Cleveland police officers who were forced to retire early, appeal for compensation

Almost 50 former Cleveland Police officers forced to retire early under a controversial cost-cutting rule are seeking compensation.

In total 55 officers have retired from Cleveland Police since 2010 under the A19 regulation.

And now it has now emerged 49 of them are seeking a payout as they await the outcome of a pivotal age discrimination case.

The 55 officers were made to leave the force after 30 years’ service under the rule, which was used by 15 forces to make savings.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said the force is no longer using the A19 rule.

Figures released to the BBC from a Freedom of Information request showed that in total 1,335 officers were made to leave their jobs under the rule across England and Wales. Of those 1,086 are seeking compensation.

Regulation A19 gives chief constables the power to compel an officer with full pensionable service to retire.

Invoking the rule saved the forces more than £66m in wages, it has been reported.

More than 800 of the claims were made after February 2014, when officers from five forces won an age discrimination claim.

Pension lump sums paid to the retired officers in England and Wales topped £157m, according to the figures.

A Cleveland Police spokesperson said: “Cleveland Police, along with a number of other forces made use of regulation A19 in order to secure reductions in officer numbers that became necessary following the Comprehensive Spending Review in 2010.

“The application of regulation A19 was not universally well accepted, with some officers subject of the regulation leaving forces earlier than they may have intended, however, each of the officers retired under regulation A19 did receive their full pension.

“In total, 55 officers were retired under regulation A19 having completed 30 years pensionable service. 49 officers have lodged claims against the forces’ application of regulation A19. These claims are currently stayed until the outcome of the pending appeal is known.

“The force is not currently applying regulation A19 and is now actively involved in the recruitment of new police officers.”

Cleveland Police has been hit by huge budget cuts over the last decade. The force had to make £24m cuts by 2014 and then it was told to make a further £4.8m of savings.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Police reform is working and crime has fallen by more than a fifth since 2010, according to the Independent Crime Survey for England and Wales.

“While we acknowledge that the police funding settlement is challenging, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has found the police are successfully meeting the challenge of balancing their books while protecting the frontline and delivering reductions in crime.

“It is for chief officers, working with Police and Crime Commissioners, to take operational decisions about the use of resources, including whether the use of Regulation A19 is appropriate for their force.”