. However, the best way to establish if there is a policy is to make contact with the Association and ask.

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Q. How can I get my opinions on something or a question on something into the Association?

The purpose of the Branch and District structure of the Association is that there is a way to get something put on the table. If you believe there is something happening or about to happen that the Association should be aware of or to take a view on then you should raise it with your Branch officers initially who in turn can raise it at District or NEC level.

However, if you have a question or issue on which you would like to consult with colleague Superintendents across England and Wales then a better option may be to make contact with the relevant lead officer in the appropriate Association Business Area. For example if there is a ‘Crime’ issue that you would like to take forward then you can make contact with the Crime Committee Chair. All the Business Area lead contact details are available on this website.

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R. How do I get involved in the business of the Association?

There are a number of levels and roles that are open to Association members who wish to get involved in Association business. Being active at a Branch level is a common starting point, but you don’t have to be a member of your Branch Executive to become an active member of a Business Area for example or the Panel of Friends.

The Association runs Briefing Days during the year – details are available on this website. Attending a Briefing Day is a good way of finding out more about the Association and meeting the National Officers and members of Staff who work on your behalf.

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