South Yorkshire Police officer went on holiday to Greece while off sick and lied about attending funeral

The officer, whom the force has declined to name, also lied to their employer about attending a funeral in Belgium when they were in fact on holiday in the Mediterranean, a misconduct hearing was told.

The officer admitted the allegations and accepted that these actions amounted to gross misconduct but was spared the sack, instead being issued with a final written warning.

South Yorkshire Police has not revealed the employee’s name or rank, with the outcome of the hearing only published on Thursday, February 10 after it was held in private.

The force said the misconduct panel had taken the decision to hold the hearing in private and preserve the employee’s anonymity ‘due to health concerns for the officer’.

The misconduct panel’s findings state: “An officer sent an email to a member of staff at South Yorkshire Police, in which the officer stated that they had an appointment on the morning of the 25th August 2020, which was untrue and which they knew to be untrue.

“On or around the 22 August 2020, whilst off sick from work, the officer travelled abroad without notifying a supervisor and/or seeking authorisation or leave.

“On 25 August 2020, while off sick from work and on holiday abroad, during a phone call with the Occupational Health Unit, an officer informed the Occupational Health Unit that they were at a funeral out of the country, which was untrue and which they knew to be untrue.”