Police officer found guilty of gross misconduct after pulling sickie

An award-winning police officer who flew off on a Turkish holiday on the day he phoned in sick has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

Former PC Raja Khan would have been dismissed if he had not already resigned from Leicestershire Police, a misconduct panel ruled.

The disciplinary hearing was also told Khan allowed a member of the public access to his work laptop, instructing that person to complete a sickness form on his behalf.

An investigation was launched after suspicions were raised when PC Khan reported sick on 5 October last year while on a rest day, two days before his next shift. 

Evidence indicated that the same evening he flew out to Istanbul in Turkey for a holiday. On October 8 he was contacted by his line manager and replied by text, saying he was too ill to work. 

PC Khan was given the out of hours number to call the sickness line and sent guidance to complete a sickness form. He then got a third party to access his police laptop back at home, submit the sickness form on his behalf and send an email from his work address to the line manager confirming this had all been done.

Police were waiting when PC Khan’s plane landed back from his sunshine holiday at Stansted on 11 October and he confirmed he had just been on holiday for a week.

Khan was arrested five days later and interviewed under caution, but a decision was ultimately made not to make a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service with regard to criminal charges.

The officer, who appeared at an awards ceremony two years ago after winning a neighbourhood policing team of the year award, resigned from the force in February this year.

Gross misconduct was proven against ex-PC Raja Khan following a Leicestershire Police investigation, directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The disciplinary hearing concluded that he had breached the standards of police professional behaviour for honesty and integrity, confidentiality, orders and instructions, and discreditable conduct.

The accelerated hearing, held on 18 September, was organised by Leicestershire Police and chaired by the force’s chief constable.

IOPC Director of Operations Steve Noonan said: ‘PC Khan’s behaviour fell well below the standards expected of a police officer. He was dishonest about his absence from work and compounded that by allowing an unauthorised person to access his police laptop. 

'In doing so he failed to treat confidential information with respect. Such conduct has no place in policing and he will now be placed on the barred list preventing him from future employment with the service.’