BEDFORDSHIRE POLICE
ACTING AND TEMPORARY RANK POLICY
REFERENCE NUMBER
: 8062
REVISION HISTORY
:
NEW/REVISED POLICY
: REVISED
POLICY OWNER
: Recruiting and Career Development Services
IMPLEMENTATION DATE : June 2004
REVIEW DATE
: April 2005
POLICY STATEMENT
This policy informs staff when an officer may be considered for 'Acting' in a higher rank and when an
officer can be promoted to the rank on a 'Temporary' basis.
1.
POLICY
1.1. Acting up arrangements may be considered to cover the absence of the usual postholder
where it is deemed necessary to maintain operational integrity. Such contingencies may
include cover for attendance on a course, long term sickness, maternity leave and incident
rooms.
1.2. Acting to cover annual leave should not normally be considered unless the post, as a
requirement of statute or regulation, has to be filled at all times. An example of this would be
under PACE where there is a requirement for a reviewing Inspector or Superintendent.
However, it is recognised that such cover may from time to time be necessary to provide
operational resilience.
1.3. Officers who have a misconduct finding which results in them being reduced in rank will be
eligible for consideration for acting / temporary duties once a period of 12 months from the
date of demotion has elapsed.
1.4. Officers undertaking acting and/or temporary duties at the higher rank will be reported and
monitored through the Force Personnel Meeting.
2.
DEFINITION
2.1. An officer holding acting rank is a member of the lower rank who is authorised to carry out
duties of the higher rank.
2.2. An officer promoted to a temporary rank actually holds that rank.
3.
SUITABILITY
3.1. Performing duties in an acting or temporary rank may provide a valuable opportunity for
personal development as well as fulfilling organisational needs and the following should be
considered, in order of
preference, in addition to the Equal Opportunities policy when deciding
suitability for acting or temporary duties:
3.1.1.
Officers qualified for promotion, by virtue of passing the national examination
3.1.2.
Constables and Sergeants who have passed Part I of OSPRE may act however are
not eligible for temporary duties. (An OSPRE Part I pass expires if the candidate has
not passed Part 2 within five years)
Form 20
Revised September 2003
3.1.3.
Officers with relevant specialist experience may act
but should only be considered
after those falling within 3.1.1 & 3.1.2, however, they are not eligible for temporary
duties
3.1.4.
Officers for whom a period of acting would provide a development need identified
through the appraisal process or an agreed personal development plan may act,
subject to 3.1.3, but are not eligible for temporary duties.
3.2. Personnel not meeting any of the criteria will not be used for acting duties other than on an ad
hoc basis and then only in the short term (that is for seven days or less). Additionally,
individuals who do not meet any of the above criteria should not perform acting duties for more
than a total of 28 days in any twelve-month period.
3.3. For Chief Inspector and above, all Inspectors are eligible.
3.4. Where a vacancy arises in any rank up to and including Chief Inspector for less than 8 weeks
this will be covered by acting.
3.5. Where a vacancy arises in any rank up to and including Chief Inspector for 8 weeks or more
this will be covered by temporary duties, provided the officer is suitably qualified by
examination, where applicable, to perform those duties AND the officer wishes to be
temporarily promoted.
3.6. Pay will not be backdated if an officer commences an acting period and then for unseen
circumstances is made temporary due to the period going on beyond the 8 weeks.
3.7. Where a vacancy arises and it is known that it will be for 6 months or more then it will be
advertised in Forcewide News, and an appropriate selection process conducted. (see Para. 4.
below)
3.8. Superintendent vacancies: Where the vacancy is covered by a Chief Inspector performing
‘acting’ rank duties they are duly covered by Federation policies. If the period of acting is likely
to exceed 8 weeks the post should be covered by a temporary promotion in order to ensure
the post holder is fully insured.
4. SELECTION – LONG-TERM TEMPORARY RANK
4.1. Once a long-term vacancy (6 months or more) has been identified and agreed (see paragraph
3.7 above) the relevant Division/ Department will place an advert in Forcewide News.
4.2. The criteria for applicants:
4.2.1. Evidence of continuous personal development
4.2.2. Submission of last performance development review (PDR) to evidence achievement
of objectives and no 3 ratings indicating that the applicant is not performing despite
development opportunities having been put in place
4.2.3. Supported by line manager
4.3. Applicants to evidence by way of Form 400 (2 sides maximum) how they meet the criteria
4.4. The Divisional Commander/Departmental Head will then select an officer using the Form 400
and the appraisal. They must state why they have made their choice and advise all the officers
of the outcome.
5. PAYMENT
5.1. Payment will be in accordance with Police Regulations.
5.2. Officers carrying out acting duties must complete Form 13 b to ensure payment is authorised.
5.3 Divisional Commanders / Departmental heads and the officer must complete Form 13, which
will be authorised by the Chief Constable. This will ensure pay roll, pensions and personal
records can be updated. The form will set out a specific period for the Temporary Promotion.
This can be extended by submitting an updated Form 13 detailing the extended period required.
6. RESTRICTIONS
6.1. Acting Sergeants will not be appointed to the role of Custody Officer (R v CC Dorset Police Ex
Parte Vince).
6.2. Acting Inspectors cannot grant authority to issue firearms and specialist munitions.
Form 20
Revised September 2003
7. MANAGEMENT OF ACTING/TEMPORARY PERIODS
7.1. Periods of acting / temporary promotion should not be left open ended. The welfare of the
officer should always be borne in mind, returning to the relevant rank requires greater
adjustment the longer the officer is required to perform duties in the higher rank.
7.2. Prior to the commencement of a period of acting rank or temporary promotion, where the
duration is or is not known, (and most certainly one which is likely to exceed 8 weeks),
consideration will be given to the development needs of the individual and training provided as
required. A personal development plan should be agreed where appropriate and training
provided through Training and Development Services. E.g. Constables attending the
Sergeants Course.
7.3. In any case appropriate appraisal objectives should be agreed to cover the period of acting and
temporary promotion and reviewed as appropriate.
7.4. All periods of acting and temporary promotion will be recorded and feedback on performance
provided via the personal portfolio of the officer concerned.
Guidance:
The Policy Author should in the construction of the policy consult as appropriate with the following departments of the
Force.
Civil Litigation
Community Action
Data Protection
Diversity Adviser
Estates
Finance
Health Safety & Welfare
Information Security
IS/IT
Procurement
Professional Standards
Risk Manager
Training
Transport
ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION/LEGISLATION
Promotion and Misconduct Policy
Police Promotion Regulations 1996
EXEMPTIONS
This policy is / is not suitable for access by the General Public
EXEMPTIONS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Vanessa Barham to list exemptions here.
RATIFICATION BY FORCE STRATEGY BOARD
SENIOR COMMANDER
: Supt RCDS
DATE
: June 2004
Form 20
Revised September 2003
