THIS IS AN EXTRACT FROM. Metropolitan Special Constabulary - Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

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1 THIS IS AN EXTRACT FROM Metropolitan Special Constabulary - Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) 5.32 EXPENSES AND ALLOWANCES Refreshment and subsistence allowance Footwear allowance Stocking allowance Cleaning of uniform items Travelling expenses Payments of expenses and allowances General The Special Constable Regulations 1965 authorise the payment of expenses, allowances and sick pay to members of the MSC as outlined below: Under Regulation 4, a Special Constable may be: reimbursed any out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by them in the execution of their duty, or paid an allowance in lieu of such reimbursement; paid an allowance in respect of loss of remuneration in their private employment while required for duty; or paid an allowance in respect of such other matters as the Secretary of State may from time to time approve. Note: The amount and conditions of an allowance paid under this Regulation are subject to the approval of the Secretary of State. Under Regulation 5, a Special Constable who loses remuneration in their private employment in consequence of any injury received or disease contracted in the execution of their duty or while on duty or while on a journey necessary to enable them to report for duty or to return home after duty will be entitled to an allowance by way of sick pay. The sick pay will be payable for so long as the Special Constable continues to lose remuneration in their private employment or for a period of 28 weeks whichever is the less. No person voluntarily appointed as a Special Constable is entitled to any pay in respect of their services as such. Refreshment and Subsistence Allowance MSC officers below the rank of Assistant Chief Officer may claim refreshment and subsistence allowances. Claims are to be made on Form Current rates for the payment of subsistence, refreshment and other allowances for MSC officers are contained in Item 2 of Police Notices 39/05 of The qualifying period for refreshment and subsistence allowance purposes is calculated from the time of booking on duty to the time of booking off duty. Time spent in travelling to and from the normal place of duty is excluded. MSC officers

2 are entitled to claim allowances for periods of continuous duty exceeding two, five, eight and twelve hours. These rates additionally apply to recruits in training undergoing Foundation Training at Hendon or locally when a hot meal is not provided. Where, however, duty is performed away from the parent Borough or OCU, for example in connection with a ceremonial event in central London or attendance at a training course on another Borough/OCU, travelling time from the Special Constable's home to the temporary place of duty and return, or from their station to the temporary place of duty, and return, whichever is the shorter, will be included in the qualifying period. The same principle will apply where the Special Constable leaves their place of business to perform such duty or returns to their place of business at the conclusion of the duty. Footwear Allowance An expenditure allowance up to and including towards the cost of purchasing footwear as an out of pocket expense is payable to MSC Officers subject to the following conditions: A minimum of 200 hours of duty (including training) per calendar year must be performed to qualify for boot allowance. A report requesting the purchase of footwear must be submitted by the claimant to their line manager (whether MSC or regular officer) for approval before purchase. Footwear may be purchased up to the maximum allowance permitted which is The individual concerned must meet any cost incurred over and above this limit In order to claim reimbursement of cost, a receipt must be attached to the report and submitted for payment according to local procedures. In addition to the requirement to fulfil a minimum of 200 hours of duty per year, new recruits joining the MSC are additionally entitled to claim the allowance and should submit a report after the purchase of footwear, attaching a receipt and submitting this to their line manager. When considering requests for replacement footwear, line managers are to ensure that the request is reasonable and that replacement is necessary due to fair wear and tear and that deliberate damage was not due to neglect on the part of the claimant. Where footwear has been accidentally damaged or damaged beyond repair during the course of duty, consideration will be given for an officer to purchase replacement footwear. If this occurs, the officer concerned is to submit a report outlining the circumstances, requesting that consideration is given for their footwear to be replaced. As a general guide, it is recommended that claims for replacement footwear (due to fair wear and tear) be made every two years.

3 Stocking Allowance The stocking allowance has now been abolished and therefore can no longer be claimed. Cleaning of uniform items Because MSC officers do not pay tax on their expenses, they have no taxable earnings to give relief on. Therefore, officers are not entitled to claim tax relief for the cleaning of uniform items. Travelling Expenses The additional cost of travelling by public transport to and from a place of duty and also while on duty within the Metropolitan Police District may be claimed for journeys of one mile or over in instances when the claimant cannot utilise the free travel concession or where it would be impractical to do so. Claims can be made from the claimant's home address to place of duty irrespective of where they permanently or temporarily reside. Supervising officers are to ensure that before submitting a claim for authorisation and processing that it is: Necessary; Proportionate and reasonable; Compliant within the guidelines for claiming expenses and; Can be operationally justified. However, the following conditions and exemptions will apply: Officers who hold a season ticket/travelcard/oystercard for all or part of their normal journey and could reasonably be expected to travel that route will receive no reimbursement, as they will not have incurred any additional expense. Police Staff MSC officers using a season ticket/travelcard/oystercard who travel to their normal place of employment as normal in the morning for example and then commences duty at the same station and then travels home afterwards for a journey they would have to undertake anyway there would be no entitlement to claim. If however, the member of staff travels from their normal place of duty to another parade site and does incur some form of expense by not being able to use the free travel concession or outside the travel zone applicable to the travel/oystercard they are entitled to be re-imbursed, but again, only for that journey, not the subsequent journey home as they would have made this journey anyway. MSC officers are therefore entitled to use their privately owned motor vehicle or pedal cycle for travelling to/from duty and may claim the public transport rate (28 pence per mile) for the most direct and convenient route of travel between home and place of duty (subject to road conditions or where an alternative route is taken because of unexpected delays caused by road works or an accident for example) whether for operational, administrative or training purposes (including attendances at Court etc). In those instances where a claimant uses public transport to/from duty for a part or full journey because they cannot drive, cycle or use the free travel concession, they must produce a receipt for each complete additional journey in order to validate the claim.

4 Claims must be made on Form 3205 and supervising officers are to verify the route and journey taken from start to finish and the total number of miles traveled as being proportionate, reasonable and operationally justified for the purposes of undertaking the journey. It is appreciated that not all officers will use the free travel concession when travelling to and from duty especially when travelling from home to place of duty where Tube, DLR, Tramlink, London Overground or London Bus services are not easily accessible or where free travel on public transport as described is not available to the individual following the completion of a tour of duty on account of the service(s) finishing for the night or due to strike action or emergency engineering work for example. In these instances, travelling expenses incurred may be claimed in the normal way for a full or part journey involving a combination of private and free travel as appropriate. Recruits in training are to produce receipts for any additional travelling expense incurred when travelling to and from Training School whilst undergoing Foundation Training or where training is provided locally where Boroughs run their own Foundation Training courses so they can be reimbursed accordingly as they do not receive the free travel concession until they have been attested. Alternatively, they may also use their privately owned motor vehicle or pedal cycle for such journeys. The same public transport rate shall apply and the criteria for verifying claims adhered to as detailed above In cases where officers wish to use their privately owned motor vehicle as described above, they are to ensure that they have adequate motor insurance to cover them for journeys made to and from their place of duty. Payment of Expenses and Allowances MSC expenses and allowances claims are to be submitted on form 3205 at the end of each calendar month, to local Finance and Resource Units for processing and authorisation of the form PS32G. The process for submitting and verifying expenses has been clarified to ensure that claims being submitted and authorised are consistent across the MPS - the attached spreadsheet summarises the processes which must be followed. In addition, it is vital that all claims are signed by the officer claiming and the countersigning officer must be at least one rank above the claimant who can be either a MSC or regular officer. Supervising officers are to ensure that claims are submitted before the eighth day of every month and must be submitted on time to ensure prompt payment. The submission of back-dated claims are to be avoided unless the claimant can produce reasonable evidence as to why the claim is being submitted late. In these instances, Finance and Resources Managers may query individual late claims and request additional information before a payment is authorised. Where appropriate and practicable, officers should provide receipts to support their claim when purchasing footwear or where a justified journey has been undertaken using public transport in circumstances when the free travel concession cannot be used. It is also a requirement that before any claim is submitted for payment that supervising officers verify claims and scrutinise tickets and receipts in support of each claim in addition to mileage claims at the public transport rate as applicable.

5 MSC expenses are reimbursed through the Metropolitan Police payroll system into an officer's bank or building society account. Officers receive a payment printout showing the amount credited to their account every month. In order to set up a new joiner on the payroll system, the individual must complete a Form 728 as soon as possible so that expenses and allowances can be paid with the minimum delay. In the majority of cases this will be done during the pre-foundation Course admin evening when recruits will be instructed on how to complete the form. In the future this will change to an automated system which will generate the information required and will be sent electronically to Logica thus abolishing the need to complete a 728. The 728 must be signed by the officer completing the form and forwarded to Logica via the MSC Co-ordinator who will then check that the details are correct and complete the Cost Centre and Location Codes before sending to Logica. The 728 contains all the information that needs to be completed and is available from the MSC Co-ordinator if one is required. Any form sent directly to Logica will result in it being returned to the MSC Coordinator therefore delaying any payments due to the individual concerned LOSS OF EARNINGS Attendance at Court, Tribunal or other Hearing Officers, who are required to attend Court etc., are entitled to a full refund of any loss of income as a result of their attendance. Home Office Circular 64/1989 refers. The procedure for claiming is as follows: Form 728 completed by the officer, which must contain the following: Date and location of the court attendance; Name of the defendant; Case reference number; Result of the case or date of adjournment; Name and address of officer's employer or if self employed name and address of accountant; Amount of money loss as a result of attending court; The officer's Special Inspector or MSC Liaison Officer must minute the form. Letter from the officer's employer or if self employed, accountant's letter detailing the amount actually lost as result of attending Court. It should be remembered that if an officer has to take a day from his/her annual leave entitlement then they have effectively lost a day's pay. The 728 plus enclosures should be submitted to the local F&R Manager who will arrange payment. This is done via Form PS32G under the miscellaneous section and forwarded to Logica in the normal way. Payment should not be made from the Court as Special Constables are funded differently to members of the public who are required to attend Court as a witness. Forms 312 and 303 are obsolete and must not be used.

6 Metropolitan Special Constabulary - Allowance Process Officer completes claim form 3205 and forwards to MSC supervisor (who must be one rank above the claimant and can be a regular PS/Insp or MSC PS/Insp) Form checked and signed by MSC supervisor and forwarded to Centre. (If boot allowance is being claimed, a 728 must also be completed and receipts attached) Details of claim entered onto MSC expenses spreadsheet on shared drive Officer MSC Supervisor Forms checked using attached criteria If non compliant Memo drafted with reasons & spreadsheet updated signs memo and returns to supervising If concerns re. claim raise with Band C If compliant Entry added to PS 32G PS 32G signed and forwarded to Monthly PS 32G countersigned Monthly Completed PS 32G copied and original forwarded to Logica Copy of PS 32G filed in date order in A4 binder 3205's filed in alphabetical order in dated box file (recommencing annually), together with any receipts and memo's (i.e. for boot allowance) Forms 32G kept for 3 years and then destroyed Forms 3205 kept for 7 years and then destroyed 5% of claims dip sampled each month for correctness and compared to nominal roll. Results filed and retained for 3 years Floating Band C BOCUs monitored for non-compliant claims and stats produced Officer queries Work required Address labels for Logica Spreadsheet set up Staff at BOCU need to know where to send form and who to contact. Standardised memo to send re non-compliant claims Check list for dip sampling Extraordinary Resources required A4 Binder Box files Paper clips Photocopier Skills BW