Police set to sue in row over payouts

Seventy-one North Yorkshire Police officers, who expected to receive payments totalling tens of thousands of pounds may take action after police chiefs decided they were not entitled to the money.

The dispute is over controversial special priority payments (SPPs) for officers who take on additional responsibility or carry out "demanding and difficult" jobs.

National regulations mean every police force in the country is expected to pay SPPs to two-fifths of their workforce each year – usually officers who work in the hardest posts to fill.

The aggrieved officers in North Yorkshire expected to receive payments of between 1,000 and 2,800 each and claim they were told last November they would receive SPPs in time for Christmas, only to learn later they were ineligible.

Eligible officers began receiving their payments in February – two months later than planned – after the force heard appeals from those who missed out.

The Police Federation's North Yorkshire branch, which represents 1,500 officers, has held talks with solicitors to consider taking legal action.

Branch treasurer Mike Stubbs said the federation had long considered SPPs to be "unfair and divisive", with little consistency from year to year.

"We have particular concerns over the way the 2009 scheme was operated," he said.

"The payments should have been made in December, and officers were told in November that they would be made then.

"No payments were actually made until February, and some officers who were told they were eligible for the payment, are now being told that they are not. "Those officers have been told that they will receive a letter from the force outlining the reasons why they will not receive a payment.

"We have already had initial discussions with our solicitors and, once that information is received, we will look at what legal redress may be possible for our members."

North Yorkshire Police assistant chief constable Sue Cross said officers missed out on SPPs for "a number of reasons", which included being absent from work too often or insufficient service in a given role.

"It is not possible to provide the full details as each appeal was considered on the individual circumstances of the case," she added. "The final assessment, as well as the appeals, were intended to ensure that the qualifying criteria were applied fairly and consistently.

"Unfortunately, as a result some officers were assessed as having failed to meet the criteria and were therefore advised they were not eligible. The final assessment did not demonstrate that they were no longer eligible for payment, but that they were not eligible in the first place."

Last month the Yorkshire Post revealed that North Yorkshire Police had spent 5.1m in three years on incentives to officers.

This included almost 3m in SPPs and almost 2m in competency-related payments, which reward officers who can demonstrate "high professional competence" and have spent at least a year at the top of their pay scale.