Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Personnel Committee

Item 4

14 November 2001

Officer Workloads/FDS Cover

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Contact:

Chris Bacon

Temp/Assistant Chief Fire Officer

Tel: 023 8064 4000 ext 207

1.

Introduction

1.1

In the review of the Service structure in 1997 it was agreed that the flexible duty officer establishment for HFRS would be as follows:-

4

SDO Posts

14

DO Posts

18

ADO Posts

24

StnO Posts

60

1.2

Eleven Flexible Duty System (FDS) officer posts were removed from the establishment.

1.3

It was accepted at the time that 60 FDS officers was the minimum number needed to provide operational officer cover. This did not take account of other duties performed by FDS officers, e.g., training support, investigations, managerial duties outside of office hours, and fire station link officer duties to support retained stations.

2.

Workloads Review

2.1

In early 2000 a survey of officer workloads was undertaken using questionnaires and structured interviews with a representative sample of officers.

2.2

The feedback indicated a general feeling by officers that since the major review of organisation structure workloads had significantly increased, without any corresponding increase in staffing. It had been assumed that the introduction of additional administrative support staff would release officers to do more work appropriate to their grade and less routine administration.Any savings in this area were immediately subsumed by time required to deal with other external organisations, initiatives and expectations.

2.3

Most officers reported feeling 'under pressure' and some had been off work with stress-related illness. Divisional Officers particularly felt that they were working well beyond what could reasonably be expected of them.

3

Workloads Records

3.1

Since May 2001 records have been kept of additional hours worked by officers. The records indicate that:

Station Officers would work on average an extra 97 hours per person per annum.

Assistant Divisional Officers would work on average an extra 48 hours per person per annum.

Divisional Officers would work on average an extra 100 hours per person per annum.

This equates to 3 flexible duty officer posts.

3.2

There is no provision for payment of overtime and so the only alternative is to take time off in lieu. This adversely affects operational fire cover and often creates difficulties in officers being able to take the additional time back they have worked.

4

Other Related Issues

4.1

Divisional Officer Cover

At present the officers flexible duty system rota does not provide enough Divisional Officer cover to give a minimum of 1 Divisional Officer in each Division at all times in line with Service policy. The addition of an extra Divisional Officer post per Division would remedy this and would provide the correct level of operational, supervisory and managerial support required. The three extra Divisional Officers could provide a higher level of support in the training function to drive forward the development and introduction of competency based training and greater emphasis on personal development systems and procedures.

4.2

Increased Training and Assessment

There has been a significant increase in the time needed for officers to supervise/monitor competency based training, especially for retained personnel. In addition, other safety related training issues (Incident Command System, real fire training, probation and proficiency tests) have demanded an increasing part of an officer's duties, especially on retained drill nights. There is a distinct need for a further Divisional Officer post to plan, monitor, audit and review training and produce and maintain a management information system so as to ensure Best Value and effective control of the training budget.

4.3

Fire Safety Experience Levels

Since the structure review of 1997 there have been fewer opportunities for promotion to FDS Station Officer, particularly in the case of the Fire Safety (FS) Department. This has led to problems in retaining ambitious '42-hour' Station Officers who seek 'promotion' to the Flexible Duty System at the earliest opportunity. This results in costs (in excess of £11,000) to train a Fire Safety Inspector at the Fire Service College, the benefit of which is short-lived. Typically officers 'move on' within 12-24 months. There is no real career or financial incentive to remain as a 42-hour Station Officer in FS. Service delivery for FS is adversely affected by a lack of officers well experienced in fire safety. Regrading 6 x 42-hour Station Officer posts in the Fire Safety Department will provide an incentive for officers to remain in Fire Safety as a career choice, and also provide the 'out of hours' operational and managerial cover at evenings and weekends to ease the workloads currently placed on other staff. (There will be an extra 36 hours standby per post as a result of this change)

4.4

Link Officer Duties

There are currently insufficient FDS Station Officers to provide link officer cover for each retained fire station. This is particularly the case in A Division with its large geographic area. Link Officers provide support to retained stations by way of training, admin and managerial advice. There is a need to provide better support to retained Officer in Charrge of stations, who are also experiencing unprecendented additional workloads.

4.5

Investigation/Personnel Related Issues

There has been a significantly increased number of investigations, e.g., vehicle accident, equipment failure, discipline, equalities, harassment/bullying, fire investigation, Hazmat, etc. This workload has fallen to the reduced number of officer posts which adversely impacts on their primary role with work being carried out in the evenings or weekends.

4.6

FDS Operational Officer Cover in A Division

Because of the geographic make up of A Division, and the distances involved for travel to incidents etc., it has proved difficult to provide effective FDS officer cover, especially when making allowances for temporary promotions, sickness, courses, etc. When considering the disposition of any FDS StnO posts it would be prudent to take account of the need for extra cover for A Division.

4.7

Future 'Operational Audit' Role for Officers

There will be an increased need for officers to attend incidents, not only in a supervisory role but also for 'operational audit' purposes in the near future. Safety risk assessment of incidents, especially for retained personnel, will necessitate mobilising additional officers to monitor operational performance and as a control measure to ensure the safety of retained crews.

5

Conclusion

5.1

There is a need for additional officer posts to provide effective supervisory and managerial support for the Service. Present staffing levels for 'Flexible Duty System' Officers are inadequate to meet the existing workloads. This can be addressed by the provision of 4 additional Divisional Officer posts and regrading 6 x 42-hour Station Officer posts. The need for these posts would be unaffected by any changes to organisational structure that may be proposed in the future.

6

Proposals and Financial Implications

6.1

The full year cost of providing an additional 4 FDS Divisional Officer posts would be £208,000 per annum, (including on costs).

6.2

The full year cost of regrading 6 x 42-hour posts to FDS would be £40,200. This additional cost would be offset by the savings in training costs which are hard to quantify. However, an estimate of the likely savings is £3,000 per post.

7

European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

7.1

The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Recommendations to the Authority

1

That from 1 April 2002 an additional 4 FDS Divisional Officer posts be provided and that 6 42-hour Station Officer posts be regraded to the flexible duty system at a total cost of £248,200 per annum, and that these proposals be taken account of in the budget setting process.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose the facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report.

None

NB The list excludes:

1 Published works

2 Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act

File name [HFRA Personnel 14 Nov 01 - Officer Workloads.doc]