Police officers are not malingerers – From The TimesOctober 30, 2008

Police officers are not malingerers
Police officers are not shirkers who neglect their duties to take sick leave
Sir, In response to Andy Hayman’s commentary (“We must weed out shirkers to help the genuine cases”, Oct 23) and Helen Nugent and Jack Sidders’s report (“Surge in police sickness costs taxpayer £90m a year”, Oct 23) it should be noted that police officers operate in an environment of increasing danger and that their average sick days are still considerably lower than those taken by other public sector workers.

Moreover, the vast majority of serving police officers feel only contempt for colleagues who take sick leave that they do not deserve. Any implication that, somehow, the police service condones or encourages the “shirking” of duties in favour of sick pay is completely unfounded.

Julie Nesbit

Chairman, Constables’ Central Committee, Police Federation of England & Wales

Sir, Andy Hayman’s commentary resonates strongly with my experience of occupational health (OH) in the police service.

This has shown me that there are two distinct patterns of sickness absence in police OH services.

First, come those instances that Hayman refers to as “genuine cases of illness”. Patterns of absence in such cases may be short-term or long. There may even be genuine medical reasons for recurrent spells of illness, although OH intervention often assists in the reduction in frequency of time taken off work, even where medical conditions are present. Experts refer to individuals’ differing abilities with coping, a phenomenon recognised by doctors.

Secondly come the cases that confound all, even the most strenuous attempts to improve attendance. Hayman implies that these are malingerers, a term now referred to in hushed tones as the “M-word” and one that only the bravest or most foolhardy would invoke for fear of being rebuked by a tribunal judge!

Like other public sector bodies, the Police Service has very generous sickness benefit arrangements. To top these already cast-iron financial safeguards, it is often the case that if an absence due to medical reasons can be shown to be linked to an on-duty injury then sick pay may continue for more than a year, continuing, in some cases, for several years. Managers and even in-house human resources experts are often paralysed to act faced with the bright lights of potentially litigious cases. These are the cases that skew sickness absence figures and trends, and are so damaging financially. It goes without saying that such incidents have a profound effect on the employment morale of all those who are at work and perceive these cases as morally unjust.

Dr John Challenor

Consultant Occupational Health Physician,

Yealmpton, Devon