The benefits offered by Police Scotland

Police Scotland

The benefits offered by Police Scotland:

Pensions

The Local Government Pension Scheme, a career average revalued earning (Care) scheme, is available for all staff; employee contributions vary dependent on salary and Police Scotland contributes around 19% of an employee’s salary.

Pay

Overtime pay of time and a half, and double time for working on public holidays.
Staff receive £2.83 extra an hour for unsociable hours when working between 9pm and 11pm or 6am and 7am on a weekday, and during the weekend between 7am on a Saturday to 7am on Monday. Staff working between 11pm and 6am on any day receive a higher payment of £4.15 per hour during that time.
Fixed annual disruption pay, awarded monthly dependent on the difference between an employee's earliest shift start time and latest shift finish time. If the span between the earliest shift start and latest shift finish is between 10 and 13 hours, staff receive £800 per year; if the span is between 13 and 19 hours, this rises to £1,600, and for more than 19 hours staff receive £2,400.

Health and wellbeing

Occupational sick pay scheme, starting from six weeks of service, at which point the employee gets two weeks at full pay and two at half pay. This allowance increases according to tenure at one year, two years, three years and five years, to, respectively: nine weeks of full pay and nine weeks of half pay, 18 weeks of full pay and 18 weeks of half pay, 22 weeks of full pay and 22 at half pay, and 26 weeks of full pay and 22 at half pay.
Optical vouchers for staff using display screen equipment (DSE).
Employer-paid flu vaccinations for all staff.
Bikes-for-work scheme, including access to electric bikes.
Up to two days of fully paid leave for hospital examinations and treatments per hospitalisation.

Work-life balance

Flexible-working opportunities, such as part-time, term-time only or compressed hours, are open to all staff and officers.
Flexible working hours for employees and non-shift staff who are not on rota.
Employees can apply for two days of annual leave at short notice a minimum 24 hours in advance each year.
Holiday purchase, available for staff only, not officers. Full-time employees are able to purchase up to a week of additional annual leave. This varies for part-time staff depending on their contracted hours.
Employees with up to four years of service receive 28 days of annual leave and staff with four years or more receive 34 days; both arrangements are exclusive of six public holidays. Annual leave can be taken in hours as well as days, to allow for more flexibility. Police officers are on a different annual leave programme, in line with police regulations.
Typically, unpaid leave is paid from employees' salaries to the organisation in the month that they have taken the leave. Police Scotland enables staff to spread out these payments to support financial wellbeing.
Employees can apply for a career break for up to five years, once two years' service has been accrued.
Compassionate leave allows for up to five days at full pay.
Special leave is offered for public duties, trade union activities, reservist duties, special constables, study leave, time off for sporting activity or court service.

Family-friendly benefits

Three days of paid carers’ leave per year, applicable for childcare and eldercare responsibilities.
Employees undertaking in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) can have a week off work per treatment cycle, for up to three cycles.
Enhanced maternity and adoption leave; employees receive six weeks of leave at 90% of their salary, 20 weeks at 50% of their salary plus any statutory pay, 13 weeks at statutory pay and 13 weeks unpaid.
Ability to spread out maternity or adoption leave payments; Police Scotland calculates the total amount of maternity or adoption leave pay and this is then spread equally throughout the employee's leave period.
Statutory shared parental leave.
Maternity and adoption support leave, which provides partners with one week of fully paid leave and one week of leave at 50% of their salary plus statutory pay.

Other

Company car or cash equivalent for staff at director level.
On-site canteen in some police buildings.
The Scottish Police Recreational Association provides access to on-site gyms and retail discounts for a monthly fee of £7.50.