New approach to calculating working hours

Lothian and Borders Fire Service and East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) have invested in a new rostering system that aims to redress the work/life balance of staff and improve the delivery of their services.

The system, developed by Manchester-based Working Time Solutions, will help to plan the working rotas for the 1,000 paramedic, technician and control room employees at 38 locations across the East Midlands. Police forces across the UK are also being urged to consider the system which would see a radical new approach to calculating officers’ working hours.

Paul St Clair, Assistant Director (Operational Support) at EMAS said: “It will allow us to see how many ambulance journeys we need to provide per hour, and align staffing and resources with that. The system will also enable us to move to self managed rotas, so teams can choose between themselves when they work and when they have time off.

“This will mean better service provision at our busiest times, whilst staff have more flexibility in their working hours. The whole system will improve efficiency and be more cost effective.

“We are excited about the change; I have spoken to other users of the WTS system and they are very happy with it, so if we get similar results we will be delighted,” he added.