New Zealand’s police officers are being forced to go on holidays because the number of accumulated leave days has skyrocketed in recent years. “The number of annual leave days owed to officers amounts to a debt of about NZ$200 million (US$143 million). for the organisation,” Wayne Annan, HR manager at the Police National Headquarters, said.
As such, officers with more than six weeks leave owing (from annual leave, overtime and days-in-lieu) has been asked to take time off. Annan says this is in order for them to “get the rest and recuperation that they need”.
He said policing is a “high-stress job” and it is crucial officers take leave when it is owed to them.
Police Association President Greg O'Connor has supported the move. “A lot of officers are reluctant to take leave because it means leaving their heavy workloads for their fellow officers,” he said. “We find the more reluctant people are to take leave, the more they need it – clearly these guys have to take leave at some stage.”