[Closed] One job not enough for some 🙂

To be honest for what they have to put up with I wouldn't even do it has a First job

1/10 doesn't sound very high. How does that compare to the general population?

If they were paid a decent amount for what they do they wouldn't need a second job

No problem whatsoever with Police officers having a second job, providing they have permission. My wife (a serving officer) runs her own business in her own time. I can't think of a single instance when this has affected her ability to do the job.

Well done in highlighting 4 mistakes/bad decisions (your words) though from the last 30 years.

Can't see a problem with second jobs. Not entirely sure why this is a story TBH.

I'm a lot more concerned about someone who doesn't want one job than someone who's doing two.

I think it's more to do with the amount of time off they have.

Can't see a problem with second jobs. Not entirely sure why this is a story TBH.

because people shouldn't need two jobs. 30 years ago families lived on one income, now two aren't even enough sometimes.

if one job (fulltime) does not pay enough to live on- then its not a job- its charity work- work culture in this isle is seriously deranged, other developed economies-- notably germany,sweden,norway, work less hours for more pay-- and have something called a life-- here folk seem conditioned to accept low wages long hours as some inevitability-- and then turn their ire on those who have no jobs !! strange....

deadlydarcy - Member
I think it's more to do with the amount of time off they have.
POSTED 2 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Serious question. How many hours a week do they do? I would have thought it would be a standard 37 hour week like most people do, although I can't remember the last time I only worked 37 hours.

Don't have an issue with them having a second job, at least it gives them a career choice when they are not very good at their first job.

As for four mistakes in 30 years I imagine the OP didn't have time to list all the errors the police have made in the last 30 years. One of those "4 mistakes/bad decisions" was an attempt to cover up the truth of a tragedy for 23 years that cost 96 people their lives by a police force, not an individual but over 100 individuals colluding to hide the truth. Personally I could list more however there are times when the police do a really good job.

It would be good to see less failures and it is only right that when they fail they are brought to account.

dd, to be honest mate in the past I'd be the first to acknowledge that far too many officers would take too much time off on the sick, however a lot of work has gone on over the last 5 or so years to drastically reduce that. I know that because one of my team goes off sick, the amount of work I have to do to "promote their early return to work".

My staff are sent automatically generated letters if their sickness levels even start to get anywhere near the minimum acceptable level and [b]have[/b] to attend compulsory "attendance support meetings" some of which have been nothing short of bullying sessions. Officers suffering from properly diagnosed stress or depression being given poorly worded letters talking about unsatisfactory performance procedures. I could go on.

I had Guillain Barres syndrome a few years ago and was in a great deal of pain and stuck in a wheelchair for five months and I had no end of home visits from bosses and HR personnel asking me when I thought I'd be back at work.

One of the officers mentioned in the [url= http://www.****/news/article-2254701/The-PC-Vicar-pole-dancer-He-worked-counter-terror-She-supports-Norfolk-police-But-time-earn-extra-cash-VERY-surprising-ways.html ]daily wail article [/url] is our local priest now.

Top bloke.

Breggie, I can't disagree.

Only taking the mick really (before I get my arse chewed off) 😉

Paulsoxo. It varies between 37-40 hours a week mate. Many do more and get paid overtime when they do. (Insps and above don't get overtime)..

In recent years though the overtime opportunities have also dropped, especially in specialist departments. In the past I have worked up to and beyond 100 hours in a week on occasion but obviously those occasions have been relatively rare and I've been paid accordingly.

yet more public sector worker bashing as far as I can see.....

My point is that how do they have enough time time to do jobs. There has been posts on here here about how overworked and stressed they all are. How many are signed of sick due to stress? My step father is retired from the force. I'm not a police hater before the many bike riding police start posting. The ones who post on threads like this and the officers down thread, but not on the Hillsburgh and Yorkshire miner bashing threads.

And the pathetic reply about highlighting the 4 cases so police mistakes. Is anybody that naive to believe we hear about the misconduct cases.

I imagine the shift patterns make it possible for most - if you're on nights, you'll have free daytime hours even allowing for sleep, and days off will often fall on weekdays so it's easier to find something productive to do.

If you're married to someone who works 9-5 Monday to Friday, it must be hard for some to sit around the house on a Tuesday with nothing to do. Obviously we'd all go off riding, but for others, they fill it with work.

[i]If they were paid a decent amount for what they do they wouldn't need a second job [/i]

Yer, right - not only are they decently paid for what is a 'semi-manual' type job, their pension costs work out at about the same as a basic job on top of that. Plus they can retire in their early 50's.

[i]I imagine the shift patterns make it possible for most - if you're on nights, you'll have free daytime hours even allowing for sleep, and days off will often fall on weekdays so it's easier to find something productive to do.[/i]

Predictable hours is the key here, if you work five 12-hour shifts you can then not work for another, say, seven days. No different to a Nurse friend of ours.

Well done in highlighting 4 mistakes/bad decisions (your words) though from the last 30 years.

Hillsborough could hardly be described as a mistake or a bad decision. Nor could the miners strike or Tomlinson affair to be honest. You can have plebgate though.

here folk seem conditioned to accept low wages long hours as some inevitability-- and then turn their ire on those who have no jobs

Seeing this more and more to be honest. I can work loads of extra unpaid hours and still be pressured to cut costs and find savings. There is zero recognition of the additional hours.

Paulsoxo. It varies between 37-40 hours a week mate. Many do more and get paid overtime when they do. (Insps and above don't get overtime)..

So in a nutshell, they get no more time off than Joe Public, so I really don't see what business it is of anybody how an officer spends his day off (usual caveats around morality and conflict of interest applies)

Selective reading? It does say officers and support staff. The secondary question is how many are full time? And of them how many have these second jobs?

OH is currently in bed having got in from a cover shift (5pm-3am) and will be back out today from 2pm-12am. 4 covers then a couple of days off ain't that restful.

Ready for another round of Gov cuts?

because people shouldn't need two jobs. 30 years ago families lived on one income, now two aren't even enough sometimes.

You are assuming they have to. Many will choose to to supplement their income. And makes no mention of which staff and whether they are part time or not. What is the average police wage? And who says 30 years ago people only needed 1 wage, 30 years ago my parents has 3 jobs between the two of them to support the family. And do people NEED more than one wage provides or do they just want more? I think people have higher expectations of basic living, yet this is leveraged politically. As per this article.

In the Ambulance service I work for we do 12hr shifts, we work one week of three shifts and the following week consists of four shifts, averaged out and with unpaid meal breaks subtracted from each shift it works out at 37.5hrs a week.
I don't think that is a long working week personally and with 12hr shifts eating up the hours I have loads of time off....basically we work 7 of every 14 days....very nice.

Given that overtime isn't always available I have two bank contracts with other companies and do maybe four additional shifts a month for them in the private sector, it pays the mortgage.

If the shifts were shortened to 8hrs and we did five a week I wouldn't have these extra contracts...it's purely the amount of rest days we get, I think to myself that I may as well earn some extra pennies....I'm sure as I get older i'll enjoy the rest days more and stop the extra work, trying to bounce back from a 12hr night shift when I'm in my 50s and 60s will be crappy I'm sure.

I do it because I can, the salary by itself is fine but I have expensive taste in some areas....of course if the government want to give us all a pay rise to tempt people away from having second jobs then that would be very well received!

My point is that how do they have enough time time to do jobs

The issue with Police not having time to do jobs is somewhat different to what people outside the emergency services will understand.

A shortage of frontline police officers on duty at any time leads to officers being pressured. Imagine being at an incident from which you cannot leave for several hours. Your colleagues meanwhile are all chasing their own tails responding to emergency calls. The comms officer (not a cop, so doesn't really understand how long it takes to take a statement from an assault victim, or why you can't leave that person at hospital on their own after you've just got them down off a motorway bridge) - is pestering you asking when you will be free because there is a queue of jobs building up and no one to go.

Then one of your colleagues presses his/her emergency button because they're getting their head kicked in and nobody is free to respond or the officer shouldn't really have gone to that job on their own.
That's the issue with police shortages.

So the shortages affect officers on the frontline when they need the backup of their colleagues. I don't see how what the officers do on their days off (subject to approval) affects this.

You are assuming they have to.

i'm not [b]assuming[/b] anything. i [b]know[/b] that some households have to have two wages coming in because mine does.

and it's still not always enough.

and then turn their ire on those who [s]have no jobs !![/s] aren't gonna fall for that BS.. strange....

thanks yunki-- mine was stream of conscious, yours more measured ! 😀

in fact, since there are so few jobs, it is more altruistic to let those who really are desperate for the extra 'income' to have first option--

Predictable hours is the key here, if you work five 12-hour shifts you can then not work for another, say, seven days. No different to a Nurse friend of ours.

Please tell us where this nurse works, I reckon the trust is about to get 3 million nurses asking to work for that trust.

Ok so there's some who have second jobs, bit like firefighters everyone knows that every single one of them has a second job. And everyone knows that not one person in the private sector has a second job.

I get loads of time off working in the ambulance service but I get it as I do long hours at work, I really couldn't be bothered with a second job. I earn good money as it is, I average about 3-4 hours running overtime a week due to late finishes. If want extra money for holidays I'll do some overtime but even then I pick and chose that. I value my time off more than the money, I do know others who seem to work most of their days off but that's their choice. I did it last year for a few month to introduce a new bit of equipment so I could pay for my family holiday without having to use our normal monthly budget. It was horrible, I never seen much of my family my bike was never ridden in what was the best weather of the year and I was always tired when I got home.

Still haters got to hate.

How many MPs have second jobs?

Just wondered...

The disproportionate amount of people on here who clearly have a strong bias of opinion against the police here again has made me decide to take a bit of time away from here. The news story published by Sky must be the least news-worthy story for quite some time however it has descended into the usual police bashing on STW.

We have a flouncer!

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however it has descended into the usual police bashing on STW.

Has it ?

A few negative comments maybe, but not many.

If you can't handle a bit if negativity when dealing with a random collection of opinions, I would suggest you are too delicate for the Internet, and should turn if off completely.

[img] [/img]

As WCA, how many MPs have other jobs, and are these regulated to ensure they don't conflict with public duty? And over on a police blog, commentators described their 'second jobs'. On the basis that it's essential to register, the data might be a bit ropey. Examples given were - one half-day a year lecturing at uni, and owning a flat that the copper's mother lived in.

This comes from the perception that failing to register something, even something trivial, could be career-ending.

Lies, damn lies, and what was it? GIGO.

deviant wrote -
of course if the government want to give us all a pay rise to tempt people away from having second jobs then that would be very well received!

What that works out at taking inflation into account I don't know but can't far off needing a 'little sideline' to maintain the same standard of living. Don't see what the problem with a second job is anyway. They'll be paying tax, won't they! 8)

Its Sky quoting the Daily Mail - I can think of no reason not to be sucked into the weasel wording of the article

This[employment] was found to include selling ice cream, undertaking, giving skiing lessons, holding seances and pole dancing.

Police staff are allowed to take second jobs or run companies if approved by their superiors.

Unless there is a direct conflict of interest, permission is usually given.

Figures from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary showed at least 23,043 [b]police staff[/b] had second jobs out of a workforce of 201,575 in May 2012.

so its police staff NOT COPPERS per se- I assume this means its largely the support staff working PT who have other jobs - its hard to believe a copper would be a lap dancer for example and the Chief constable would think this was ok

Its the Daily Mail its got to be an abuse and misrepresentation of statitistics

its hard to believe a copper would be a lap dancer for example

Holding seances eh? Apologising to Ian Tomlinson perhaps? 😉

Woody that's terrible.

Our hot air ballooning business employs lots of police and firefighters too as ground crew... Most of them like the outdoor work and because we work at dawn or dusk, it generally fits in with their shift patterns.
I think they like working where people (our customers) are pleased to see them and are only intending to enjoy themselves - not hurl abuse or spit at them!

Actually, I would be a bit more happy if the 1% pay rise in four years hadn't immediately been grabbed back in increased pension contributions, leaving me £30 a month less in actual pay than 2009.

The pay of all officers, that is, the federated ranks, superintendents, chief officers and police cadets is increased by:

2.65% with effect from 1 September 2008
2.6% with effect from 1 September 2009
2.55% with effect from 1 September 2010

http://www.policeoracle.com/pay_and_conditions/police_pay_scales.html

Assuming the poster quote is in the police force if you have only received a 1% pay increase then you are being ripped off.

As for police bashing it seems OK when they are defending themselves for their mistakes. But not when those mistakes are pointed out or someone raises a question its always seen as police bashing.

Apparently statistically 1 in 10 staff will perform below par so in a police force of 200,000 that would be 20,000 so its not hard to find and highlight issues. Sometimes those issues are difficult to hide but when they become apparent then the police should be transparent and answerable rather than covering up.

As I have said I believe that most want to and try to and indeed do manage to do a good job despite the difficulties but lets not get defensive and admit that there are significant deep routed issues in our police force.

It appears that pay for nurses, firemen and police constables would be similar, they are not the best paid jobs but as has been said it is public sector. It would be good for all to earn more but there are not massive discrepancies between public and private sector pay scales.

Woody that's terrible.

Pingu66 - I'm a Paramedic not Police.

alexandersupertramp - Member

My point is that how do they have enough time time to do jobs

Same way everyone else who has 2 jobs does it. Work a working week, then work some more in the remaining time.

Oh hang on... Are we assuming that all these police officers are full time? (I'm assuming you can be a part time policeman?)

Woody that's what I wasn't sure about. I didn't see any pay scales for NHS workers in a quick search. I think anyone who works with the public is up against it. Wether its paramedics, police fire etc and I am sure with what has happened to pay and pensions in recent years that it is not as good a place as it used to be.

I think we probably are assuming them to be full time as the reference is second job rather than working for the police as a second job. Although there may be part time police as a single job role. Would it be safe to assume that the majority of police are full time rather than part time?

Its an interesting point though Northwind, if an officer is part time ok. But if they have a full time job and work part time as an officer generally a secondary job should not impact a primary job. Its a difficult balancing act. Particularly if an officers secondary job is his or her own business surely in that instance there is a larger vested interest in the secondary job. I actually did have two jobs at one time and it was bloody hard juggling time let alone if I had shifts to consider as well.

It doesn't even say they are Police officers, just Police staff they could be any body who works in the Police. So we shouldn't assume anything at all.

Its from the Mail after all

It will be mainly support staff

For example a mate of my mums works for the police as an "adult" when required - they get paid for this.

Its not their "real job" but they will be in the figures

yep as i said on page 1. It says staff, not just officers and makes no mention on FT/PT split. Personally I can't see how you could hold a second job and be full time given the shift patterns and likelihood of over running the shift. OH ended up pulling a 22hr shift as the person being interviewed suggested he would top himself. Off for a psych appraisal and queue 8hrs babysitting.

Let's assume its poorly worded and when they say staff they do actually mean officers. Police [i]officers[/i] can and do have second jobs. They have to be declared as a "business interest" and are subject to vetting approval. If Sky/Daily mail got the figures for declared Business interests you'd see that renting out a room to a mate/colleague, or renting out a second house is considered a business interest. It's not usually about "holding down a second job" (as in a formal position with set commitments), but fixing the odd car or fitting a kitchen and being paid for it.

Many coppers had jobs/skills prior to joining and keep those skills up, if they are paid for it they have to declare it (I know carpenters, mechanics etc who will do such work on days off). Many are building skills in preparation for retirement.

The "story" has come out now as any police story will get a higher profile. A typical "not news" story that builds momentum.

And the pessimist in me thinks that when/if the ball gets rolling about how greedy the public sector are being. It can only mean that that nice man George has something up his sleeve.

If this doesn't work wait for another public sector bash in a couple of weeks.

Oh and I'm a private sector employee.