Your Trade Union is to run a campaign starting on the 1st October under the banner of Pay to Stay.
Your Trade Union is to run a campaign starting on the 1st October under the banner of Pay to Stay. The aim of the campaign is to highlight that you are entitled to enhanced overtime or TOIL when your managers ask or expect you to work over your standard day, and that this is a position backed by NCA policy.
We have been told that there remains an expectation within many NCA departments and teams that officers will work additional hours for which they will not be paid – or are only offered plain flexi time to recompense them for their extra work. We have also heard that officers may not feel able to challenge this with senior management, are unaware of the Agency-wide policy or mistakenly believe that overtime / enhanced TOIL does not apply to them. The NCOA recognise that there is no such thing as a non-overtime role for NCA officers at G3 to G6, and are running Pay to Stay to ensure that you are fairly paid for the extra hours you work.
We encourage you to raise with management the issue of overtime if you are asked to work more than your contracted hours. You should seek clarification at the time that the extra work is for paid, enhanced overtime or TOIL (exceptions may apply for staff working part-time or with Alternative Working Arrangements). Should management state that this extra work will only be recompensed as plain time flexi or TOIL, then remind them this is not policy – and remember - you are entitled to decline and leave work at the end of your shift.
The NCA Policy HR02Working Arrangements and Leave (V14) states ‘There is no contractual right or obligation to work overtime’, ‘it must be authorised in advance’ and ‘Compensation through payment or the accrual of time of in lieu is available for each 15 minute period.’
The Operating Procedure HR02 OP01 Managing Working Time (v15) states ‘Flexi-time must not be used as an alternative to overtime.’, ‘The overtime facility should be used rather than allowing officers to build up flexi credit.’ and ‘Officers at grades 6 to 3 inclusive are entitled to request payment or time off in lieu (TOIL) for overtime worked at the time overtime is offered.’
Should you feel that you may require the support of the NCOA then please contact your local Rep in the first instance. A list of Reps can be found on either the NCA Intranet under How we Work, Trade Unions or within the Undercover magazine sent to you.
Kind regards,
Duncan Foster
NCOA Deputy Secretary
dfoster@ncoa.org.uk