Police fitness test

[Greatauntirene]

The probable new Chief Inspector of Police, Tom Winsor, is purported to be bringing in fitness tests for police. That's ok imo, unless it is rigorous and used to get rid of older staff, but doesn't it go against human rights to sack people because they are unfit.
For example when I was last visiting hospital some of the nurses were hugely overweight, no doubt they did their jobs, but at a much slower rate than the younger, fitter nurses. But I wouldn't think that that could result in them being sacked, so how can they just apply it to police.
Likewise employees going off with a bad back. Does that mean someone in the police would be automatically sacked once they'd been off sick with it a certain length of time.
Am just wondering how employee laws can work with these new employment regulations.

Link?

Unless we have some idea of nature of test and to whom it wil be applied, then it's hard to comment.

But there are a number of jobs already which have fitness standards (firefighting is the one that springs to mind) and I can see a case for frontline police needing to be fit.

Police have had fitness tests for decades. They started out being on entry and through probation, then we're brought in for promotions and then many (possibly all) forces brought them in as routine ongoing assessments. Not sure what Winsor is suggesting (or how he intends to introduce it - I didn't think the Chief Inspector had such direct powers).

Unfit police are not able to do the job properly and risk injury to themselves, their colleagues and the public. For instance, all police regadless of rank or current role are supposed to be, and paid to be, ready to deal with public disorder. A bad back, or many other chronic conditions that aren't unmanageable in an office job, are cause for being let go in the police. Temporary injury can see you working office roles while you recuperate, but there are fewer available and the practice of giving such roles to older officers until they retire has long gone, I think. Police have retirement set up earlier than other jobs and there are somewhat generous terms for being let go when an officer has been injured while working. They are encouraged to take out insurance to cover other eventualities.

I'm not saying the above is ideal -police risk injury more than most people. I'm not sure the terms they have are generous enough. The nature of policing has become so specialized in some areas that a single body of officers, recruited and developed through the same route and supposedly capable of taking on all roles is not necessarily sensible anymore. And in practice I don't think all officers are at risk of being pulled out of their niche roles to cover shortfalls elsewhere. But a force certainly needs a lot of flexibility to meet changing demand, and fitness is an important part of an officer being suitable for much police work.

How this works in the armed forces is that you have medical grades so you can be exempt the fitness test for example for a back injury or in my case following maternity leave (I now have 6 mths to pass the fitness test - very fair). Or you may be due your fitness test but damage your ankle so be given a pass for say 3 week by the doc to get over your injury. In the case of a severe say, back injury you would be downgraded completely and possibly be off work or working but unable to deploy or on what's called light duties, you only get upgraded once you have a formal upgrading appt with the doc or medical board. Worse case your "medded out" which comes with a medical pension. (not always great).

Basically you are looked after and I'm sure the police will handle this in a similar manner.

If you were really overweight you'd probably be given good time to rectify the problem.

I have seen one or two people kicked out for fitness but TBH it was more a convenient excuse ie dad was military and they didn't want to throw the towel in so being kicked out was a preferred option.

If the police already have such tests, then is this candidate (?) new appointee (?) just spinning?

Yep spinning, boxercising and zumbaing!

cassette so you're saying the same thing will happen to their pensions as, ooh, every other public sector worker then? The country can't afford to leave things as they are.

Wrt fitness tests it was my impression things like that were done anyway, so not sure what changes he's proposing.