Recent Work

Case studies on police terms and conditions:

• Collective Issues
• Pay
• Allowances
• Probationers
• Working Time

Case studies on police pensions:

• Internal complaints
• Medical appeals
• Complaints to the pensions ombudsman

Case studies on discrimination cases:

• Sex discrimination
• Race discrimination

Case studies on police terms and conditions

Collective isues   

We have advised on numerous issues of national importance, including the impact of the extension of the Disability Discrimination Act to the police service in October 2004 and recently, the creation of SOCA. We have also advised in connection with various inquiries and investigation, including the Morris Inquiry.

Pay

We handled test cases in relation to the inspector' pay anomaly, which was settled favourably, with the Home Office accepting the principle we argued for.

W have advised officers in several forces who are in the difficult circumstances of having been overpaid by their force, establishing that repayment cannot be taken without consent (Beswick v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, Walters v South Wales Police Authority). In many cases these issues can be resolved without the need for litigation.

Allowances

We brought a landmark case about police employment rights in the Court of Appeal, Lennon v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis. The Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's decision that the chief officer was liable for the mishandling of the officer's transfer between forces, which led to him losing his valuable entitlement to housing payments. The court ordered that he should be compensated for his loss.

We were able to resolve a long running dispute about entitlement to dog handlers' allowance at a force dog training school. After our intervention, the cases were favourably settled without the need to pursue a claim in the courts.

Probationers

We regularly assist Federation Representatives who are representing probationers through the Regulation 13 process which might result in the officer's dismissal. Occasionally, we can challenge the decision through the courts. In other cases, our assistance with submissions to the chief officer has contributed to a favourable outcome.

Working Time

We represented a custody sergeant in a successful claim under Working Time Regulations where an  employment tribunal upheld our argument that a police force cannot rely on a blanket exclusion from it's obligations.

We brought a successful appeal to the Employment Appeals Tribunal in a claim under the Working Time Regulations which established that the fixing of the holiday year by a police authority in accordance with the provisions of the Police Regulations was a relevant agreement under Working Time Regulations.

Case studies on police pensions

Internal complaints

We assisted an officer with a successful internal pensions complaint in a case in which the member had been wrongly advised about transferring his police pension to a private scheme.

Medical Appeals

We have fought countless cases to court on the meaning of the key elements of the Police Pensions Regulations, particularly in relation to ill health retirement and injury awards.

We are instructed in more complex cases to assist with preparing submissions to medical appeal boards. We also represent members with challenging pensions decisions in the courts. We brought a case to the Court of Appeal to clarify a long running interpretation issue - that medical referee/appeal board should consider running at the time of appeal.

Pensions Ombudsman

We acted in a successful complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman who made a finding of maladministration against a police force for its delay in processing an application for ill health retirement.

Case studies on discrimination cases

Sex discrimination

We acted for PC Angela Baskerville in a landmark case in which the Court of Appeal clarified the rights of police officers to claim for the discriminatory acts of supervising officers acting under a delegated authority.  There were some 60 or so cases on hold whilst this issue was clarified.

We ran a successful claim of indirect sex discrimination on behalf of an officer who is a primary carer relating to the requirement for weekend on call working in a major crime unit.  In another force, we obtained a successful tribunal decision for two officers in a specialist unit who were not awarded SPP because they work restricted shifts for childcare reasons.  We also achieved a favourable settlement through mediation for an officer seeking flexible full-time working hours for childcare reasons.

We successfully settled a highly publicised claim of race and sex discrimination relating to the failure to promote and the outcome of a disciplinary investigation into words allegedly said by a police officer at a briefing prior to a public religious event.
We acted for a female police officer who brought complaints of sex discrimination and victimisation against the force.  The PC was not considered for several positions within the dog handling unit because of her sex. When she complained about her treatment, colleagues in her unit submitted her to a programme of victimisation. The case settled out of court after the tribunal found for the officer.

We also acted in another case of sex discrimination when a female police officer won significant damages in her claim of sex discrimination and victimisation.  The PC was discriminated against following a transfer and a requirement to work a shift pattern in her new role which she was unable to work due to childcare commitments.  The case highlighted the difficulties female police officers face when trying to balance child care responsibilities with their careers.

Race discrimination

We successfully settled a claim of race discrimination relating to a Force's failure to permit an officer to interview a witness who refused to be interviewed by an Asian officer.

We successfully mediated a race discrimination claim relating to the decision to discipline and failure to promote and post an officer.  This meant that officer did not have to undergo a protracted and stressful tribunal hearing, which was listed for 3 weeks.

We were responsible for the successful claim of race discrimination and victimisation arising from the treatment of a chief inspector in a specialist post, culminating in an oppressive and discriminatory performance appraisal and threats of disciplinary action. Aggravated damages were awarded against the force.

Welcome to Russell Jones & Walker's dedicated Police Federation mini site. Members of the Police often have a need for specialist legal advice. Russell Jones & Walker solicitors have recognised this and have worked to create a service designed with Police personnel in mind.