Police facing brain drain as agreement axes sick leave deal

Hundreds of senior police and veteran investigators are considering finishing their careers early following a controversial pay deal that ends a golden handshake worth a year’s salary in cash if an officer goes on sick leave ahead of retirement.

Victoria Police is expecting at least 400 officers to leave the force by the end of the year to capitalise on the special entitlement, which has been removed from the police enterprise bargaining agreement that will be voted on at the end of this month.

Outgoing Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton, pictured in December.Credit: Eddie Jim

The staff expected to leave include specialist detectives, squad bosses, career organised crime investigators, district supervisors and training instructors – experienced and highly qualified officers who are eligible for retirement.

The brain drain comes as Victoria Police faces an uncertain future following the decision by the Allan government not to renew the contract of chief commissioner Shane Patton after an 87 per cent vote of no confidence in his leadership by police members on Friday.

Patton, who had previously been promised a contract extension, was told by the government on Friday that his contract would not be renewed and late on Sunday night Premier Jacinta Allan announced he would resign immediately. Several members of his command team are likely to follow.

Under the current enterprise agreement, police officers who retire and provide a medical certificate citing a long-term illness are entitled to receive a lump sum payment of one year’s sick leave. It applies to illnesses unrelated to work, which are managed separately under WorkCover policies.

A source familiar with the system, who cannot speak publicly about internal police matters, said payouts of up to $200,000 had been made, and the provision was costing the force tens of millions of dollars a year.

It has been called “the golden pot at the end of the rainbow” by some officers in a private Facebook group run by the Police Association of Victoria.

If the forecast is correct, more than 2 per cent of police could depart the job by the deadline for the entitlement to expire on New Year’s Eve.

The number of officers slated to leave was close to double any other year since the entitlement was created in 2019, a source said. One source familiar with the issue who spoke on the condition on anonymity said the number of officers expected to leave could be as high as 1000.

The force is already struggling to contend with 1100 vacancies in the ranks and more than 700 officers on long-term sick leave, according to the Police Association of Victoria.

The proposed $450 million police enterprise bargaining deal includes a 4.5 per cent annual pay increase over the next four years but means surrendering the lump sum sick leave entitlement.

It is estimated removing clause 121 will save $50 million a year, but some older officers may choose to take long sick leave to use up their entitlements before retiring.

There are about 3200 police employees aged 55 and above, and more than 1400 supervisors from the rank of senior sergeant to superintendent.

“Victoria Police sees long-serving members’ entitlements as a financial liability,” said one experienced officer who has decided to leave.

“Plenty of us would work when we were sick because we thought we were needed to keep the job going.”

The police leadership team believes the exit payment, designed for members suffering chronic physical and mental illnesses unrelated to work, is increasingly being exploited by some who are issued medical certificates by compliant doctors.

One high-ranking officer received more than $200,000 after being found to be unfit for duty, only to land another high-paying job in the private sector within months.

Previous generations would “hand back” unused sick leave, but increasingly it is being taken in the last few years before retirement.

The golden handshake was established so that older police would not go on long-term sick leave, which left their work position unfilled and key areas understaffed.

Further fuelling the brain drain, Patton has ordered a review of all positions in the police force, which will result in many non-core roles closing or being diverted to public service police department workers. The force expects its finances to take a $2 billion hit over the next four years – a move that will cause significant disruption and job losses.

Many of the non-operational police may choose to resign or retire rather than return to the road and regular rostered nightshift.

Because of the shortage of on-the-road police, 43 stations that were open 24 hours now close at 11pm.

Patton said last week, before the vote by members, that the Police Association had agreed to the removal of clause 121 during the pay negotiations.

“From our perspective, when you’re negotiating any enterprise bargaining agreement, you need to obtain offsets,” he said.

Patton said police eligible for clause 121 would still have that option in the medium term. “That clause has been sunsetted, so it still stays in until the end of the year,” he said.

A spokesperson for the union said the enterprise agreement and the removal of clause 121 was supported by members, who had indicated 67 per cent approval in a preliminary vote.

“TPAV [the Police Association of Victoria] did not express a desire to see this provision removed – it was tabled by Victoria Police as an offset for wage increases,” the spokesperson said. “It was the only pathway to increased pay outcomes identified by Victoria Police or the government.

“Access to this clause has always been conditional on a member being sick and unfit for all duties in the future.”

Some police officers have been deeply critical of the decision to accept the withdrawal of the sick leave entitlement.

One posted in the private TPAV Facebook group: “Sold out by a greedy majority who lack the fore-site [sic] to see beyond the (pay) charade. I hope you let someone else handle your financial affairs because you’ve just sold us all down the river! 121 was the best part of the EBA you’ll never see again.”

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