What Is a Restricted Police Officer?
Restricted Duties Explained
A restricted police officer is one who cannot do the full range of operational duties, usually because of injury, illness or pregnancy, and works on limited duties instead: recuperative, adjusted or management restricted duties (Police Regulations 2003, regulation 22 and Annex EE). This guide covers how each works, how long it lasts, and what it means for pay, pension and progression. For suspension or restriction during a misconduct case, see the misconduct guide linked below.
Updated: 7 October 2026
Trust Notice: Independent explanatory guidance. Not legal or medical advice. Based on Police Regulations 2003 (as amended), Equality Act 2010 principles and standard force policy practice.
Executive Summary
Restricted duties keep you working while recovering.
They are not a punishment. They are a tool to manage injury, illness, pregnancy or temporary capability gaps while maintaining employment.
Quick Facts
- Pay: Continues, but on adjusted duties the 8% X-factor component may be deducted after the 12-month review (Annex EE).
- Role: Modified duties affecting deployment.
- Pension: Built on your pensionable pay; overtime is not pensionable.
Important: Not Misconduct
This guide is for restrictions due to injury, health, pregnancy or capability. If you are restricted due to a disciplinary investigation, rules on resignation and procedure are different.
What Are Restricted Duties?
Restricted duties are temporary adjustments to an officer’s role to manage risk while keeping them employed.
The officer remains a serving police officer, continues to receive pay, and retains police powers. However, they are removed from specific operational tasks that they cannot safely perform.
"Restricted duties" and "light duties" are everyday terms. The formal term is limited duties (Police Regulations 2003, regulation 22(5)), and the Home Office Annex EE determination (effective 1 May 2015) defines three categories:
- Recuperative duties: duties short of full deployment after an injury, accident, illness or medical incident, while you prepare for a return to full duties; described as structured, time-limited, supportive and rehabilitative.
- Adjusted duties: duties short of full deployment with workplace adjustments, including reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. You must be attending work regularly and working your full paid hours.
- Management restricted duties: a non-medical category, used where information or serious concerns question your suitability for your current post, criminal or misconduct proceedings are not warranted, and the chief constable has lost confidence in you continuing in that role.
This guide is mainly about the two medical categories. If you disagree with medical advice that you are not "fully deployable", Annex EE says the force must arrange an examination by a different doctor within 28 days, and that doctor's opinion is final (para 11).
Common Restrictions
Why Are Officers on Restricted Duties?
Injury on Duty
Example: Knee injury during a foot chase.
Restricted duties allow an officer to continue working while recovering, reducing full sickness absence.
Medical / Illness
Example: Stress, surgery recovery or back pain.
Occupational Health recommends temporary adjustments (e.g., "No night shifts") to support welfare.
Pregnancy
Requirement: Risk assessment based.
Forces must assess workplace risks to new and expectant mothers and, where a risk remains, alter working conditions or hours (e.g., removing public order duties), or suspend from work for as long as necessary if that is not possible (Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg 16, which applies to officers through section 51A of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974). Section 18 of the Equality Act 2010 makes unfavourable treatment because of pregnancy discrimination.
Capability Support
Example: Training lapse or confidence issue.
Temporary restrictions while awaiting refresher training or during a structured development plan. This is a local management arrangement, not one of the three Annex EE categories. Regulation 13 applies only to probationers.
See Regulation 13 →Do You Get Paid?
Yes. Basic pay, incremental progression, and pension contributions generally continue as normal, with one exception for adjusted duties.
Regulation 28A of the Police Regulations 2003 lets the Home Secretary set a pay reduction for officers on adjusted duties, and Annex EE (as issued in 2015) does so. After 9 months on adjusted duties you must be told in writing that, if you remain on them after the 12-month management review, the deployment component of X-factor (8% of pay for constables, capped for other ranks) may be deducted. The chief officer or a delegated officer of ACC rank or above decides case by case, with 1 month's written notice, and may let you keep it where the range of roles open to you is not significantly reduced, to avoid manifest unfairness, where you are on adjusted duties solely because of an injury from putting yourself in harm's way in the execution of duty, or for another exceptional reason (paras 13 to 18). Decisions wait while an SMP referral about ill-health retirement is pending (para 19), and you can appeal to the chief officer (para 20). Recuperative duties carry no such deduction. The July 2026 amendments to the Police Regulations 2003 did not change regulations 22 or 28A.
Financial Impact Warning
Apart from a possible X-factor deduction on adjusted duties, basic pay continues, but you may lose:
How Long Can They Last?
There is no statutory maximum, but they must be proportionate and reviewed regularly. Annex EE describes recuperative duties as time-limited, and requires a management review of adjusted duties after 12 months and at least annually after that (paras 12 and 23).
- Short-term injuries: Weeks to months.
- Long-term illness: if likely to be permanent, the force may refer the medical questions to an SMP for ill-health retirement.
Can They Be Permanent?
Not as such. Adjusted duties can continue for a long time with annual reviews, but each review asks whether you can still be accommodated (Annex EE para 15).
If restrictions are permanent, forces will consider:
- Ill-Health Retirement (IHR): an SMP decides the medical questions; the police pension authority may require you to retire or to continue to serve (PPR 2015 regs 81 and 82); appeal within 28 days
- Unsatisfactory performance or attendance procedure under the Police (Performance) Regulations 2020 (last resort)
Restricted Duties vs Suspension
Restricted Duties
- Officer remains at work
- Recuperative and adjusted duties are health-related
- Management restricted duties: not a misconduct outcome
Suspension
- Removed from the office of constable (Conduct Regs 2020, reg 2(1))
- Only in a conduct case, where the suspension condition is met (reg 11)
- With pay (reg 11(3)); redeployment must be considered first (reg 11(5))
Promotion
It depends on restrictions, duration, and operational requirements.
- Pregnancy: Does not prevent promotion.
- Medical: May delay specialist postings.
- Live Misconduct: Almost always pauses promotion.
Pension Impact
Limited duties do not in themselves pause pension contributions or accrual while your pay continues.
Overtime Is Not Pensionable
Losing overtime reduces take-home pay, not pension: the Home Office 1987 scheme members' guide says overtime is not pensionable, the 2006 scheme defines pensionable pay as pay at the rate you are entitled to (reg 23), and the 2015 scheme uses your rate of pay. All officers have built pension in the 2015 scheme since 1 April 2022. We have not confirmed how an X-factor deduction is treated for pension purposes.
Mental Health & Welfare
Being removed from your team can feel isolating. It is normal to feel frustration or a loss of identity when placed on restricted duties.
"restricted duties are not a career-ending label. They are a risk management tool designed to keep you safe."
What If I Disagree?
Restrictions must be proportionate and evidence-based.
If you believe your restrictions are unnecessary, punitive, or ignoring medical advice, you have options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a restricted police officer?
An officer who cannot carry out the full range of operational police duties, usually because of injury, illness or pregnancy, and is placed on limited duties instead. 'Restricted' is an informal term: Regulation 22 of the Police Regulations 2003 and Annex EE use 'limited duties', in three categories: recuperative, adjusted and management restricted duties. It is not the same as being suspended or restricted during a misconduct investigation.
Are restricted duties the same as light duties?
Not quite. Both are informal terms. Regulation 22 of the Police Regulations 2003 and the Home Office Annex EE determination use 'limited duties', in three categories: recuperative duties (a structured, time-limited return after injury or illness), adjusted duties (duties with workplace adjustments, including Equality Act reasonable adjustments) and management restricted duties, a non-medical category used where the chief constable has lost confidence in an officer continuing in their current role but criminal or misconduct proceedings are not warranted.
Do restricted duties mean I’m being disciplined?
No. Recuperative and adjusted duties are health-related, not disciplinary. Management restricted duties are a management measure used where criminal or misconduct proceedings are not warranted. Redeployment during a misconduct investigation, and suspension, are separate and follow the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020.
Can restricted duties affect my pension?
Not through lost overtime: overtime is not pensionable pay in the police schemes we checked. Pension is built on your pensionable pay, so if the X-factor deployment component is deducted on adjusted duties your pay falls; we have not confirmed how that deduction is treated for pension purposes, so ask your pensions administrator.
Can restricted duties lead to dismissal?
Not automatically. If a condition is likely to be permanent, the police pension authority can refer the medical questions to a selected medical practitioner (SMP) and then decide whether to require you to retire or to continue to serve. Dismissal is only possible through the procedures in the Police (Performance) Regulations 2020, as a last resort.
Can I work overtime on restricted duties?
Often limited. Depends on restriction type and health advice.