Police officers in Manchester are being rewarded with cash prizes for simply turning up for work, it has emerged.
At a south Manchester division, officers who do not take time off sick over a nine-month period are entered into a draw with the chance of winning £500.
The scheme was introduced in Greater Manchester Police’s south Manchester division last year, with a total prize pot of £3,000. This figure has since been bumped up to £4,000, with smaller prizes of £100 and £50 also up for grabs.
Alan Cooper, chief superintendent, said: “If you are ill, the thought of a couple of hundred pounds isn’t going to make people come into work. They might if it’s just a sniffle.”
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He added: “We were eighth out of the 12 divisions within Greater Manchester Police in terms of sickness absence, and now we are third.”
According to the Home Office, more than 1.4 million days were lost to police officer sickness throughout the country at the start of the decade.
