The PCC approved on Decision Record Form 2017-00051160 the legal arrangements for an Acting Chief Constable.
This is in the light of the retirement of Chief Constable Iain Spittal,
Deputy Chief Constable Simon Nickless is assuming the role of Acting Chief Constable within the meaning of s41 Police Reform & Social Responsibility Act 2011 .
These arrangements are due to start at 00:01 on 16 December 2017 and last for as long as the vacancy exists.
Payment arrangements
As a result the PCC also needs to approve payment arrangements for Mr Nickless during this period.
In the current circumstances, Mr Nickless will be acting up to the full duties of the Chief Constable with effect from the 16 December 2017. This will last until the vacancy is filled.
Regulation 27 of the Police Regulations 2003 empowers the Home Secretary to make Determinations on Temporary Salary. The relevant part of this determination is Annex I which states:
After 28 consecutive days of being required to perform the duties normally performed by a member of the force of a higher rank than his own, an officer of a substantive rank of or above assistant chief constable will be paid at a rate equivalent to 90% of the higher rank’s basic pay or receive an honorarium of an amount determined by the police authority (now PCC).
The Chief Constable vacancy will not be filled within 28 days of Iain Spittal’s leaving date.
Therefore, it is reasonable to set out what should happen during the vacancy period in terms of payment.
In terms of payment, the individual officer can decide to be paid by way of honorarium or at a rate equivalent to 90% of the higher rank’s basic pay.
Mr Nickless has elected to take the payment as an honorarium.
The ‘Basic’ pay for the role of the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police is £139,890. This compares to £115,383 for the role of Deputy Chief Constable.
The honorarium can accordingly be for a value of up to £24,507 per annum. This would be paid be paid pro-rata until the vacancy is filled.
Given the above, the honorarium would start 28 days after the period of acting began. In this case, the period starts on 13 January 2018 and continues until the vacancy is filled.
Decision DRF-5.8551. Payments to acting Chief Constable (application, 137kB)