Promotion exams set to move online

OFFICERS who were due to sit their Sergeant’s exams in March won’t miss out on promotion opportunities, Essex Police Federation has confirmed.

The exams were pulled at the very last minute in the spring due to COVID-19 leaving candidates hanging as to when they might be rescheduled and how that might affect their career paths.

The exams will now take place online in November, meaning officers can carry on working towards them.

While it’s been a tricky time for officers who have been working so hard to progress, reassurances are in place that they can still be part of the recruitment talent pool for Sergeant’s vacancies, Essex Federation Chair Laura Heggie said.

“It’s tough because no one could have predicted COVID-19,” she said

“Although I would say it was poorly done as the exams were cancelled right before the exam. People put months and months of preparation work and time into studying for the exam, in their own time.

“To then cancel them, it was about 6pm the night before, and the exam was supposed to be 9.30 the following morning I think was poor.

“I think they could have predicted that at least the weekend before to have started putting that message out.

“So officers have had to continue to try and maintain their studying where there’s no incentive there or motivation to try and keep that going.

“They didn’t know when the exams were going to take place, although we now know that will be online in November.

That means there should still be some vacancies for them to apply for, Laura said.

“We got some succession planning meetings that are coming up soon.

“There is a pool of Sergeants waiting to be promoted, because generally by now they would have had the results of the Sergeant’s exam in March, and that pool had been a lot larger.

“I know that with the current pool because they are having to recruit because it’s not right to have people in there are temporary all the time, especially when you’ve got people sitting there with the exam, waiting to go, that are qualified to do the role when the vacancies are there, so that those places will be advertised soon.

“I’ve had assurances from the force that the pool is such that there will still be further vacancies to be filled after the postponed exam in November.

“That is reassuring for our colleagues that didn’t get to take it in March. They’re not going to miss out on that promotion opportunity which hopefully will still be in place later in the year.”