Claims for Hours Worked

Members are responsible for recording and claiming for the hours they work on Authority business.

Fees and expenses should be claimed retrospectively at the end of each month on the appropriate forms.   Forms should be submitted to SPA Corporate Services (spacorporateservices@spa.police.uk), no later than the 5th working day of the next month.  Claims received later than that date will not be processed until the following month.  An email reminder will be issued to Members towards the end of each month. 

Members are required to certify, with each monthly claim made, that all fees for time worked and expenses were incurred on Authority business.

The Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy for Senior Appointment sets out that, where a daily fee is paid, it:

• should reflect the time commitment involved;
• should take into account provision for reasonable time spent by Members in undertaking their agreed duties effectively; and
• should be based on clear prior agreement about which activities are to be remunerated, with a recognition that this can include time spent preparing for meetings and travelling to and from them.

The Authority distinguishes between preparation and attendance days and acknowledges the importance of both.

Preparation time is where there is a requirement for a Member to attend a meeting, event or visit and preparation work is required to ensure the Member is adequately prepared and able to contribute fully.  It would also cover a requirement to undertake ad-hoc pieces of work, requested by the Chair, that do not require attendance. 

Attendance days are when the Member attends a formal meeting of the Authority (physically or virtually). This includes Board and Committee meetings as well as Board Seminars and development events – both internal and external. 

Members will be expected to adopt a reasonable approach to claiming for the time taken to travel to and from meetings, reducing such time to a minimum wherever possible.

Where a significant proportion of the day is taken up by meetings, it would be reasonable to claim for the full day which would be 7.5 hours.  Claims for a full 7.5 hours will be reimbursed at the daily rate.  Work undertaken that does not constitute a full 7.5 hour day will be paid on a pro-rata basis.

Through discussion with Scottish Government, and to assist Board Members in making their claims, the Authority has agreed the following standard times which Members may apply to their claims, where they consider it reasonable to do so:

[1] With the exception of excessive travel which is defined as a single journey exceeding 75 miles, where regard may be had to actual time taken.

Where meetings significantly exceed or fall short of these times, Board Members may claim for the actual time incurred, with full details provided in the claim.

Claims for other meetings and Board activity should be made on a pro rata basis having regard to the time incurred, with full details provided in the claim.