Bridgwater MP secures Government change on Special Constables' rights
The change would see Special Constables given the right to request reasonable unpaid time off work.
Last updated 22nd Sep 2025
Following lobbying by Bridgwater MP Sir Ashley Fox (Conservatives), the Government has agreed to amend its Employment Rights Bill to commit to a statutory review of workplace rights for Special Constables.
The campaign began last year when a local constituent raised that Special Constables - volunteers with full police powers who give their time freely at no cost to the taxpayer - were not covered by Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
The section allows those serving as magistrates, councillors, and school governors to request reasonable unpaid time off work, but Special Constables don't have the same right.
In March, Ashley pressed the Home Secretary directly in the Commons to change the law, highlighting the fall in the number of Specials since the pandemic.
A decade ago, there were around 15,000 Specials across England and Wales - there are now fewer than 6,000.
Ashley said, “Specials hold the same powers and face the same dangers as regular officers.
"Yet it is extraordinary that the law allows time off for a meeting about a park bench but denies that same right to those who patrol our streets to keep us safe.”
The House of Lords adopted Ashley’s amendment when it considered the bill before the summer recess.
While the Government has not accepted the Lords’ amendment in full, it has instead tabled its own amendment-in-lieu, which Ashley Fox has endorsed in the Commons.
This requires ministers to undertake a statutory review into whether Special Constables should be added to Section 50, and crucially to report back to Parliament within a year of the Bill becoming law.
Ashley added, “I am pleased that following my lobbying and the strong support shown across Parliament, the Government has now put this review on a statutory footing.
"Unless we act the number of Special Constables will fall further, leaving a gap in neighbourhood policing and national resilience.
"I hope, as the Minister has said, that this review comes to a positive conclusion so that in 2026 Specials finally get the recognition they sorely deserve.”