MORE than 1,000 PSNI officers are taking action against the chief constable claiming they are owed holiday pay dating back almost 20 years.
The action backed by the Police Federation is based on a 2014 court ruling, stating employees who were regularly required to work overtime should get extra holiday pay. The ruling has already resulted in payments to officers serving in other UK forces.
Last week The Irish News revealed that £153 million had been paid out of the policing budget in just seven years for Injury On Duty (IOD) pensions to members of the PSNI and RUC.
A review of the process for calculating the IOD payments, which it was claimed is not fit for purpose, was to be carried out by the justice ministry but has been postponed due to the collapse of the devolved institutions.
The Police Federation of Northern Ireland is representing about 1,300 officers in the latest court action against the PSNI.
A smaller group of officers are taking an independently funded case against the chief constable.
PSNI deputy chief constable Drew Harris said that any payments could have an impact on day to day policing "at a time of austerity".
"I must manage scarce resources prudently so as to best protect the people of Northern Ireland", Mr Harris said.
"It is perfectly understandable that PSNI officers and staff should seek to avail themselves of their entitlements in relation to overtime and holiday pay.
"However, there are difficult points of law which mean that I would be failing my responsibilities if I didn't seek clarity in the courts, especially when the potential sums of money at stake are very large and would have direct operational impact upon policing in Northern Ireland," he added.
