Firefighters’ Workforce Survey 2025

Background

The Firefighters’ Workforce Survey was conducted by the Local Government Association (LGA) on behalf of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities’ Fire and Rescue Services in order to provide up-to-date information about the workforce to inform upcoming national pay negotiations. The survey was sent to all 48 fire and rescue services (FRSs) in the United Kingdom in July 2025, and received responses from 47 – a response rate of 98 per cent.

Key findings

• The survey estimated a total of 29,770 wholetime personnel in the UK, split between 28,464 in firefighting roles and 1,306 in control-specific roles, as well as 16,499 retained personnel.
• In wholetime firefighting roles, 90 per cent of the workforce was male, whilst in control-specific roles, 76 per cent of the workforce was female. Among retained personnel, 92 per cent of the workforce was male.
• Almost all personnel in wholetime firefighting roles (99 per cent) were full-time, whilst 89 per cent of personnel in control-specific roles were full-time.
• Four per cent of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles and two per cent of personnel in control-specific roles were from an ethnic minority background. Among retained personnel, two per cent were from an ethnic minority.
• The average age of personnel in both wholetime firefighting and control-specific roles was 41, whilst the average age for retained personnel was 40.
• The average basic annual salary for personnel in wholetime firefighting roles was £42,474.48 and their average gross annual pay was £44,760.00. For those in control-specific roles, the average basic annual salary was £36,705.72 whilst the average gross annual pay was £38,625.12. For retained personnel, the overall average annual retainer was £4,493.88 and the average gross total pay was £10,496.64.
• On average, the basic salary of full-time male wholetime firefighting personnel was 5 per cent higher than full-time female wholetime firefighting personnel, whilst gross total pay was seven per cent higher.
• Among personnel in control-specific roles, there was minimal difference in annual basic pay between male and female personnel, however, average annual gross pay for female full-time personnel was three per cent higher than male full-time personnel.
• Fifty-nine per cent of wholetime firefighting personnel and 50 per cent of control-specific personnel were in receipt of Continual Professional Development (CPD) payments and were paid on average £1,106.64 and £1,175.64 per annum, respectively. In addition, 32 per cent of retained personnel received CPD payments, at an average annual payment of £684.96.
• Additional Responsibility Allowance (ARA) was paid to nine per cent of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles and four per cent of personnel in control-specific roles, and they received average (median) annual payments of £750.00 and £696.00 respectively. In addition, five per cent of retained personnel received ARA payments.
• Overtime pay was received by 46 per cent of wholetime firefighting personnel and 33 per cent of control-specific personnel at an average annual rate of £3,945.84 and £5,184.00 respectively. Seven per cent of retained personnel received overtime pay, at an average annual amount of £2,254.08.
• The survey found a total of 5,082 personnel in respondent services with secondary contracts. Eighty-five per cent of these were wholetime/retained.
• Recruitment and retention difficulties were most commonly reported for retained personnel, with 77 per cent of services reporting difficulty recruiting retained personnel, and 70 per cent reporting difficulty retaining them.
• Seventy-two per cent of respondent services employed staff who are undertaking an apprenticeship.

The Firefighters’ Workforce Survey was conducted by the LGA on behalf of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities’ Fire and Rescue Services. It was conducted to collect up-to-date information about the workforce - specifically, the number of wholetime and retained personnel, salary data, hours worked (including overtime). The survey also included questions on personal characteristics such as age, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, and disability status.

The survey was open for responses from 10 July to 16 September 2025 and was distributed by the LGA’s Workforce team to senior officials within fire and rescue services (FRSs), including chief fire officers, chief executives, and directors of human resources. It was distributed via email in the form of an Excel spreadsheet, and responses were collected and analysed by the LGA’s Research and Information team.

Of the 48 FRSs in the United Kingdom, responses were received from 47 - a response rate of 98 per cent. The very high level of response means that the respondents are likely to be representative of fire and rescue services as a whole. For the one non-respondent service, basic data on the number of personnel (wholetime, control, and retained) has been collected from the website of the service accurate as at 1 June 2025.

In addition, the following should be considered when interpreting the findings of this survey:

• Where tables and figures report the base, the description refers to the group of people who were asked the question. The number provided refers to the unweighted number of respondents who answered each question. Please note that bases can vary throughout the survey, as some services did not answer every question.
• Numbers and percentages are provided for any questions where the base was less than 50. To calculate the number of respondents who provided a certain response for other questions, simply multiply the percentage provided by the base.
• Throughout the report, percentages may not appear to add up to exactly 100 per cent due to rounding.

This section contains analysis of the full results from the survey.

Number of personnel by role and sex

The survey estimated a total of 29,770 wholetime (both full-time and part-time) personnel in the UK, split between 28,464 in wholetime firefighting roles and 1,306 in control-specific roles. 

Almost all wholetime personnel in firefighting roles – 99 per cent – were full-time, whilst one per cent were part-time; 90 per cent of personnel were male and 10 per cent female. Just over half of all wholetime firefighting staff were in the firefighter competent role. The proportion of staff who were female was higher for firefighter trainees (17 per cent) and firefighter development (15 per cent). The full breakdown for wholetime firefighting roles is shown in Table 1. 

Eighty-nine per cent of personnel in wholetime control roles were full-time, whilst 11 per cent were part-time; 76 per cent of control personnel were female whilst 24 per cent were male. Around a third of control personnel were in the firefighter competent role. The full breakdown for wholetime control-specific roles is shown in Table 2.

Base: all responding services (47). ‘Unknown’ category reflects unspecific data gathered from non-respondent service website. Data on sex was not provided for 18 per cent of firefighting personnel – the male/female ratios observed in the survey were applied to these personnel to estimate total male/female numbers per role.

Base: all responding services (47). ‘Unknown’ category reflects unspecific data gathered from non-respondent service website. Data on sex was not provided for two per cent of control personnel – the male/female ratios observed in the survey were applied to these personnel to estimate total male/female numbers per role. 

Personnel by sex and ethnic origin

Overall, four per cent of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles were from an ethnic minority. This proportion was marginally higher among males than among females in wholetime firefighting roles (five per cent compared with three per cent). A full breakdown is shown in Table 3.

Base: all responding services (47).

The proportion of personnel from an ethnic minority in control-specific roles was slightly lower than in wholetime firefighting roles, with two per cent of the overall control-specific workforce being from an ethnic minority. A full breakdown is shown in Table 4.

Base: all responding services (47).

Personnel by age group

The overall average age of personnel in both wholetime firefighting and control-specific roles was 41, and in both cases this was higher for part-time staff at 49 years for firefighting roles and 50 years for control-specific roles. Three per cent of the wholetime firefighting workforce were under 25, whilst eight per cent of the control-specific workforce were under 25. A full breakdown for wholetime firefighting roles is shown in Table 5, and a breakdown for control-specific roles is shown in Table 6.

Base: all responding services (47).

Base: all responding services (47).

Additional characteristics – methodology note

The survey also covered three more protected characteristics – gender identity, disability, and sexual orientation. For all three, information was not available for significant proportions of the workforce so the data should be treated with caution. 

Gender identity 

The survey asked whether the gender that the current postholder identified with was the same as their sex registered at birth. This information was recorded for 33 per cent of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles and 44 per cent in control-specific roles. Among those personnel for whom the information was supplied, all but a negligible number (less than 0.5 per cent) identified as the same as their sex registered at birth. 

Disability

The survey asked whether postholders had a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more. Information was provided for 48 per cent of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles and 67 per cent of personnel in control-specific roles. Three per cent of personnel in firefighting roles reported having a disability, whilst six per cent of personnel in control-specific roles reported having a disability. If ‘not knowns’ are excluded from the figures, overall six per cent of those in firefighting roles reported a disability, and 10 per cent of those in control-specific roles. A full breakdown for wholetime firefighting roles in shown in Table 7, and Table 8 shows a breakdown for control-specific roles. 

Base: all responding services (47). FT (27822), PT (224), all (28046). 

Base: all responding services (47). FT (1122), PT (140), all (1262).

Sexual orientation

Information on sexual orientation was provided for 46 per cent of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles and 66 per cent of personnel in control-specific roles. If ‘not knowns’ are not included, 95 per cent of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles identified as straight, whilst two per cent identified as gay or lesbian, and two per cent identified as bisexual. Similarly, if ‘not knows’ were not included, 94 per cent of personnel in control-specific roles identified as straight, whilst three per cent identified as gay or lesbian, and two per cent identified as bisexual. A full breakdown is shown wholetime firefighting roles in Table 9, and for control-specific roles in Table 10.

Base: all responding services (47). FT (27822), PT (224), all (28046). 

Base: all responding services (47). FT (1122), PT (140), all (1262).

Average annual salaries

The average annual basic pay for personnel in wholetime firefighting roles was £42,474.48 (£42,643.32 for full-time personnel, £20,981.04 for part-time personnel). The average full-time basic pay for male personnel, £41,701.44, was five per cent higher than the average for female personnel, £39,747.60. There was no notable difference in part-time salaries between male and female personnel. 

The average annual gross pay for personnel in wholetime firefighting roles was five per cent higher than the average annual basic pay, at £44,760.00. The average annual gross pay for full-time male personnel, £45,786.60, was seven per cent higher than the average for female personnel, £42,696.48. Gross total pay for part-time male personnel was three per cent higher than female personnel. A full breakdown in shown in Table 11.

Base: all responding services (47). Female FT (2204), PT (41), all (2245); male FT (20367), PT (176), all (20543); total FT (27822), PT (224), all (28046).

The average annual basic pay for personnel in control-specific roles was £36,705.72 (£38,579.04 for full-time personnel, £21,719.16 for part-time personnel). There was minimal difference in average basic pay for male and female full-time personnel, at £38,527.20 and £38,547.24 respectively. A difference is observed between male and female part-time personnel, however, due to the low numbers of male part-time staff, this should be interpreted with caution. 

The average annual gross salary for personnel in control-specific roles was £38,625.12 (£40,569.96 for full-time personnel and £23,066.64 for part-time personnel). This was five per cent higher than the average annual basic pay. Average annual gross pay for female full-time personnel was three per cent higher than male full-time personnel. The full breakdown is shown in Table 12.

Base: all responding services (47). Female FT (807), PT (131), all (938); male FT (285), PT (7), all (292); total FT (1122), PT (140), all (1262).

Continual professional development (CPD) payments

More than half of all personnel in wholetime firefighting roles (59 per cent) received CPD payments. The mean average amount received was £1,106.64 per annum, whilst the median was slightly lower at £913.92 per annum. Sixty-one per cent of male wholetime firefighting personnel received CPD payments, compared to 44 per cent of female wholetime firefighting personnel, though there was little difference in both the mean and median amount received. A full breakdown is shown for fire fighting

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (2204), PT (41), all (2245); male FT (20367), PT (176), all (20543); total FT (23166), PT (224), all (23390). 

A slightly lower proportion of control-specific personnel received CPD payments – 50 per cent, compared to 59 per cent of firefighting personnel. The average amount received by control-specific personnel however was roughly in line with that of firefighting personnel – a mean of £1,175.64 per annum, or a median of £892.68. Female personnel, comprising 76 per cent of the control-specific workforce, were more likely to receive CPD payments than men (53 per cent compared to 43 per cent), though male personnel had a slightly higher mean average amount received per annum than female personnel - £1,345.44 compared with £1,147.80. The median values per annum were roughly similar. A full breakdown is shown in Table 14.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (807), PT (131), all (938); male FT (285), PT (7), all (292); total FT (1122), PT (140), all (1262).

Additional Responsibility Allowance (ARA)

Around 1 in 10 wholetime firefighting personnel (nine per cent) received ARA payments, at a mean average of £1,728.24 per annum (a median of £750.00). The proportion varied slightly between males (nine per cent) and females (seven per cent), though there was little difference in the average amount received. This is shown in Table 15.

The marked difference between the mean and the median suggests that the distribution of payments is skewed with a relatively small number of personnel receiving much higher amounts than most personnel. In such cases, the median is a better measure of the average than the mean.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (2204), PT (41), all (2245); male FT (20367), PT (176), all (20543); total FT (23166), PT (224), all (23390). 

Personnel in control-specific roles were less likely to receive ARA payments than firefighting roles, at four per cent and nine per cent respectively. Control-specific personnel received on average less than those in firefighting roles, reporting a mean of £961.92 per annum (median of £696.00). The proportion receiving payments was the same for female and male personnel (four per cent). A full breakdown is shown in Table 16.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (807), PT (131), all (938); male FT (285), PT (7), all (292); total FT (1122), PT (140), all (1262). 

Overtime pay

Just under half of personnel in wholetime firefighting roles (46 per cent) received overtime payments, at a mean average of £3,945.84 per annum (median of £2,589.96). This proportion was higher among male personnel (47 per cent) than female personnel (41 per cent), and both the mean and median amount received by male personnel was higher than by female personnel. A full breakdown is shown in Table 17. It should be noted that these annual overtime figures has been extrapolated from July payroll data. It is acknowledged that the need for overtime will fluctuate throughout the year and therefore these figures should be treated as an estimate only.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (2204), PT (41), all (2245); male FT (20367), PT (176), all (20543); total FT (23166), PT (224), all (23390).

A third of personnel in control-specific roles (33 per cent) received overtime payments, at a mean average of £5,184 (a median of £4,100.28). This proportion was slightly higher among males (37 per cent) than females (31 per cent) and both the mean and median amount received by male personnel was higher than female personnel. A full breakdown is shown in Table 18.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (807), PT (131), all (938); male FT (285), PT (7), all (292); total FT (1122), PT (140), all (1262). 

Shift allowance 

Six per cent of wholetime firefighting personnel received shift allowance payments, at a mean average of £5,229.48 per annum (a median of £4,310.40). Roughly the same proportion of male and female personnel received shift allowance payments, with little difference in the mean or median. A full breakdown is shown in Table 19.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (2204), PT (41), all (2245); male FT (20367), PT (176), all (20543); total FT (23166), PT (224), all (23390). 

Fifteen control-specific personnel were reported to receive a shift allowance, constituting one per cent of the control-specific workforce. Due to the low number of control-specific personnel receiving this allowance, there is insufficient data to enable meaningful results for control-specific roles, however the mean average annual payment was £7,987.32, whilst the median was £4038.84.

Other payments or allowance

Just over a quarter of wholetime firefighting personnel (28 per cent) received other payments or allowances, at a mean average of £2,451.85 per annum (a median of £1,139.40). Roughly the same proportion of male and female wholetime firefighting personnel received other payments or allowances, but female personnel received on average slightly less than male personnel. A full breakdown is shown in Table 20.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (2204), PT (41), all (2245); male FT (20367), PT (176), all (20543); total FT (23166), PT (224), all (23390). 

A smaller proportion of control-specific personnel (14 per cent) received other payments or allowances. The mean average amount received was £1939.08 per annum, whilst the median was significantly lower at £581.64. Female control-specific personnel received larger payments on average (both mean and median) than male personnel, however, the low number of male control-specific personnel receiving other payments or allowances means the data should be interpreted with caution. A full breakdown is shown in Table 21.

Base: all responding services (46) – female FT (807), PT (131), all (938); male FT (285), PT (7), all (292); total FT (1122), PT (140), all (1262). 

Number of personnel and workforce characteristics

The survey estimated a total of 16,499 retained personnel in the UK. The vast majority (92 per cent) were part-cover, whilst eight per cent were full-cover. When broken down by retained duty system (RDS) band, 29 per cent of retained personnel were contracted for up to and including 30 hours of cover per week, 22 per cent were contracted for between 31 and 60 hours of cover per week, 27 per cent were contracted for between 61 and 90 hours of cover per week, a further 14 per cent were contracted for between 91 and 119 hours per week, and eight per cent were full-cover (120 hours per week). A full breakdown is shown in Table 22.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (41). ‘Unknown’ category reflects four services which did not provide cover hour data. 

Almost half of the retained workforce (47 per cent) were in the firefighter competent role, whilst a quarter (24 per cent) were in the firefighter development role, and two per cent were trainee firefighters. Around a quarter were in manager roles, with 19 per cent in the crew manager role, and eight per cent in the watch manager role. A full breakdown of retained personnel by role and RDS band is shown in Table 23.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (41) – FF trainee (252); FF dev (3574); FF comp (6863); CM dev (823); CM comp (1970); WM dev (221); WM comp (948); SM comp (2). Table excludes those without cover hour data.

Overall, 92 per cent of retained personnel were male whilst eight per cent were female. There was a higher proportion of female personnel in junior roles; 11 per cent of firefighters (trainee) were female, and 14 per cent of firefighters (development) were female. Manager roles had a lower proportion of female personnel; four per cent of watch managers (development) were female, whilst three per cent of watch managers (competent) were female. A full breakdown is shown in Table 24.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). ‘Unknown’ category reflects unspecific data gathered from non-respondent service website. Data on sex was not provided for 5 per cent of retained personnel – the male/female ratios observed in the survey were applied to these to estimate total male/female numbers.

The vast majority (98 per cent) of the retained workforce were white, whilst two per cent were from an ethnic minority background. A full breakdown by sex and ethnic origin is shown in Table 25.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Female (844); male (9392), total (10242).

The average age of retained personnel was 40, slightly higher for full-cover (44 years), and slightly lower for part-cover (39 years). Eight per cent of retained personnel were under 25, whilst 12 per cent were aged 55 or over. A full breakdown is shown in Table 26. 

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Full cover (1084), part cover (12749), total (15679).

The survey also covered gender identity, disability status, and sexual orientation. For all three, information was not available for significant proportions of the workforce so the data should be treated with caution.

The survey asked whether the gender the current postholder identified with was the same as their sex registered at birth. The information was only recorded for 29 per cent of personnel. Among those personnel for whom the information was supplied, all but a negligible number (0.5 per cent) identified as the same as their sex registered at birth.

The survey asked whether postholders had a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more. Information was provided for only 50 per cent of personnel. If ‘not-knowns’ are excluded from the figures, overall five per cent of personnel reported such a disability. A full breakdown is shown in Table 27.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Full cover (1142), part cover (13511), total (16499).

Information on sexual orientation was provided for 49 per cent of personnel. If ‘not knowns’ are excluded from the figures, overall 97 per cent of retained personnel were heterosexual, two per cent were gay or lesbian, and one per cent were bisexual. A full breakdown is shown in Table 28.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Full cover (1142), part cover (13511), total (16499).

Retainers and additional pay

The average (mean) annual retainer for retained personnel was £4,493.88 (£3,984.00 for part-cover personnel, £5,151.12 for full-cover personnel). The mean average retainer for male personnel, £4,549.56, was 16 per cent higher than the average for female personnel, £3920,40. 

The average (mean) annual gross pay for retained personnel was £10,496.64. This was 14 per cent higher for male retained personnel (£10,137.00) than female retained personnel (£8,866.32). A full breakdown of the mean annual retainer and mean annual gross pay is shown in Table 29.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Full cover (1142), part cover (13511), total (16499).

The average (median) annual retainer for retained personnel was £4,194.96 (£3,888.24 for part-cover personnel, £5,832.00 for full-cover personnel). The median average retainer for male personnel, £4,309.32, was 13 per cent higher than the average for female personnel, £3,798.36.

The average (median) annual gross pay for retained personnel was £9,874.20. This was 16 per cent higher for male retained personnel (£9,728.64) than female retained personnel (£8,417.64). A full breakdown of the median annual retainer and median annual gross pay is shown in Table 30.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Full cover (1142), part cover (13511), total (16499).

Payments for work activity

The majority of retained personnel (85 per cent) received payments for work activity. The mean average amount received per annum was £6,491.16, whilst the median was £5,210.16. A slightly lower proportion of female retained personnel received payments for work activity (81 per cent), compared to male retained personnel (85 per cent. Male personnel received slightly more on average than female personnel (6 per cent more on mean averages, seven per cent more on median averages). A full breakdown is shown in Table 31.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Female FT (50), PT (1119), all (1313); male FT (1034), PT (11636), all (14371); total FT (1142), PT (13511), all (16499). 

Continual professional development (CPD) payments

Around a third of retained personnel (32 per cent) received CPD payments. The mean average annual CPD payment for retained personnel was £684.96, whilst the median was lower at £226.56. Whilst there was little difference between the value of CPD payments between male and female retained personnel, a third of male personnel (33 per cent) received them, compared to 16 per cent of female personnel. A full breakdown is shown in Table 32.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Female FT (50), PT (1119), all (1313); male FT (1034), PT (11636), all (14371); total FT (1142), PT (13511), all (16499). 

Additional Responsibility Allowance (ARA) payments

Five per cent of retained personnel received ARA payments, at a mean average value of £1,282.80 per annum (a median of £1,163.04). A slightly lower proportion of female personnel received ARA payments (three per cent, compared to six per cent of male personnel), however the mean payment amount was roughly the same. The median average payment amount was lower for female personnel, however, this should be interpreted with caution due to the low numbers of female personnel in receipt of these payments (43 people). A full breakdown is shown in Table 33.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Female FT (50), PT (1119), all (1313); male FT (1034), PT (11636), all (14371); total FT (1142), PT (13511), all (16499). 

Disturbance payments

Just over half of retained personnel (56 per cent) received disturbance payments, on average £693.96 per annum (a median of £472.92). The proportion varied slightly between male and female personnel, with 51 per cent of female personnel receiving disturbance payments compared to 59 per cent of male personnel. Male personnel received on average (mean) 19 per cent more than female personnel. A full breakdown is shown in Table 34.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Female FT (50), PT (1119), all (1313); male FT (1034), PT (11636), all (14371); total FT (1142), PT (13511), all (16499). 

Overtime pay

Seven per cent of retained personnel received overtime payments, receiving on average £2,254.08 per annum (a median of £967.68). This proportion varied little by sex, though male personnel received on average 36 per cent more than female personnel. A full breakdown is shown in Table 35. It should be noted that these annual overtime figures has been extrapolated from July payroll data. It is acknowledged that the need for overtime will fluctuate throughout the year and therefore these figures should be treated as an estimate only.

Base: all responding services with retained personnel (45). Female FT (50), PT (1119), all (1313); male FT (1034), PT (11636), all (14371); total FT (1142), PT (13511), all (16499). 

Secondary contracts by type of contract

Almost all respondent services reported personnel with secondary contracts, totalling 5,082. Just two responding service reported no personnel with secondary contracts. The majority of secondary contracts were wholetime/retained contracts. The full breakdown in shown in Table 36.

Base: all responding services (46). 

Respondents were asked to indicate whether or not their service is experiencing recruitment or retention difficulties across four categories; wholetime, control, retained, and fire safety.

As shown in Table 37, four-fifths of respondent services (80 per cent) reported recruitment difficulties in at least one category, whilst three-quarters (73 per cent) reported retention difficulties in at least one category.

This is largely driven by difficulties faced with the recruitment and retention of retained personnel, reported by 77 per cent and 70 per cent of respondent services respectively. Around a quarter of respondent services reported difficulties recruiting fire safety personnel (25 per cent), and retaining fire safety personnel (27 per cent). Recruitment difficulties were less common among wholetime and control staff; 13 per cent of respondent services reported difficulties recruiting wholetime staff whilst 12 per cent reported difficulties recruiting control staff. Retention difficulties were lower still, with 10 per cent of respondent services reporting difficulty retaining control staff, whilst seven per cent reported difficulty retaining wholetime staff.

Base: wholetime (45); control (41); retained (43); fire safety (44); total (45). 

Services with apprenticeship schemes

Respondents were asked whether or not their service employs personnel carrying out an apprenticeship. Just under three-quarters of respondent services (72 per cent) employ personnel undertaking and apprenticeship, whilst 28 per cent do not. The results are shown in Table 38.

Annex A: Questionnaire and guidance

Base: all respondents (46).

Types of apprenticeships

By far the most common type of apprenticeship, 70 per cent of services with apprenticeship schemes had apprentice Firefighters. Thirty-nine per cent had Station Managers undertaking apprenticeships, whilst 30 per cent had Watch Managers undertaking apprenticeships, 27 per cent had Crew Managers undertaking apprenticeships, and 21 per cent had Group Managers undertaking apprenticeships. A further nine per cent had Area Managers undertaking apprenticeships. Those in Control roles were less likely to be undertaking an apprenticeship, however 24 per cent of services using apprenticeships had apprentice Firefighters in control roles. The full results are shown in Table 39.

Respondents had the opportunity to specify any other apprentice roles used. These were largely Green Book or non-uniformed roles, and specific responses included:

• HR and procurement roles
• business administrators
• finance officers
• community service officers
• support staff
• fire safety advisors/fire protection officers
• senior leaders (Level 7)
• digital and technology solutions professionals.

Base: all respondent services with apprenticeship schemes (33 FRSs). Respondents could select more than one option.

Initial questions

Privacy and Data Protection Statement

Please ensure you supply only anonymised workforce data in Parts A and B. Your responses will be treated with strict confidentiality. All data collected will be aggregated and anonymised for reporting purposes. No individual or employer will be identified in any correspondence or publication without your explicit consent (see below). Identifiable information may be accessed internally by the Local Government Association (LGA). This information will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice and data retention policies. We will not share service information or personal data with any other external parties without your explicit consent.

This survey is conducted to support the legitimate interests of the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Authority Fire & Rescue Services in representing fire and rescue service employers and their employees. Where we collect and process special category data (such as information related to employment and pay negotiations), we do so under Article 9(2)(a) of the UK GDPR, based on your explicit consent. We also rely on Article 9(2)(g) – processing necessary for reasons of substantial public interest – as a lawful basis. Where we collect and process non-special category data, we do under Article 6(1)(f) of the UK GDPR, based on our legitimate interests as the lawful basis for processing.

If your employer is not relying on consent as the lawful basis for sharing this data with us, please contact us at [email protected]

Total number of personnel employed (headcount)

Please provide the total number of personnel employed (headcount) by working status below. If a person has more than one post please only count them under their substantive position. Please provide only headcount figures and not wholetime equivalents.

• Full-time wholetime personnel
• Part-time wholetime personnel
• Retained personnel

RDS retainer availability bands:

• Up to and including 30 hours per week
• From 31 hours per week and up to and including 60 hours per week
• From 61 hours per week and up to and including 90 hours per week
• From 91 hours per week and up to and including 119 hours per week
• Full cover (120 hours per week)

Alternative Duty Systems, i.e. other than those contained in Section 4, part A of the Grey Book

Please enter details of any alternative duty systems in use at your Fire & Rescue Service in the box below, including hours, basic pay, proportion of workforce affected and, where appropriate, cover provided.

Secondary contracts

Please enter the total number of personnel who have the following secondary contracts within your Fire & Rescue Service. Uniformed control personnel should be included under Wholetime. Non-uniformed control personnel should be included under Support. Please only include secondary contracts which fall within the scope of the NJC for Local Authorities' Fire and Rescue Services (grey book).

• Wholetime/Retained
• Wholetime/Support
• Wholetime/Community safety
• Support/Retained
• Support/Community safety
• Dual Retained contracts (within your FRS)
• Other, please specify

Recruitment and retention

Is your Fire & Rescue Service currently experiencing any recruitment or retention difficulties? Please select yes, no, or don’t know from the drop down list

• Wholetime: recruitment
• Wholetime: retention
• Control: recruitment
• Control: retention
• Retained: recruitment
• Retained: retention
• Fire safety: recruitment
• Fire safety: retention

Please enter details of the problem(s) and any actions you have taken to remedy your recruitment and/or retention difficulties in the box below

Apprenticeships

Do you have any staff undertaking apprenticeships? Please select yes, no, or don’t know from the drop down list

If yes, please indicate the roles that they are undertaking. Select all that apply

• Firefighter
• Firefighter (control)
• Crew manager
• Crew manager (control)
• Watch manager
• Watch manager (control)
• Station manager
• Station manager (control)
• Group manager
• Group manager (control)
• Area manager
• Other please specify:

Part A (Guidance)

Notes of Guidance: Wholetime Personnel (including Control)

Timing

The data should relate to the pay period from 1 July 2025.

Scope

This section covers all wholetime personnel (including control) covered by the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (Grey Book). Please include all control room personnel except for those whose pay, terms and conditions are not covered by the Grey Book. Please do not include any personnel covered by the National Joint Council for Brigade Managers of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (Gold Book) or any support personnel who are covered by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (Green Book).

Completion of the form

On each line of the form the information relating to one post should be entered. Please only include posts whose incumbent received some payment in the pay period from 1 July 2025. If a particular piece of information is not available for any posts please leave the relevant field blank.

Role

Please enter the role in this column. Please ensure that you use the role title which equates to the annual salary rather than a locally used title and include 'control' where applicable.

Role titles:

• Firefighter
• Firefighter (control)
• Crew manager
• Crew manager (control)
• Watch manager
• Watch manager (control)
• Station manager
• Station manager (control)
• Group manager
• Group manager (control)
• Area manager

Sex

Please enter M if the current post-holder is male, F if the current post-holder is female or NK if the gender of the post-holder is not-known. Submissions are not case-sensitive but the coding (M, F or NK) must be used.

Gender identity

Please enter Y if the gender the current post-holder identifies with is the same as their sex registered at birth, N if it is different or NK if the information is not known.

Ethnic origin

The ethnic group codes to be used in this survey are a condensed version of the 2021 census classifications (the groups shown in bold below).  Please refer to the list below to see which ethnic categories fall within each of the headings shown on the form.

White

• English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British
• Irish
• Gypsy or Irish Traveller
• Roma
• Any other White background

Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background

Asian or Asian British

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Chinese
• Any other Asian background

Black / African / Caribbean / Black British

• Black Caribbean
• Black African
• Any other Black / African / Caribbean background

Other ethnic group

• Arab
• Other ethnic group

If you are unable to show some or all of your employees by ethnic group then please record these employees as "NK". Please use the following codes for ethnic origin. Submissions are not case-sensitive but please ensure that they are spelt as below:

• White
• Mixed
• Asian
• Black
• Other
• NK

Age

Please provide the employee's age as at 1 July 2025. If you only have the employee's date of birth then please enter it in the format dd/mm/yyyy and use the recalculate age function in the toolbar. Age should be a whole number. 

Disability

Please enter Y if the current post-holder has a physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more, N if they do not have such a condition or NK if the information is not available.

Sexual orientation

Please enter S if the current post-holder is straight/heterosexual, G if gay or lesbian, B if bisexual, O if any other sexual orientation or NK if the information is not known.

Full-time/part-time working (excluding retained)

Consistent with the Office for National Statistics’ definition this survey defines part-time employees as those who work less than standard full-time contracted hours.

Please enter FT for full-time employees and PT for part-time employees. Submissions are not case-sensitive but the coding (FT or PT) must be used.

Wholetime equivalent

To calculate an employee's WTE divide the hours worked by the employee during the survey pay period by the number of hours in the wholetime standard working week for their role, normally 42. wholetime Equivalent should be a number greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1. 

If an employee is working on a part-time basis please enter the proportion of a standard full time week they work. Please only show one decimal place e.g. an employee working 25 hours per week where the standard working week is 42 hours would be shown as 0.6 (25/42 = 0.595 rounded to one decimal place is 0.6).  Please enter a 1 in this column for all full-time employees.

Pay period

Please indicate the pay period covering each employee. This pay period should then be used in reference to all hours and pay data provided. Thus for weekly paid personnel all earnings and hours should relate to a week, for monthly paid all earnings and hours should relate to a month, etc. The pay periods are listed below; please use the codings provided below.

• One - One weekly
• Two - Two weekly
• Four - Four weekly
• Month - Calendar monthly

Basic hours

This section should be completed for personnel who have average basic working hours which differ from the nationally agreed 42 e.g. part-time personnel. Please use the average weekly hours rather than actual hours worked. The average weekly hours worked should be multiplied by the number of weeks in the pay period. (A standardised calendar month consists of 4.34 weeks). The hours should be shown as decimals and not actual hours and actual minutes, e.g. 36 hours and 45 minutes should be shown as 36.75 and not as 36.45. Please exclude any overtime worked during the pay period. 

Overtime hours

Enter the actual number of hours of overtime worked over the specific pay period for each employee, where applicable. For example, for 4 hours paid at time and a half, enter 4 not 6. The hours should be shown as decimals and not actual hours and actual minutes, e.g. 2 hours and 45 minutes should be shown as 2.75 and not as 2.45. 

Basic pay

The basic salary for the employee's pay period (not the annual salary) should be entered here. Please see below for inclusions and exclusions.

Include: pay before deductions for PAYE, National Insurance, pension schemes and voluntary deductions. All basic pay relating to the pay period. London and other area or fringe allowances. 

Exclude: all pay that relates to a different pay period, travel and subsistence expenses, and any overtime, flexible duty system supplement, and bonus or incentive pay.

This should be a number greater than 0 to two decimal places. Please ensure the number is entered as a figure and not as text. 

Continual professional development payments

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period. 

Additional responsibility allowance

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period.

Flexible duty system supplement

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period.

Overtime pay

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period. Please exclude payments for recall to duty or any pay for other reasons. 

Shift allowance

Enter the amount relating to any shift allowances (e.g. day crewing plus) paid to the employee in the pay period .

Other additional payments/allowances

Enter the amount of any other additional payments or allowances paid to the employee in the pay period, please enter the details of what the payments relate to in the relevant section on the 'Initial questions' sheet of the survey form.

Gross total pay

The total gross pay for the employees pay period (not the annual salary) should be entered here. Thus, this figure will be the sum of the Basic pay, Continual Professional Development payments, Additional Responsibility Allowance plus any other additional payments received during the survey pay period.  Please see below for inclusions and exclusions.

Include: pay before deductions for PAYE, National Insurance, pension schemes and voluntary deductions. All basic pay relating to the pay period. London and other area or fringe allowances. Any overtime, flexible duty system supplement, bonus or incentive pay and any other pay relating to the pay period.

Exclude: Abnormal payments such as advances or arrears of pay, additional pay for statutory holidays, holiday pay for holidays outside the pay period and reimbursement of travelling, subsistence or similar expenses incurred in carrying out employers’ business should be excluded. Therefore, if an employee is in receipt of back-pay these payments should be excluded from the form.

This should be a number greater than 0 to two decimal places. Please ensure the number is entered as a figure and not as text. 

Five per cent day-crewing annual retainer

Please enter a 1 in this column for if the employee is in receipt of a five per cent annual retainer for undertaking retained duties as part of the day crewing duty system.

Non-standard pay

Please enter a 1 in this column if the amount of pay received by the employee has been affected by sickness or maternity leave, unpaid leave, a salary sacrifice scheme, or if they started or left during the survey period resulting in them not being paid for the whole pay period.

Part B (Guidance)

Notes of guidance: Retained personnel

Timing

The data should relate to the pay period from 1 July 2025.

Scope

This section covers all retained personnel covered by the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (Grey Book). This should include employees who carry out RDS work under a dual/multi-contract and whose substantive position with you is in another role. Please do not include personnel on the day crewing duty system who undertake retained duties.

Completion of the form

On each line of the form the information relating to one post should be entered. Please only include posts whose incumbent received some payment in the pay period from 1 July 2025. If a particular piece of information is not available for any posts please leave the relevant field blank.

Role

Please enter the role in this column. Please ensure that you use the role title which equates to the annual salary rather than a locally used title and include 'control' where applicable.

Role titles:

• Firefighter
• Crew manager
• Watch manager
• Station manager
• Group manager
• Area manager

Sex

Please enter M if the current post-holder is male, F if the current post-holder is female or NK if the gender of the post-holder is not-known. Submissions are not case-sensitive but the coding (M, F or NK) must be used.

Gender identity

Please enter Y if the gender the current post-holder identifies with is the same as their sex registered at birth, N if it is different or NK if the information is not known.

Ethnic origin

The ethnic group codes to be used in this survey are a condensed version of the 2021 census classifications (the groups shown in bold below). Please refer to the list below to see which ethnic categories fall within each of the headings shown on the form.

White

• English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British
• Irish
• Gypsy or Irish Traveller
• Roma
• Any other White background

Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background

Asian or Asian British

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Chinese
• Any other Asian background

Black / African / Caribbean / Black British

• Black Caribbean
• Black African
• Any other Black / African / Caribbean background

Other ethnic group

• Arab
• Any other ethnic group

If you are unable to show some or all of your employees by ethnic group then please record these employees as "NK". Please use the following codes for ethnic origin. Submissions are not case-sensitive but please ensure that they are spelt as below:

• White
• Mixed
• Asian
• Black
• Other
• NK

Age

Please provide the employee's age as at 1 July 2025. If you only have the employee's date of birth then please enter it in the format dd/mm/yyyy and use the recalculate age function in the toolbar. Age should be a whole number. 

Disability

Please enter Y if the current post-holder has a physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more, N if they do not have such a condition or NK if the information is not available.

Sexual orientation

Please enter S if the current post-holder is straight/heterosexual, G if gay or lesbian, B if bisexual, O if any other sexual orientation or NK if the information is not known.

Pay period

Please indicate the pay period covering each employee. This pay period should then be used in reference to all hours and pay data provided. Thus for weekly paid personnel all earnings and hours should relate to a week, for monthly paid all earnings and hours should relate to a month, etc. The pay periods are listed below; please use the codings provided below.

• One - One weekly
• Two - Two weekly
• Four - Four weekly
• Month - Calendar monthly

Cover hours

The weekly hours of cover provided should be multiplied by the number of weeks in the pay period. (A standardised calendar month consists of 4.34 weeks). The hours should be shown as decimals and not actual hours and actual minutes, e.g. 85 hours and 45 minutes should be shown as 85.75 and not as 85.45.

Hours worked

The total number of hours for which payment for work activity has been made during the survey pay period. Work activity should include call outs, drill nights, attendance at training centres and all other pre-arranged work e.g. community fire safety. It should not include overtime. Please do not show the hours of availability because these will be shown under cover, therefore a retained firefighter who was not called out, undertook pre-arranged work, or attended any training during the survey period would have '0' in the worked column. The hours should be shown as decimals and not actual hours and actual minutes, e.g. 36 hours and 45 minutes should be shown as 36.75 and not as 36.45. 

Overtime worked hours

Enter the actual number of hours of overtime worked over the specific pay period for each employee, where applicable. For example, for 4 hours paid at time and a half, enter 4 not 6. The hours should be shown as decimals and not actual hours and actual minutes, e.g. 2 hours and 45 minutes should be shown as 2.75 and not as 2.45. 

Annual retainer

Please enter the portion of the annual retainer that was paid in monetary terms for the pay period. If the retainer is paid as a lump sum please enter the amount that would have covered the pay period e.g. 1/12 of the annual retainer for a pay period of one month.

Payment for work activity

Please enter the amount that was paid before deductions for PAYE, National Insurance, pension schemes and voluntary deductions for the pay period.

Include: Payment for work activity, compensation for remuneration lost and pay for attendance at training centres.

Exclude: Annual retainer, Continual Professional Development Payments, Additional Responsibilty Allowance and Disturbance payments, which should be listed separately. All pay that relates to a different pay period, travel and subsistence expenses.

Continual professional development payments

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period. 

Additional responsibility allowance

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period. 

Disturbance payments

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period. 

Overtime pay

Enter the amount paid to the employee in the pay period. Overtime rates of pay apply to employees on the retained duty system only where they work in excess of forty-two hours in a seven day period. Please exclude payments for recall to duty or any pay for other reasons. 

Gross total pay

The total gross pay for the employees pay period (not the annual salary) should be entered here. Please see below for inclusions and exclusions.

Include: pay before deductions for PAYE, National Insurance, pension schemes and voluntary deductions. The annual retainer and all payments for work activity relating to the pay period. London and other area or fringe allowances. Any overtime, continual professional development payments, additional responsibility allowance, disturbance payments and any other pay relating to the pay period i.e. all of the payments listed above plus any others relating to the pay period which are not listed.

Exclude: Abnormal payments such as advances or arrears of pay, additional pay for statutory holidays, holiday pay for holidays outside the pay period and reimbursement of travelling, subsistence or similar expenses incurred in carrying out employers’ business should be excluded. Therefore, if an employee is in receipt of back-pay these payments should be excluded from the form.

This should be a number greater than 0 to two decimal places. Please ensure the number is entered as a figure and not as text. 

Less than 100 per cent retainer

Please enter a 1 in this column if the employee is receiving a less than 100 per cent annual retainer, if they are paid on a locally agreed rate and work restricted hours, or if they started or left during the survey period resulting in them not being paid for the whole pay period.

Non-standard pay

Please enter a 1 in this column if the amount of pay received by the employee has been affected by sickness or maternity leave, unpaid leave, a salary sacrifice scheme, or if they started or left during the survey period resulting in them not being paid for the whole pay period.

To view more research from the LGA Research and Information team please visit: www.local.gov.uk/our-support/research