Police call centre morale ‘at rock bottom’ as pay cuts loom

Changes to police call centre pay and conditions “threaten the stability and morale” of staff, Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie has warned.

Proposed changes, including reducing allowances for night shifts and new pay scales, could see call centre staff lose thousands of pounds from their salary, it is claimed.

Mr Rennie has now written to the chair of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), the Justice Secretary and the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to express his concerns.

In the letter, he mentioned that the inquiry into the fatal M9 crash in 2015, where police failed to respond for three days after it was first reported, has still not happened.

“It would therefore be ill-advised to further threaten the stability and morale of the service centres by dramatically reducing the shift allowance,” he warned, adding that morale is “at rock bottom”.

Mr Rennie said: “Call centre staff have undergone considerable upheaval since the rushed centralisation of the service centres. These proposals will further threaten the stability and morale of staff.

“The deal on the table for call centre staff is a poor one and skilled staff may be lost to the service all together if the proposed changes go ahead.

“I hope that the Scottish Police Authority and the Government will negotiate for additional funds to enable an adequate deal to be agreed.”

A letter to police call centre staff giving details of the changes said the proposal needed to be “affordable and sustainable in future years” and acknowledged people “feel let down” after being placed at the bottom of new pay scales.

Unions are due to ballot members about the proposals and staff have been warned that if they are rejected a “recognition payment” – compensation for a delay in implementing new salaries – will be withdrawn.

Mr Rennie wrote of his disappointment at this threat and urged the SPA chair to push for more funding from the Scottish Government.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Government have both been contacted for comment.