National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services
Employers’ Secretary,
Sarah Ward
Local Government Association,;
18 Smith Square, Westminster,
London
SW1P 3HZ
e-mail: [email protected]
Employees’ Secretary,
Steve Wright,
Bradley House,
68 Coombe Rd
Kingston upon Thames
KT2 7AE
Telephone 020 8541 1765
To: Chairs of fire authorities
Chief fire officers
Chief executives/Clerks to fire authorities
Directors of HR (Fire Authorities)
Members of the National Joint Council
30 May 2025
Circular NJC/3/25
Dear Colleague,
Pay award 2025
1. The NJC has agreed an increase of 3.2 per cent with effect from 1 July 2025. This circular contains the revised rates of pay from 1 July 2025:
| Appendix A | Pay rates for firefighting roles |
| Appendix B | Pay rates for the retained duty system |
| Appendix C | Pay rates for control specific roles |
| Appendix D | Pay rates for non-operational staff and junior firefighters |
2. In all cases annual figures are rounded to the nearest pound first, then hourly rates are derived from the appropriate annual figure divided by 52.143 (rounded to nearest penny) then by 42 (rounded to nearest penny).
3. The NJC has agreed that Continual Professional Development payments will also increase by 3.2 per cent with effect from 1 July 2025. Please see the separate NJC circular for the increased payments (NJC/4/25 refers).
4. As part of the 2025 pay agreement, the trainee rate of pay for all roles will be deleted from the pay scales effective 1 July 2025. Please note that this agreement effects pay only and the role of a Trainee (as defined in the Grey Book Section 2 ‘Roles and Responsibilities’) remains unaffected.
5. To accommodate that change, Section 2 – Roles and Responsibilities, Paragraph 2 of the seventh edition of the grey book is to be amended by deleting the last sentence as shown below:
For the roles of Firefighter and Firefighter (Control) the training stage is the point at which an employee is in full-time training and is not yet performing the role in its appropriate context.
DELETE: “An employee in this position will receive the trainee rate of pay.”
6. The NJC has also agreed revised wording in relation to notice periods. Appendix E provides new wording to replace Section 6 (Miscellaneous conditions) paragraph 2 of the seventh edition of the grey book. Please note this amendment updates the minimum notice requirements as set out in the Grey Book. It does not replace any local agreements already in place, which may stipulate more generous notice periods.
7. Some pay rates for Fire Control Operator equivalents and Junior Firefighters in Appendix D have been uplifted to comply with the National Minimum Wage.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah Ward
Steve Wright
Joint Secretaries
Appendix A
| Basic annual £ | Basic hourly rate £ | Overtime rate £ | |
|---|---|---|---|
Firefighter |
|||
| Development | 30,384 | 13.87 | 20.81 |
| Competent | 38,881 | 17.75 | 26.63 |
Crew manager |
|||
| Development | 41,322 | 18.87 | 28.31 |
| Competent | 43,104 | 19.68 | 29.52 |
Watch manager |
|||
| Development | 44,038 | 20.11 | 30.17 |
| Competent A | 45,260 | 20.67 | 31.01 |
| Competent B | 48,202 | 22.01 | 33.02 |
Station manager |
|||
| Development | 50,135 | 22.89 | 34.34 |
| Competent A | 51,642 | 23.58 | 35.37 |
| Competent B | 55,301 | 25.25 | 37.88 |
Group manager |
|||
| Development | 57,743 | 26.37 | Not applicable |
| Competent A | 59,476 | 27.16 | Not applicable |
| Competent B | 64,013 | 29.23 | Not applicable |
Area manager |
|||
| Development | 67,792 | 30.96 | Not applicable |
| Competent A | 69,823 | 31.88 | Not applicable |
| Competent B | 74,360 | 33.95 | Not applicable |
Appendix B
| (1) £ per annum | (2) £ per annum | (3) £ per hour | (4) £ per occasion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Firefighter |
||||
| Development | 4,558 | 1,519 | 13.87 | 5.12 |
| Competent | 5,832 | 1,944 | 17.75 | 5.12 |
Crew manager |
||||
| Development | 6,198 | 2,066 | 18.87 | 5.12 |
| Competent | 6,466 | 2,155 | 19.68 | 5.12 |
Watch manager |
||||
| Development | 6,606 | 2,202 | 20.11 | 5.12 |
| Competent A | 6,789 | 2,263 | 20.67 | 5.12 |
| Competent B | 7,230 | 2,410 | 22.01 | 5.12 |
Station manager |
||||
| Development | 7,520 | 2,507 | 22.89 | 5.12 |
| Competent A | 7,746 | 2,582 | 23.58 | 5.12 |
| Competent B | 8,295 | 2,765 | 25.25 | 5.12 |
Group manager |
||||
| Development | 8,662 | 2,887 | 26.37 | 5.12 |
| Competent A | 8,921 | 2,974 | 27.16 | 5.12 |
| Competent B | 9,602 | 3,201 | 29.23 | 5.12 |
Area manager |
||||
| Development | 10,169 | 3,390 | 30.96 | 5.12 |
| Competent A | 10,473 | 3,491 | 31.88 | 5.12 |
| Competent B | 11,154 | 3,718 | 33.95 | 5.12 |
-
Column 1 shows the full annual retainer (15 per cent of the full-time basic annual salary, as set out in Appendix A)
-
Column 2 shows the annual retainer for employees on the day crewing duty system (five per cent of the full-time basic annual salary, as set out in Appendix A)
-
Column 3 shows the hourly rate for work activity
-
Column 4 shows the disturbance payment per call-out
Appendix C
| Basic annual* £ | Basic hourly rate £ | Overtime rate £ | |
|---|---|---|---|
Firefighter (Control) |
|||
| Development | 28,865 | 13.18 | 19.77 |
| Competent | 36,937 | 16.87 | 25.31 |
Crew manager (Control) |
|||
| Development | 39,256 | 17.93 | 26.90 |
| Competent | 40,949 | 18.70 | 28.05 |
Watch manager (Control) |
|||
| Development | 41,836 | 19.10 | 28.65 |
| Competent A | 42,997 | 19.63 | 29.45 |
| Competent B | 45,792 | 20.91 | 31.37 |
Station manager (Control) |
|||
| Development | 47,628 | 21.75 | 32.63 |
| Competent A | 49,060 | 22.40 | 33.60 |
| Competent B | 52,536 | 23.99 | 35.99 |
Group manager (Control) |
|||
| Development | 54,856 | 25.05 | Not applicable |
| Competent A | 56,502 | 25.80 | Not applicable |
| Competent B | 60,812 | 27.77 | Not applicable |
*(95 per cent of the respective firefighting role basic annual salary, as set out in Appendix A)
Appendix D
| £ per annum | ||
|---|---|---|
Fire control operator equivalent |
||
| During first six months | 26,740 | *Uprated due to NLW |
| After six months and during 2nd year | 26,740 | *Uprated due to NLW |
| During 3rd year | 27,177 | |
| During 4th year | 28,513 | |
| During 5th year | 31,056 | |
Leading fire control operator equivalent |
33,259 | |
| Senior fire control operator equivalent | ||
| During 1st year in rank | 34,109 | |
| During 2nd year in rank | 35,403 |
| £ per annum | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aged 16 | 16,535 | *Uprated due to NLW |
| Aged 17 | 16,535 | *Uprated due to NLW |
| Aged 18 | 29,169 |
Appendix E
Notice of termination of employment
Should an employee wish to resign from their employment they are required to give a minimum amount of notice to their employer. The minimum amount of notice they are required to give depends on their length of service and, unless a local contractual agreement for longer notice periods is in place, is outlined in the following table:
| Length of employment | Minimum requirement to give notice (local contracts may state longer periods) |
|---|---|
| Up to one month | Notice is in line with the Employment Rights Act 1996. |
| After one month up to three months | One weeks’ written notice |
| After three months onwards | Four weeks’ written notice |
Employees are entitled to receive the following minimum notice from their employer*:
| Length of employment | Minimum entitlement to receive notice (local contracts may state longer periods) |
|---|---|
| Up to one month | Notice is in line with the Employment Rights Act 1996. |
| After one month up to three months | One weeks’ written notice |
| After three months up to 4 years | Four weeks’ written notice |
| 5 years onwards | One week of notice for each complete year of employment up to a maximum of 12 weeks. |
*These minimum notice periods may be supplemented or enhanced by local agreement.