Mr. Brian Purcell:

The hours are divided up on a quarterly basis for rostering purposes. As the minimum length of a shift is eight hours under the additional hours system, if an officer works all of his or her hours except for four, he or she will receive a credit for it. With escalating overtime costs, it was decided to examine rostering arrangements in 2001. Annualised hours systems were examined in several private sector companies. One of the advantages of this system is that it encourages smart working. An employee is paid within the band he or she works. If one is in a 360 hour band, one is paid for 360 hours and it is supposed to encourage people to work smart. It was one of the underpinning planks of the system. However, we have had to cope with a massive increase in the numbers in custody with a 10% reduction in prison staff. This has put a great strain on the additional hours system. The reality is that every officer has to work his or her full amount of hours.