Two police officers ‘called in sick with flu so they could go on a cruise ship course’ | News UK

Two police constables lied to their bosses and claimed they were sick with flu in order to go on a course about a cruise ship career.

PC Ben Matthews and PC Alex Tribe were caught in the act after pictures of them attending the programme appeared on social media.

They had already resigned from Kent Police at the time of misconduct proceedings earlier this month but bosses said if they had still been employed, they would have been sacked.

Both were based at Coldharbour Station in Aylesford, in Kent, where they worked in the same team.

PC Matthews had worked in the force for 13 years and had a ‘highly sought after’ role in a proactive targeting team within the tactical operations group.

At the time of his fabricated illness, he was supposed to be working on a murder investigation.

PC Tribe had eight years of experience and was working in the same team.

Neither attended the proceedings at the Kent Police Force Headquarters in Maidstone, which were overseen by Assistant Chief Officer Andrew Pritchard.

In his report, he said: ‘The case as alleged is simple. That both officers claimed they were sick, but during the period of alleged sickness, they attended a training course provided by an external training provider, I understand, with the purpose of readying them for a potential career on cruise ships.

‘The facts of the matter are accepted. Both officers accept that they were dishonest in claiming they were sick in January 2025, when in fact they were on a training course with an external provider.’

PC Tribe booked her place on the course on December 17, 2024, and on January 20, 2025, called in sick to work with influenza for the first few days, with the last days of the course falling on her rest days.

PC Matthews booked the initial day of the course off for childcare reasons, then also called in sick with the flu for the rest of the course.

The report states that the event from January 20 to January 24 was not the only one available that year, and was ‘not a one-off activity’.

Both officers had enough annual leave for the course, but neither put in a request in with their supervisors.

In their defence, PC Tribe and Matthews both said they were, in fact, sick – but with stress, not influenza.

They accepted misconduct but denied gross misconduct.

PC Tribe also said her mental health had been suffering at the time of the incident, and that she felt she was being bullied at work.

The report said: ‘The former officer puts forward several examples of how she felt oppressed and unable to make representations about her supervisor, and that her concerns were not being taken seriously.

‘There is indeed evidence that she did raise these issues in October 2024, two months before booking this course.

‘The former officer also has provided several messages between herself and some colleagues as evidence of how she, amongst others, felt that the supervisor was very hard to work with.’

But performance reviews showed positive interactions with her supervisor, and there were records of her being congratulated for her achievements.

The report continued: ‘She has sought to persuade that she was under such strain that booking the course and taking time off work (lying in the process) was her only option, and that this should mitigate the seriousness of her actions.

‘She also asserts that she felt she could not request leave as it would be rejected, and that this was not a discussion she could have with her supervisor.

‘There is no evidence that she did try to request leave and no evidence that she considered changing the course to a later date when leave would be more likely to be granted.’

PC Matthews also said he was a victim of bullying in the workplace, and was receiving unfair treatment compared to others and working long hours.

He said he was in receipt of unjustified criticism from his supervisor, but this was the same supervisor PC Tribe said she would turn to for support in the force.

Assistant Chief Officer Pritchard said: ‘I find that former PC Matthews has booked the training course with the likely intention of reporting sick from the outset.

‘He could have requested leave. Indeed, he did so for the first day, stating he needed childcare, and this was granted.’

It was decided that both officers’ actions were serious enough that they amounted to gross misconduct and that, had they still been serving, they would have been sacked.

The report added: ‘I believe the public would be appalled to think that officers in Kent Police could act with such obvious disdain for the rules and procedures that they are expected to follow in order to serve their own purposes, and would lie to achieve this, in addition to failing to turn up to duty when fit to do so.

‘Further, the officers are shown to be on the course in published social media articles.

‘The harm, therefore, is not just potential harm, but actual harm to the reputation of Kent Police and the profession of policing.

‘There are clear aggravating factors here of premeditation and planning (between the booking of the course, the conspiracy between the two officers and then later reporting sick).’

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