The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) said it has been “inundated with complaints” over a new policy from Police Scotland that will require officers to be clean-shaven in order to wear protective masks.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday, SPF general secretary David Kennedy said the plan has caused “considerable angst” among officers, adding he has “never seen so many complaints come in” during his time as a full-time official.
Police Scotland said the policy is being brought in to “protect those on the frontline” as wearing the FFP3 mask properly requires the face to be clean-shaven.
Mr Kennedy said the SPF, which represents rank-and-file officers, does not believe police would have to wear the masks often, which is the “root of the problem” which is “causing the angst for several police officers”.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf branded 'complacent' over misogyny in Police Scotland
He added: “The health and safety executive guidance is that a policy like this should only be utilised as a last resort and there have been relevant questions raised by officers as to why this policy is now being proposed.”
Police Scotland said there will be exemptions to the clean-shaven rule on religious or medical grounds, but Mr Kennedy claimed no equality or human rights assessment has been carried out on the policy.
He said: “People would be facing misconduct if they didn’t shave. Some officers may have to shave twice a day for these masks to work.”
He said there has been no consultation on the policy as yet, and he believes Police Scotland will impose it.
Hair today — gone tomorrow?
Mr Kennedy added he hopes the force will revisit the policy, arguing there are “other health and safety issues” it should be focusing on.
Police Scotland said the policy will come into force in the next few weeks.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “The safety of our officers and staff is a priority and the policy around the use of respiratory equipment is being implemented to protect those on the frontline.
“Significant learning from the Covid pandemic identified that the FFP3 mask – which is face-fitted and requires users to be clean-shaven – offers the most appropriate and effective respiratory protection to officers and staff.
READ MORE: Frustration over police station front desk closures
“While the risk from coronavirus has lowered, wider risks remain to those attending calls, such as fires, road accidents and chemical incidents which require PPE to be worn.
“The respiratory protective equipment policy mandates that, where it can be reasonably foreseen that an officer or member of staff will use an FFP3 mask in the course of their duties, they should be clean-shaven.
“The exception to this policy covers officers and staff who cannot shave for religious, cultural, disability or medical reasons. In these circumstances, Police Scotland is seeking to introduce an alternative type of respiratory protection.”
Commenting on the news, Chris Phillips, employment law specialist at Thorntons, said: “At its most extreme it could amount to indirect discrimination under the Equality Act, especially for religious groups for whom the wearing of a beard is part of their religious observance. It’s a complex issue and there have been previous cases in England but I suspect, in this case for Police Scotland, it can be justified on health and safety grounds."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel