External Secondment Policy

1.      Statement of Policy

The aim of this policy is to support the use of secondments to provide career and personal development opportunities for staff, as well as meeting the professional and succession planning needs of the Force.

The terms ‘Staff member’ and ‘Staff’ shall be used to refer to Police Officers and Staff.

The definition of a secondment is the temporary transfer of a police officer or a staff member to work for another employer without losing their status with Dyfed-Powys Police.

The term ‘seconding organisation’ shall be used to describe external employers to whom officers and staff are seconded.

Applies (but not limited) to: All categories of Dyfed-Powys Police officers and staff, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, seconded staff.  

2.      Policy Scope

This policy applies to all police officers and police staff and sets out the Force approach to external secondments. It does not however apply to secondments abroad which are covered separately by the Home Office guidance document entitled– Placements of police officers and staff outside of their home force (secondments).  Where the guidance is silent on a particular subject, this Policy will apply.

This policy does not form part of police staff terms and conditions of employment and may be subject to change at the discretion of management.

3.       Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements

This policy document should be read in conjunction with the External Secondment guidance document, and the following: -

• The Home Office guidance document.

Placements of police officers and staff outside of their home force - GOV.UK

• The Performance Management Policy.
• The Attendance Management Policy.
• The Development & Assessment Profile.

An Equality Impact Assessment has been completed.

4.           Options and Contingencies

A list of responsibilities is outlined in the External Secondment guidance document.

The Code of Ethics principles of Public Service, Courage, Respect & Empathy are relevant to this policy.

This policy aims to support the delivery of Our Plan and Our Culture Pledge.

5.          Take action and review.

The policy will be review periodically to ensure that it is still relevant, and feedback will be sought from key stakeholders and the wider police force.  

Any feedback or dissatisfaction with the policy will be recorded and discussed with the policy owner and appropriate action taken.

CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.

The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.

Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty. 

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: October 2025