Suspension on police leave over summer is lifted
A temporary ban on Thames Valley Police officers booking holidays over the summer via an automated system has been partly lifted.
The force made changes to how annual leave could be taken because of concerns over available resources during the busy period, which left some staff frustrated.
New requests had to be authorised by management rather than via a straightforward "self-services" option.
On Friday, the force said staffing levels for the season had been confirmed and it had "reintroduced automated leave bookings for the majority".
Assistant Chief Constable Dennis Murray said: "There remain a small number of specific days where automated leave is suspended to meet operational needs, as has been the case in the past.
"We continuously monitor staffing levels to balance officer welfare with our duty to keep communities safe."
Previously, time off could not be booked from 31 May to 1 September automatically, a decision the force said was "not taken lightly".
Responses on the Thames Valley Police Federation's Facebook page were mainly negative, with one member calling it "easily the worst year for booking annual leave I've seen in my career" and another saying morale was "at rock bottom".
"It is already difficult to find enough weeks in a year to have a holiday without seeing a sea of red on the calendar," one said.
But ACC Murray said, while it was reviewed regularly "to support officer welfare", the force had to "consider ways to best plan for key events during the busy summer period".
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Police officers frustrated over leave changes
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