Welfare support officer (WSO)

In this section you will learn about the role of welfare support officer. We are not aiming to replace any local provision or procedures and will not be offering training, but what we have done is pulled together some advice, aimed at forces who are looking to implement the scheme and the individuals who are interested in the role.

If you volunteer, and are recruited into this role in your own force, we have compiled some really useful information which may help and guide you through the process. It is not meant to supersede the information you are given locally.

We would like to thank the Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police, who both run successful welfare support officer programmes, for advising us and assisting with this content.

In its simplest terms, being a welfare support officer (WSO) for a colleague is exactly what many of us would expect it to be, an offer of support, a point of contact and where necessary a voice or representation within the organisation. Such contact and support may only be required from time to time, dependent upon the needs of the individual.

It can however be a role that requires a great deal of personal commitment and understanding and one that spearheads risk management not just for the individual, but the wider organisation. If the individual is the subject of a complaint or conduct investigation, it can be an extremely stressful and testing time for them and their family and will clearly be heightened where the matter is subject to criminal process. 

Irrespective of the matters under investigation, we have a duty to support our colleagues and wherever possible, manage the concerns raised by the individual. This can be through signposting to both internal and external support networks, increased personal contact and the management of home visits where sickness absence becomes a factor.

Welfare provision needs to be bespoke and focused upon the diverse needs of the individuals, rather than a generic approach. 

The WSO role is to provide a point of contact and support to police officers and police staff who are currently:

• under investigation for criminal matters/gross misconduct;
• subject to suspension from the workplace;
• supporting victims/witnesses within the police family.

In addition the WSO must facilitate communication between the individual, the investigator and the organisation keeping a track of what has been agreed.

A WSO is not there to provide therapy, counselling or legal advice. 

We understand that all forces have differing policies and procedures in place for recruitment into roles such as the welfare support officer. 

If you are interested in having welfare support officers in your force and want to know more please get in touch. If you already have a welfare support officer scheme in place but need assistance we can help too.

Best practice

South Wales Police introduced the welfare support officer as part of their wellbeing of investigators work, if you would like to see how they introduce and use this role you can check it out using the button below.

South Wales Police welfare support officer example 

A welfare support officer can be a member of police staff or a police officer. Welfare support officers tend to be appointed by the professional standards or wellbeing department but this can differ locally.

All WSOs should be encouraged to sign an agreement for 12 months and this should be regularly reviewed to ensure that training is kept up to date and that individuals still wish to commit to the role. 

Assigning a welfare support officer to an individual

When considering who to select as a WSO it is important to consider their training, experience, skills and abilities. Consider if, for example, they have post incident procedure or interview skills that they could use? 

The role would normally be performed by a rank or grade above that of the subject and a line manager can be a Welfare Support Officer where appropriate and if no conflict of interests exists.

You should not select a close friend of the individual. This could make the role too difficult to undertake because of the need to inform others of the concerns, risks or other problems identified. However it may be appropriate that someone the individual has rapport with would be suitable.

A WSO could be appointed for a major incident (such as pandemic or mass disaster) but must not be confused with the role of a formally appointed Post Incident Manager

The WSO does not replace the role of the Police Federation, trade unions, occupational health and other staff associations.