Flexible working in policing is more achievable than many officers believe — and more commonly used than forces typically publicise. Whether you're returning from maternity leave, managing a caring responsibility, dealing with a health condition, or simply trying to sustain a career across a life that doesn't fit the standard 40-hour pattern, there are routes available. This guide covers the legal framework, the types of flexible working available, how to apply, and the practical realities of making it work.
The Legal Framework: Regulation 33
The right to request flexible working for police officers in England and Wales is governed by Regulation 33 of the Police Regulations 2003. This regulation gives officers the right to apply for a change in their working arrangements, including reduced hours, a change in shift pattern, or other adjustments. Forces are required to consider these applications properly and can only refuse them on specific grounds set out in the regulations — including that the proposed arrangement would have an adverse impact on operational effectiveness or would be incompatible with the nature of the role.
The right under Regulation 33 is a right to request, not a right to have approved. However, forces that refuse requests without proper consideration expose themselves to challenge through the Police Appeals Tribunal and potentially through employment tribunal proceedings if the refusal relates to protected characteristics such as disability or the needs of a carer.
Part-Time Working
Part-time policing is the most common form of flexible working in the service. Officers reduce their contracted hours — typically to 60%, 80%, or another agreed percentage of the standard full-time pattern — and their pay is reduced proportionally. Part-time working is most commonly requested by officers with childcare responsibilities, caring commitments for a parent or partner, or health needs that make full-time shift work unsustainable.
The operational reality of part-time policing varies significantly between forces and between departments within forces. Response teams find it more challenging to accommodate part-time patterns because the nature of the work requires consistent team cover across all shifts. Departments with more flexible activity profiles — CID, specialist units, communities teams — tend to accommodate part-time more easily. Some forces have developed dedicated part-time rosters for response officers that ensure consistent cover across the team.
Compressed Hours
Compressed working allows an officer to work their full contracted hours across fewer days — for example, four ten-hour days rather than five eight-hour days. This arrangement maintains full-time pay and is particularly popular with officers who have long commutes, childcare costs that can be reduced by having a full day off per week, or caring responsibilities on a predictable day.
Compressed hours are generally easier for forces to accommodate than reduced hours because the total operational input remains the same. The application process follows the same Regulation 33 pathway. Many forces have introduced compressed shift patterns as a standard option rather than requiring individual applications — check your force's HR guidance for the current position.
Job Share Arrangements
Job sharing involves two officers sharing a single full-time post, each working part of the week. This arrangement requires agreement between two officers (or one officer and a force-recruited partner) and the willingness of the line manager and department to coordinate the shared role. Job shares work most smoothly in roles with clear handover requirements and defined portfolios — neighbourhood policing, schools liaison, specialist investigating roles — and less smoothly in response roles where calls come in unpredictably.
Practically, the success of a job share depends heavily on the quality of communication between the two officers sharing the role. Detailed handover notes, shared case management systems, and a clear protocol for urgent matters that arise on a partner's day are essential. Job shares that fail usually do so because the informal communication infrastructure isn't properly established at the outset.
How to Apply
The application process under Regulation 33 typically involves submitting a written request to your line manager and then to HR, outlining the proposed change, the reason for the request, and how you believe operational requirements can be met. Forces have their own forms and timescales, but the regulations require a decision within a specified period and give you the right to appeal a refusal.
Before submitting a formal application, it is worth having an informal conversation with your line manager to understand the operational landscape and what options might be feasible. A request that is clearly thought through from an operational perspective — identifying how cover will be maintained, which colleagues might be affected, and what adjustments you're prepared to make — is significantly more likely to be approved than a request that presents only the personal need without addressing the operational implications.
The Career Impact: An Honest Assessment
Officers on reduced hours accumulate slower progression in some respects: promotion boards typically assess the quality of experience, but time-served requirements and the volume of evidence available may be affected by periods of reduced hours. Officers who work part-time for significant portions of their career sometimes find that their pension accrual is proportionally reduced and that periods on operational teams are shorter, which can narrow the range of evidence available for promotion portfolios.
That said, many officers work part-time or compressed hours for substantial periods and go on to reach senior ranks. The key is managing the quality of what you do produce, being strategic about which development opportunities you take on, and ensuring that supervisors understand your ambitions so that you are considered for relevant opportunities even within your reduced hours pattern.
Force Variations and What to Watch For
Forces vary significantly in how positively they approach flexible working requests. Some forces have proactive flexible working policies, dedicated HR support for Regulation 33 applications, and established part-time rosters. Others treat flexible working as an exception and create significant bureaucratic friction for applicants. The Police Federation can advise you if you believe a force is improperly refusing a request or creating unreasonable barriers.
Check whether your force has a Flexible Working Coordinator in HR — most larger forces do. They can advise on what has been approved in similar circumstances and help you frame an application that addresses the force's operational concerns directly. Officers who approach the process collaboratively rather than adversarially generally get better outcomes.