The Supreme Court has ruled that a trio of non-Bermudian police officers can remain in the service, overturning a decision by the Commissioner of Police.

Stephen Dennie, from St Vincent, and Robin Evans and Seymore Foot, from Jamaica, had all served two fixed contracts of employment (FTCs) in the Bermuda Police Service, working for ten years without any disciplinary issues.

While the officers each claimed they had a reasonable expectation that they would be entitled to permanent and pensionable employment with the BPS after ten years and had relied on that expectation, they were instead told their contracts would expire without renewal.

The Commissioner had said the decision not to renew their contracts was due to reductions in the BPS budget.

In his judgment, Puisne Judge Stephen Hellman wrote: “There was no suggestion that absent budgetary constraints the applicants would not have been retained.

“They claim that the decision breached a legitimate expectation founded upon established practice.

“As to the basis of this expectation, the applicants gave unchallenged affidavit evidence that when they entered into the second FTCs, each understood on the basis of the then recent decision of the Court of Appeal and on the basis of prior discussions with the BPS that upon the completion of ten years’ service their employment would become permanent and pensionable.”

The court also heard evidence from Curtis Charles, who testified that he had also been informed that his contract would not be renewed at the end of his second FTC.

However, it was later discovered that due to a quirk, his contract would have expired one day into his 11th year rather than the last day of his tenth year.

He was subsequently reinstated on a permanent and pensionable basis.

The Commissioner told the court that there was no guarantee that an officer reaching his tenth year of employment would be offered a permanent post, but he was contractually obliged to extend Mr Charles’ employment.

In his findings, Mr Justice Hellman wrote: “Having weighed all the evidence, I am satisfied that when the applicants entered into their second FTCs in 2011, there was an established practice that upon completion of ten years’ satisfactory service an officer on a FTC would be offered permanent and pensionable employment with the BPS.

“This practice continued at least up until the receipt of instructions from the Bermuda Government to reduce operating costs.

“I accept that the respondent’s need to make budgetary cuts was an overriding public interest.

“Determining where those cuts would fall required him to make a number of difficult and challenging decisions.”

He concluded that while the Commissioner was acting in good faith, it was unlawful for him to frustrate the applicant’s substantive legitimate expectation.

As a result, he ordered that the decision to not extend the applicant’s contract be quashed and that the applicants deserved a declaration that they may continue in their employment with the BPS until they reach the age of mandatory retirement.