The Police Pensions Regulations 2006

Reckoning of pensionable service

10.—(1) The pensionable service reckonable by a regular police officer at any date (in these Regulations referred to as the “relevant date”) shall be determined in accordance with the succeeding provisions of these Regulations:

Provided that there shall not be reckonable by a regular police officer—

(a) any period of unpaid maternity leave (not being a period which falls within the first 26 weeks of any period of maternity leave taken by a person in respect of whom no election under regulation 9 was effective immediately before the commencement of that period of unpaid maternity leave) or of unpaid parental leave in respect of which the conditions specified in paragraph (2) are not satisfied;

(b) any period of unpaid sick leave in respect of which the conditions specified in paragraph (2) and the additional condition specified in paragraph (3) are not satisfied;

(c) any other period of unpaid leave.

(2) The conditions referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of the proviso to paragraph (1) are that the person concerned—

(a) was serving as a regular police officer during the period immediately preceding a period of maternity leave, parental leave or sick leave which includes the period of unpaid maternity leave, unpaid parental leave or unpaid sick leave in question and no election under regulation 9 was effective in respect of that person immediately before the commencement of that period of unpaid leave;

(b) in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) pays to the police authority a sum equal to the sum of the pension contributions which would have been payable for the period of unpaid maternity leave, unpaid parental leave or unpaid sick leave in question if his notional pensionable pay during that period had been at the same rate as his pensionable pay (including any statutory maternity pay payable to a woman under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1)) immediately before the commencement of the period of unpaid maternity leave, unpaid parental leave or unpaid sick leave which constituted or included the period in question.

(3) The additional condition referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of the proviso to paragraph (1) is that the period of unpaid sick leave in question does not exceed six months and, when aggregated with any other period or periods of unpaid sick leave which fulfils, or all of which fulfil, the conditions specified in paragraph (2)(a) and (b), does not exceed twelve months.

(4) (a) The person concerned shall, by notice in writing given to the police authority within a period ending—

(i) three months after the day on which the period of leave which constitutes or includes the period of unpaid leave in question ended, or

(ii) on the day, if earlier, on which he last serves as a regular police officer,

inform the police authority that he wishes to make the payment referred to in paragraph (2)(b) and in respect of which period of leave, and which method of payment under sub-paragraph (c) he elects to use:

Provided that, where the person concerned dies before the end of the period specified in this sub-paragraph without having given such notice, notice shall be deemed to have been given in respect of any period of leave which would otherwise be reckonable by him under this regulation and the person concerned shall be deemed to have elected to make payment by way of instalments under sub-paragraph (c).

(b) On receipt of the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (a) the police authority shall calculate the amount due under paragraph (2)(b) and give written notice of that amount to the person concerned.

(c) Payment under paragraph (2)(b) may be made by the person concerned either by way of a lump sum or by instalments on the same dates as pension contributions are payable by him under regulation 7:

Provided that where the person concerned has elected to make payment by way of instalments under this sub-paragraph, the balance due after the payment of any of those instalments may be paid by way of a lump sum equal to that balance at any time before the due date (as defined in sub-paragraph (d)).

(d) The total amount due under paragraph (2)(b) shall be paid no later than six months after the person concerned is notified by the police authority as to the amount payable or, if he retires or otherwise ceases to serve as a regular police officer before the expiry of that period, before the date on which he retires or so ceases to serve (“the due date”):

Provided that, in a case where the person concerned retires or otherwise ceases to serve as a regular police officer before the total amount due has been paid under this sub-paragraph, any lump-sum payment made within two months of retiring or so ceasing to serve or of receiving notification from the police authority as to the amount payable, whichever is the later, shall be deemed to have been made by the due date.

(e) Where the person concerned has not paid the full amount due in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, the proportion of the unpaid leave in question which shall be reckonable as pensionable service shall be the same proportion as the amount which has been so paid bears to the total amount due:

Provided that where the person concerned dies before the due date there shall be reckonable the full period of unpaid leave in question notwithstanding that the amount due has, in full or in part, not been paid in accordance with the provisions of sub-paragraphs (c) and (d).

(f) A regular police officer shall be treated, for the purposes of calculating any award under these Regulations, as having made pension contributions throughout any period or periods of unpaid leave reckonable as pensionable service by virtue of payments made in accordance with this paragraph; and any such period or periods shall be treated for those purposes as part of a continuous period ending with the last day of unpaid leave during the period of service as a regular police officer of the person concerned.

(1)

1992 c.4.