After section 16B of the Principal Act insert —
(1) A member of the force who is absent from duty without authorisation or lawful reason for one calendar month or more is taken to have abandoned their appointment as a member of the force.
(2) If a member of the force is absent from duty without authorisation or lawful reason at the commencement of this section, any period of that absence occurring before that commencement is to be taken into account for the purposes of this section.".