Charlotte HughesNational Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire and Rescue Services — Pay Settlement 2025–2026: A Complete Guide for Workers
If you are a whole-time firefighter, retained (on-call) firefighter, or fire control operator employed by a fire and rescue authority in England or Wales, your pay and core employment conditions are set by the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire and Rescue Services (NJC Fire). This guide explains everything you need to know about the 2025–2026 pay settlement, your statutory rights, and what the agreement means for your pay packet, leave, redundancy entitlement, and pension.
What Is the NJC Fire and Rescue Services Agreement?
The NJC is a joint body formed under the framework of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA 1992), which grants statutory recognition rights to unions operating in the fire service. The employer side is led by the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Fire Employers, while the employee side is represented primarily by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which organises the majority of the ~37,000 whole-time and retained firefighters and fire control staff covered by the NJC in England and Wales.
The NJC sets pay scales, hours of duty, leave entitlements, and other conditions of service through a collective agreement. Unlike many local authority or NHS agreements, NJC Fire rates apply uniformly across all 44 fire and rescue authorities in England and Wales, giving workers a nationally consistent baseline regardless of which authority employs them.
The current agreement period runs from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
Pay and Pay Award 2026
The 2025–2026 Award
The NJC reached a pay settlement of 3.2%, effective 1 July 2025. This applies to all substantive NJC pay points, covering both whole-time (wholetime) and Retained Duty System (RDS) firefighters, as well as fire control staff.
The award is applied as a percentage uplift across all pay points, meaning both the bottom and top of the pay scale receive a 3.2% increase. There is no additional flat-rate element in this settlement.
Pay Structure
Pay under the NJC is role and competency based, not purely seniority based. There are no automatic annual increments once a firefighter reaches the competent rate for their role. Progression through grades is linked to attaining competence at a higher operational role rather than length of service alone.
The key pay points as of 1 July 2025 are:
| Role / Grade | Annual Basic Pay (from 1 July 2025) |
|---|---|
| Firefighter — Competent | £38,881 |
| Watch Manager — Competent B | £48,202 |
Note: The above figures are drawn from the 2025 settlement data. Full NJC pay schedules covering all intermediate pay points — including Crew Manager, Watch Manager A, Station Manager A and B, Group Manager, and Area Manager grades — are published by the LGA and the FBU following the NJC circular. Check your employer's HR intranet or the FBU members' section for the complete schedule.
Retained Duty System (RDS) Pay
Retained firefighters are paid differently from their whole-time colleagues. RDS firefighters receive:
- An annual retaining fee for availability
- Drill and training allowances for attending sessions
- Disturbance and activity fees for call-out attendance
The 3.2% uplift applies to all RDS fee elements, giving on-call firefighters the same proportionate increase as whole-time staff.
Pay Reform Commitment
A notable feature of the 2025–2026 settlement is a formal commitment by the NJC to implement structural pay reform by 1 July 2026. This reform is intended to address what the FBU has described as broken promotional pay progression — a situation where the differential between Firefighter Competent and supervisory grades has narrowed significantly over successive pay rounds, reducing the financial incentive for career progression. Detailed proposals for the reform structure are expected to be agreed through the NJC working group before the next settlement takes effect.
Working Hours and Leave Entitlement
Shift Patterns
Most whole-time firefighters work a two-and-two watch pattern: two day shifts (09:00–18:00) followed by two night shifts (18:00–09:00) and then four days off. This equates to an average working week of approximately 42 hours when calculated across the full cycle, though the NJC contains provisions governing unsocial hours and additional duties.
Annual Leave
NJC Fire provides for annual leave that exceeds the statutory minimum set by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998). The WTR 1998 guarantees all workers in the United Kingdom at least 28 days of paid annual leave per year (including bank holidays). The NJC agreement provides for:
- Whole-time firefighters: 25 days rising to 30 days with service, plus 8 public holidays — giving a total of 33 to 38 days depending on length of service, which is materially above the 28-day WTR 1998 floor.
- RDS firefighters receive equivalent entitlement calculated on the basis of their contracted availability.
Workers cannot be asked to waive annual leave rights below the WTR 1998 minimum. Any agreement purporting to extinguish the 28-day statutory entitlement is void under regulation 35 of the WTR 1998.
Rest Periods and Breaks
The WTR 1998 also provides for a minimum 11-hour daily rest period and a 24-hour weekly rest period. While special provisions apply to certain safety-critical workers, your employer remains obliged to ensure adequate compensatory rest where emergency duties disrupt normal rest periods.
Redundancy Pay
Firefighters are employees protected by the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), which sets out the statutory redundancy pay formula. The statutory calculation is:
- 0.5 week's pay for each complete year of service aged under 22
- 1 week's pay for each complete year of service aged 22 to 40
- 1.5 weeks' pay for each complete year of service aged 41 and over
A week's pay for statutory purposes is capped at £700 (the 2026 rate), and the maximum number of years that can be counted is 20. The maximum statutory redundancy payment is therefore £700 × 1.5 × 20 = £21,000.
The NJC collective agreement typically provides for enhanced redundancy terms above the statutory floor, particularly in connection with ill-health retirement and redundancy resulting from fire authority restructuring. You should check your contract of employment and any locally negotiated agreements for the exact enhanced terms applicable to your service. Enhanced contractual redundancy pay represents a right under ERA 1996 s.203 and cannot be watered down without your agreement.
Notice Period
Under ERA 1996 s.86, you are entitled to a minimum statutory notice period from your employer of one week for each complete year of service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks (i.e., 12 or more years of service entitles you to 12 weeks' notice). Your contractual notice period under the NJC agreement and your individual contract of employment may be longer.
If you are made redundant or dismissed, and your employer fails to give the statutory minimum notice, you are entitled to a payment in lieu of notice calculated on the basis of your normal pay — not the weekly pay cap used for redundancy calculations.
Pension Rights
Firefighters employed under the NJC are eligible for the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 (FPS 2015), which replaced the previous 1992 scheme for new entrants and was extended to existing members following the Supreme Court ruling in the McCloud/Sargeant litigation. FPS 2015 is a career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme, not a final-salary scheme.
Key features of FPS 2015:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scheme type | Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) |
| Normal Pension Age (NPA) | 60 |
| Accrual rate | 1/59.7th of your pensionable pay per year |
| Employee contribution | Tiered: typically 8.5% to 12.5% depending on pay band |
| Employer contribution | ~26.3% of pensionable pay |
| Revaluation of past benefits | In line with CPI annually |
This is a defined benefit pension, meaning the amount you receive on retirement is based on a formula rather than investment performance. It is substantially more generous than the auto-enrolment minimum under the Pensions Act 2008, which only requires a combined 8% contribution (5% employee / 3% employer minimum). The FPS 2015 employer contribution alone exceeds this total.
Part-time and RDS firefighters are also eligible for FPS 2015 on a pro-rata basis.
Your Rights Under the Agreement
As a worker covered by the NJC Fire agreement, you hold a number of key rights that go beyond the general statutory employment floor:
- Collectively bargained pay: Pay increases are set through binding NJC negotiations underpinned by TULRCA 1992 recognition provisions — your employer cannot unilaterally reduce your pay below the agreed NJC rate.
- Enhanced leave: Your annual leave entitlement of up to 30 days (plus 8 public holidays) exceeds the 28-day WTR 1998 minimum. You may not be required to work statutory leave.
- Pension above auto-enrolment: Membership of FPS 2015 provides substantially better retirement provision than the Pensions Act 2008 minimum.
- Redundancy protections: ERA 1996 provides the statutory baseline; many NJC-covered services go further through locally negotiated enhanced schemes.
- Grievance and disciplinary procedures: You have the right to be accompanied by your FBU representative at any disciplinary or grievance hearing under ERA 1999 s.10.
If you believe your employer is failing to apply the correct NJC pay rate or is deducting wages unlawfully, you may raise an unlawful deductions from wages claim under ERA 1996 Part II in the Employment Tribunal.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the 3.2% pay increase take effect? The 3.2% award takes effect from 1 July 2025. If your employer has delayed applying the increase, you are entitled to back-pay to that date. Speak to your FBU rep if the uplift has not appeared on your payslip.
I am a retained (on-call) firefighter — does the settlement apply to me? Yes. The NJC settlement covers both whole-time and RDS firefighters in England and Wales. The 3.2% uplift applies to your retaining fee, drill pay, and activity pay in full.
What is pay structure reform and how will it affect my pay? The 2025–2026 settlement includes a commitment to introduce structural pay reform by 1 July 2026. The aim is to rebuild pay differentials between Firefighter Competent and supervisory grades (Crew Manager upwards), which have eroded over time. The specific new pay points will be determined by the NJC working group. If you are in — or aspiring to — a supervisory role, this reform could meaningfully increase your earnings from July 2026.
Do I accrue pension during sick leave? Under FPS 2015, you continue to accrue pension during periods of sick leave on which you receive full or half pay. During periods on nil pay, active accrual generally ceases, though the scheme contains ill-health retirement provisions that provide a lump sum and pension if you retire due to injury on duty or permanent ill-health.
What happens to my NJC pay if I transfer to a different fire and rescue authority? Pay under the NJC is nationally determined, so your grade-level pay will remain the same regardless of which English or Welsh fire authority employs you. However, local terms (such as enhanced redundancy or local allowances) are set by individual services and do not automatically transfer.
Can my employer cut my pay or change my shift pattern without agreement? No. A unilateral cut to your contractually agreed NJC pay would constitute an unlawful deduction from wages under ERA 1996 Part II, and a unilateral change to shift patterns may amount to a breach of contract. Any significant changes to your terms require either your written agreement or appropriate collective bargaining through the recognised union.
Related Tool
Interactive Calculator Use our NJC Fire and Rescue Services Pay & Rights Calculator to estimate your take-home pay, redundancy entitlement, annual leave balance, and FPS 2015 pension accrual under this settlement.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult your union representative or a qualified employment solicitor.
