Women PCs win right to bonus for working night shifts despite only working days

Major Tom · #1 21st-October-2006

From the Daily Anti-Male:
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Quote:

Women PCs win right to bonus for working night shifts despite only working days

Two women police officers were yesterday handed the right to extra bonus payments for working at night - even though they only work day shifts.
The two officers, both working mothers, should get the extra money because their childcare commitments stop them from working anti-social hours, a tribunal ruled.
Denying them the allowance for working at night - which men can do - is sex discrimination, it said.
Its judgement means West Midlands police must now pay thousands of pounds in special allowances to single mother Susan Blackburn and her colleague, mother of two Victoria Manley, both of whom work part-time.
But the repercussions of the landmark judgement are likely to be felt throughout the public sector - especially in the NHS - and by all private firms that pay allowances to workers who are prepared to be on duty at night and through weekends.
Business leaders warned that the tribunal ruling threatens workers with losing their unsocial hours allowances and means firms may be stripped of the right to pay incentive money to those prepared to work at night when others will not.
The cost to the taxpayer of paying police officers and other public sector workers extra allowances may run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
The employment tribunal in Birmingham said that because more women than men restrict their hours to look after children, paying more to officers willing to work all hours amounts to sex discrimination.
It has yet to consider whether the two officers should get compensation as well as the extra allowances the tribunal said they are owed.
The two women claimed they should be paid allowances called "special priority payments," which have been available since 2003 as part of a Home Office drive to cut absenteeism in police forces.
They go to 40 per cent of officers on grounds including "specially demanding working conditions," but they are not paid to those who are regularly off sick. The special payments range between Â£500 and Â£3,000 a year, depending on the rank and duties of the officer.
West Midlands officers get the allowance if they are available to work for more than four hours after midnight.
The tribunal said that Susan Blackburn, a single mother who works hours between 9.15 am and 4.30 pm, is in a role "not currently classed as operational."
Mrs Manley, who works 22 1/2 hours a week over ten days a month, sometimes up until 10.30 pm, is regarded as a part-time operational officer.
The tribunal said both women had to restrict their hours from necessity rather than choice.
Their lawyer, Juliette Franklin of Russell Jones and Walker, said:
"The tribunal agreed it cannot be right to deny women officers allowances just because they agree different shift arrangements for childcare reasons, when they work just as hard as male officers."
"There is no reason why male offices who cannot work nights for domestic reasons cannot claim pay equal to that of their female counterparts."
But other employment law specialists were astonished at the judgement.
Jacqui Boothman of the Walker Morris firm said: "This is a surprise ruling and it has widespread implications."
"There can be no argument that female officers should be given the same rate of pay as their male colleagues, but allowing disruption pay to officers who are not involved in night shifts could leave the situation open to abuse with widespread implication for other sectors of employment."
Leading business lobby group the CBI said unsocial hours allowances should only go to those who work them. Its employment law director Susan Anderson said:
"Clearly all women have the right to equal pay for equal work. But employers should also be able to provide additional allowances to those employees who work unsocial hours, regardless of their gender."
She added: "This is an important incentive to attract people to work during these hours, and should only be paid to those who do."
Economist Ruth Lea of the centre-right think tank Centre for Policy Studies said: "People who do not do the unsocial hours should not be paid for them. This is blindingly obvious."
"To say that this is sex discrimination is turning the idea that you should be rewarded for the work you do upside down."
Miss Lea added: "This tribunal decision comes from a topsy turvy world. It is an abuse of the idea of sex discrimination."

Major Tom · #2 21st-October-2006

From the Daily Anti-Male:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...#StartComments

Quote:

Women PCs win right to bonus for working night shifts despite only working days

Two women police officers were yesterday handed the right to extra bonus payments for working at night - even though they only work day shifts.
The two officers, both working mothers, should get the extra money because their childcare commitments stop them from working anti-social hours, a tribunal ruled.
Denying them the allowance for working at night - which men can do - is sex discrimination, it said.
Its judgement means West Midlands police must now pay thousands of pounds in special allowances to single mother Susan Blackburn and her colleague, mother of two Victoria Manley, both of whom work part-time.
But the repercussions of the landmark judgement are likely to be felt throughout the public sector - especially in the NHS - and by all private firms that pay allowances to workers who are prepared to be on duty at night and through weekends.
Business leaders warned that the tribunal ruling threatens workers with losing their unsocial hours allowances and means firms may be stripped of the right to pay incentive money to those prepared to work at night when others will not.
The cost to the taxpayer of paying police officers and other public sector workers extra allowances may run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
The employment tribunal in Birmingham said that because more women than men restrict their hours to look after children, paying more to officers willing to work all hours amounts to sex discrimination.
It has yet to consider whether the two officers should get compensation as well as the extra allowances the tribunal said they are owed.
The two women claimed they should be paid allowances called "special priority payments," which have been available since 2003 as part of a Home Office drive to cut absenteeism in police forces.
They go to 40 per cent of officers on grounds including "specially demanding working conditions," but they are not paid to those who are regularly off sick. The special payments range between Â£500 and Â£3,000 a year, depending on the rank and duties of the officer.
West Midlands officers get the allowance if they are available to work for more than four hours after midnight.
The tribunal said that Susan Blackburn, a single mother who works hours between 9.15 am and 4.30 pm, is in a role "not currently classed as operational."
Mrs Manley, who works 22 1/2 hours a week over ten days a month, sometimes up until 10.30 pm, is regarded as a part-time operational officer.
The tribunal said both women had to restrict their hours from necessity rather than choice.
Their lawyer, Juliette Franklin of Russell Jones and Walker, said:
"The tribunal agreed it cannot be right to deny women officers allowances just because they agree different shift arrangements for childcare reasons, when they work just as hard as male officers."
"There is no reason why male offices who cannot work nights for domestic reasons cannot claim pay equal to that of their female counterparts."
But other employment law specialists were astonished at the judgement.
Jacqui Boothman of the Walker Morris firm said: "This is a surprise ruling and it has widespread implications."
"There can be no argument that female officers should be given the same rate of pay as their male colleagues, but allowing disruption pay to officers who are not involved in night shifts could leave the situation open to abuse with widespread implication for other sectors of employment."
Leading business lobby group the CBI said unsocial hours allowances should only go to those who work them. Its employment law director Susan Anderson said:
"Clearly all women have the right to equal pay for equal work. But employers should also be able to provide additional allowances to those employees who work unsocial hours, regardless of their gender."
She added: "This is an important incentive to attract people to work during these hours, and should only be paid to those who do."
Economist Ruth Lea of the centre-right think tank Centre for Policy Studies said: "People who do not do the unsocial hours should not be paid for them. This is blindingly obvious."
"To say that this is sex discrimination is turning the idea that you should be rewarded for the work you do upside down."
Miss Lea added: "This tribunal decision comes from a topsy turvy world. It is an abuse of the idea of sex discrimination."

Yan Yan · #3 21st-October-2006

More of the usual lunacy.

Soooo - do we wait until there's no police force and an ineffective army?

If any of you (or your fathers) have any of those old Survival Guides from the 60's and 70's stored in the attic, it might be time to get them down and dust them off.

Yan Yan · #4 21st-October-2006

More of the usual lunacy.

Soooo - do we wait until there's no police force and an ineffective army?

If any of you (or your fathers) have any of those old Survival Guides from the 60's and 70's stored in the attic, it might be time to get them down and dust them off.

Tyrael · #5 21st-October-2006

The people of that tribunal are retarded. Employees should only be paid for work they really do. So they shouldn't be paid for ie night shifts when they aren't doing it. They shouldn't get equal pay when they don't do equal work.

Tyrael · #6 21st-October-2006

The people of that tribunal are retarded. Employees should only be paid for work they really do. So they shouldn't be paid for ie night shifts when they aren't doing it. They shouldn't get equal pay when they don't do equal work.

**KellyMac** · #7 21st-October-2006

What the hell? That passed???

Maybe their dad could stay with them at night. What am I saying???

**KellyMac** · #8 21st-October-2006

What the hell? That passed???

Maybe their dad could stay with them at night. What am I saying???

Yan Yan · #9 21st-October-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by KellyMac

What the hell? That passed???
Maybe their dad could stay with them at night. What am I saying???

What you're saying is common sense. So why would the demented listen?
If you really want to be a voice in the wilderness that's excellent!
If I may humbly ask, do you have a plan 'B'?

Yan Yan · #10 21st-October-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by KellyMac

What the hell? That passed???
Maybe their dad could stay with them at night. What am I saying???

What you're saying is common sense. So why would the demented listen?
If you really want to be a voice in the wilderness that's excellent!
If I may humbly ask, do you have a plan 'B'?