28,000 hours of annual leave unclaimed by Staffordshire Police officers
Police officers in Staffordshire are among the worst offending in the country when it comes to using annual leave, new figures have shown.
More than 28,000 hours of holiday went unclaimed at Staffordshire Police during 2018/19 - equal to more than three years in total.
The data was released following a Freedom of Information request and showed the force was among the worst for taking time off.
It has led to concerns that officers could be at risk of "burn out" by not taking time away from the job. Figures released last year showed hundreds of Staffordshire Police officers have taken time off for stress, anxiety and depression over a three-year period.
In total, 571,395 hours of leave were unclaimed by UK Police employees in the 2018/19 financial year – that’s equivalent to over 57 years of unused holiday. Figures were not available for West Midlands Police.
Staffordshire Police recorded 28,847 hours of unused leave for 2018/19.
Of forces who provided figures, only Avon and Somerset Police and Lancashire Police had more unused hours.
Reg Groombridge, director at of software provider WhosOffice, which revealed the figures, said: “Britain’s police force is incredibly hard working, with many officers going beyond the call of duty. But failing to take time off can lead to problems with illness, stress and burn out.
"To avoid this, it’s important that senior personnel keep a close eye on whether their teams are using their full holiday entitlement – particularly within constabularies with high amounts of unclaimed leave, like Staffordshire.”
Some 68 officers took time off with stress in 2018/19. While that total was below the 77 from 2017/18 it was higher than both years between 2015 and 2017 when 32 and 46 were off work.
Figures also showed the number of officers struggling with anxiety had risen every year since 2015/16, from 13 to 32 in 2018/19.
Staffordshire Police has been approached for comment.
