Question
I would like to inquire about the number of people who were eligible for home working over the last ten years, including a breakdown by year.
Additionally, I'm interested in the number of members who actually worked from home during each of those same years.
Answer
While we recognise hybrid/agile working has become normal in the world we work, we have to and want to become an employer of choice. We need our people, officers and staff, across all roles, to embrace the spirit of Team PSNI where we are there, in work, for each other as well as for the public.
Like many other organisations, post Covid, how work can be done and what our workforce expects in this regard has changed particularly for those performing office based or support roles.
Post pandemic PSNI, consulted on and developed a hybrid/agile working service instruction. This was developed through service wide stakeholder engagement, consultation with staff associations and in line with industry guidance and best practice on flexible working.
The practice across other police services and the arrangements for police staff under NICS terms and conditions were also taken into consideration.
The service instruction was implemented following approval by PSNI’s Strategic Management Board and was formally launched in February 2025.
When considering the suitability of hybrid working, managers are required to assess a range of factors which include:
- Role assessment process
- Decision making process
- Application forms
- Appeals process
It is recommended that any hybrid/agile arrangements are recorded between the manager and officer/staff in a workstyle agreement. To date there has been no requirement for these to be centrally recorded on eServices (HR system).
Feedback is that arrangements tend to be dynamic depending on the department or role. Having listened to the feedback from many attending out Team PSNI events and particularly from those officers in local policing we are now undertaking more detailed work to:
• Centrally review by department, which roles are deemed suitable to hybrid arrangements.
• Collect service data on how many and what type of hybrid arrangements are now in place across each department
• Whether the current approach is supporting our ‘Team PSNI’ ethos and commitment to bring a visible and accessible service for both the police but also for each other as colleagues across different teams and departments need to know we are there for them whether in front line policing roles or other.
Trevor Clarke MLA - DUP