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Remuneration policy
This chapter contains the below topics:
Overview
Application
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Overview
Introduction
This policy outlines the principles underlying Police employment policy relating to
remuneration and details Police commitments in this regard.
Scope
This policy applies to:
• constables below the position of Inspector
• employees who hold positions in remuneration bands A-J.
Associated documents/ links
The table below identifies associated documents.
Type
Title/ Description
Legislation
Policing Act 2008
Police Corporate
• General Instructions
• Police procedural guidelines
• Police policy: Career Progression And Specialist Career
Structure
• Hard To Fill Vacancies – Housing Policy (under
development).
Police agreements
• Collective employment agreements
• Individual employment agreements
Reason for policy
This policy has been designed to:
• guide managers, HR personnel and Police employees in interpreting and applying the
provisions of the collective employment agreements, and individual employment
agreements
• provide an information summary for prospective employees and/ or current
employees required to answer media or parliamentary questions.
Principles
These human resources principles are relevant in the application of this remuneration
policy:
• NZ Police operates a remuneration environment that reflects openness and
transparency as a public funded organisation.
• Remuneration is fair and equitable.
• Remunerative benefits are available and clearly explained to all employees.
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Application
Total remuneration
Police operates a total remuneration (TR) environment. This reflects:
• the need for openness and transparency in a public funded organisation
• the remunerative benefits available to Police employees in addition to base salary.
Definition of total remuneration
Total remuneration is defined as the total remunerative benefits available to an
employee arising from their employment (excluding some portfolio allowances relating to
individual responsibilities rather than position based responsibilities). In addition to
salary, total remuneration includes for example, insurance, PCT incentive payments,
superannuation subsidy etc. A guide to calculating total remuneration or salary rate from
a total remuneration rate is available in the relevant employment agreement.
Overtime/ penal rates
Constables
Police do not make payments for penal rates or overtime for constables. Constables are
paid on a comprehensive remuneration basis. No additional payments are made for
overtime or shift work which are deemed to be included within current remuneration.
Police will ensure that any overtime by constables must be necessary to the ability of
Police to meet critical service obligations. Overtime is to be used sparingly.
Overtime in excess of 5 hours per week is compensated by time off in lieu (TOIL) on an
hour for hour basis (this applies to employees assigned the rank of constable,
probationary constable, sergeant, or senior sergeant).
Refer to relevant sections of the sworn agreement.
Employees (who are not constables)
Employees in Bands A-D who are required to work rostered shifts are placed within a
higher remuneration scale.
Overtime will be payable for employees in bands A to F, subject to authorisation and
prescribed earnings limits or exclusions. Employees in bands G to J are not eligible for
overtime payments but are eligible for TOIL on an hour for hour basis.
Refer to relevant sections of the employment agreements.
Additional allowances and reimbursement of expenses
Many non-reimbursing allowances were incorporated into total remuneration with the
introduction of the revised job evaluation system and remuneration arrangements in
1998. Police do pay allowances relating to specialist groups and/or conditions that are
not appropriately recognised by job evaluation. These allowances are currently
prescribed in relevant sections of the employment agreements.
Reimbursement of expenses is currently by way of specified allowances contained within
the employment agreements.
Remuneration on appointment to a position
New internal appointees
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New internal appointees shall be appointed to the remuneration band applicable to the
position and normally at the minimum of the band subject to the policies on promotion,
moving to a lower band and restructuring.
There is no discretion to depart from this policy and any discretion that existed in
previous policy statements is rescinded.
Occasionally situations may arise where in consideration of relevant experience, or
qualifications, or a market shortage of and competition for employees with particular
skills, it may mean that the ‘going rate’ for certain positions requires higher rates to be
applied. This may only be applied after consultation with the General Manager: Human
Resources and be on the basis of demonstrated need.
New external appointees
New external appointees shall be appointed to the remuneration band applicable to the
position and at a level consistent with their experience, qualifications, having regard to
relativities with other staff and any market factors such as skill shortages.
This does not mean that people should automatically be appointed above the band
minimum. The band minimum is expected to be the normal appointment level. Where an
appointment is above the band minimum it needs to be approved by the District
Commander and if above the band middle step by the General Manager: Human
Resources.
There is no discretion to depart from these policies and any discretion that existed in
previous policy statements is rescinded.
Remuneration and restructuring
Where an employee whose position has been affected by restructuring elects
reassignment to a lower banded position, equalisation entitlements under the
restructuring provisions will apply.
Refer to the appropriate section of relevant employment agreements.
Higher duties allowance (HDA)
A higher duties allowance will be paid to recognise situations where an employee is
required, on an acting basis, to perform the duties and carry the substantive
responsibilities of a higher banded position. A reduced allowance may be paid to an
employee required to undertake only some of the duties.
Refer to relevant sections of the employment agreements.
Minimum increase on promotion to or from bands without a specialist
remuneration scale
On promotion from one band to a higher band an employee will:
• where their current remuneration is less than the new band minimum, be paid the
new band minimum or, if this is an increase of less than 4%, at the first step that
achieves at least a 4% minimum increase
• where their current remuneration is greater than, or equal to the band minimum, be
appointed to the next highest step plus two steps. (That is between a 4% and 6%
increase. In rare cases a further step may be required to deliver a minimum of 4%).
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Note: The steps referred to here, unless otherwise stated, are major remuneration steps
and do not include the interim steps created for translation purposes that will be phased
out by 2006.
• Where an employee has moved down from a higher band to a lower band they are
subject to the lower band provisions detailed later in this policy.
Minimum increase on promotion to or from or between bands with a
specialist remuneration scale
Shift worker bands
Movement concerning shift workers bands should be managed as follows:
• employees who move from a shift position to a non shift position (or vice versa) in the
same band, are moved to the equivalent step or interim step on their new band
• all movements between bands must be calculated between those bands non shift
scales. For example:
- If an employee is promoted from a band A shift position to a band B non shift
position then they should be moved to the band A non shift scale then promoted to
the band B non shift scale using the normal promotion rule.
- If an employee is promoted from a band C shift position to a band D shift position
then they should be moved to the band C non shift scale then promoted to the
band D non shift scale using the normal promotion rule, then moved to the
equivalent step on the band D shift scale.
Note: This rule is subject to the requirement that a shift worker appointed to a non-shift
position in a higher band will be moved to at least the closest lower step in the new band
to their previous total remuneration. When an employee moves to a lower band and
does not change their shift status, they will be moved to no higher than the step below
their previous total remuneration.
One, two and three person stations bands
When an employee is appointed to a one, two or three person station from any other
position their total remuneration is determined by moving them to band H using the
normal promotion (or movement down in band) rules, then moving them to the
equivalent step on the relevant scale.
When an employee moves between one, two or three person stations they move to the
equivalent step on the new scale.
When an employee in a one, two or three person station moves to another position their
new total remuneration will be calculated as follows:
If the employee was appointed to a position in a one, two or three person station before
1 July 2003:
• employees shall be moved back one full step below their current remuneration on
their current scale. The employee will then be moved to the closest step to this
remuneration on the main Band H scale.
If the employee is moving to a position other than a Band H position then their total
remuneration will be determined by applying the normal promotion (or moving down in
bands) rules to this value.
If the employee was appointed to a position in a one, two or three person station after 1
July 2003:
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• total remuneration will be moved to the equivalent step or interim step on main band
H scale.
If the employee is moving to a position other than a Band H position then their total
remuneration will be determined by applying the normal promotion (or moving down in
bands) rules to this value.
Note: This rule is subject to the requirement that a one, two or three person station
employee appointed to another position in a higher band will be moved to at least the
closest lower step in the new band to their previous total remuneration.
Appointment to a lower banded position
Employees whose current total remuneration is above the maximum of the band of the
new position will move to the band maximum for the new position. Employees whose
current total remuneration is within the range of the band of the new position will move
down to the nearest (lower) step in the band of the new position.
Employees who move to a lower band on this basis will, on appointment to a higher band
in future, move only to the next highest band step in the new band.
Before 1 July 2003
For employees who moved to a lower band prior to 1 July 2003:
• Those employees who had their total remuneration preserved at the time of
movement to the lower band will be subject to the provision above when moving back
to a higher band.
• Those employees who had a reduction (of at least 4%) to total remuneration at the
time of moving down to the lower band will be eligible to receive the minimum
increase on promotion.
Progression in remuneration bands
Progression within remuneration bands is on the basis of competency and service.
Employees who are not at or above the maximum of their band will receive a
competency/service increment (CSI) on the anniversary of appointment to Police (except
for the 2003/04 increase which will be applied for all employees eligible at 1 December
2003). This is deemed to be start date as a recruit or in the case of former TSS staff the
date of appointment to the TSS or in the case of employees who have been employed on
a temporary basis prior to permanent appointment, their date of appointment as
temporary employees.
A CSI will not be authorised (after December 2003) where an individual has an
unresolved competency based performance issue or where an individual is unlikely to
meet all certification and qualification requirements expected of them within a
reasonable time. Performance notings, appraisal documentation and information from
the HR information system should be used to inform this decision.
To be eligible for a CSI an employee must have been on active duty for at least 4
months of the 12 month period preceding their anniversary.
Other considerations in applying policy
Once agreed and signed off in accordance with statutory requirements the provisions of
collective, and where relevant, individual employment agreements are legally binding on
the parties:
• Police
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Version : 4.0
• the service organisations, and /or
• the individual concerned.
The relevant agreement document should always be the first point of reference in
applying this policy.
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
