Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services NJC - a self-led review by the National Employers

The ‘National Employers’ is the name given to the employers’ side of the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (NJC LFRS) and is made up of 14 elected members (councillors or board members) representing fire and rescue services across the UK. 

Members of the National Employers are appointed by:

• the Local Government Association
• the Board of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
• the Welsh Local Government Association
• the Board of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue service.

A reflective self-led review by the National Employers

In 2024 the National Employers conducted an internal self-led review of the employers’ side of the NJC. While there had been wider political debate about the NJC itself, the National Employers were keen to understand the elements of criticism within their control and seek to make improvements there.

The review was undertaken by the National Employers with assistance from an external consultant who carried out the research and facilitated focus groups with key stakeholders. 

The employee side of the NJC did not participate in the review, nor did the scope of the project attempt to comment on the employee side/structure of the NJC, that being a matter for the employee side.

'A Reflective Self-Led Review by the National Employers' reviews the feedback received and outlines what currently works well and what improvements can be identified in three key areas:

1. Consultation and input – how does engagement currently operate? Are NJC decision makers hearing all the views they need? Are there improved mechanisms that can improve the collection of views and facilitate their conclusions?
2. Transparency – how are these considerations captured, explained and justified? Is there more that should be done in this space? How does it compare to other models of pay decision making?
3. Collective bargaining models – can we learn from other models of national or local bargaining? What are the costs and experiences and what can we learn from alternative models of industrial relations?

A key thread running through the review also sought to improve the shared understanding of the purpose, approach and accountability of the NJC – it remains an on-going offer from the secretariat to share with any interested party how the NJC works, how it has developed and why it is organised the way it is.

In completing this process, the National Employers created an action plan of issues arising from the self-led review which is available below and will be updated periodically.

Reflecting on this project in July 2025, Employers side Chair Dr Kirsty Darwent said: 

What did we learn from the self-led review?

The National Employers learned the importance of bringing the sector with them, of explaining the narrative and setting out the rationale. We learned the importance of explaining and sharing, of taking the time to ensure colleagues understand how things work and why our processes and procedures are as they are. 

The self-led review exposed many misconceptions and misunderstandings about how the NJC works and we are resolute we must work to ensure that CFOs, HR leads, and Fire Authority Chairs have access to information and learning that helps grow understanding about how the NJC works and how they can engage. We own that feedback and that responsibility, and it is part of our action plan to support this learning.

For the National Employers, we recognise the need for reform and modernisation. Our strategy in recent years has been to effectively clear the space in the industrial relations agenda and to develop the mutual trust required between the national partners to genuinely deliver reform. 

The Grey Book itself has been long overdue a technical update, incorporating circulars and demystifying the national terms and conditions. We delivered that this year, and this gives us a clear starting point for more detailed talks.  From here we intend to embark on pay structure reform, on which we have a shared commitment, and a shared agenda agreed at NJC. 

For our part, our challenge is to really learn the lessons from the past, not just from previous attempts at delivering reform, but learning from the more challenging feedback during the self-led review. That means working on our narrative and our engagement, ensuring we can test and evidence the case for change, and doing all we can to bring the sector with us. Too much of the focus group discussions centred on the overarching tension between organisations, or tensions between the operational world and the governance world. But as any expert in effective teamwork will tell you, you cannot all think the same and you should not always agree. 

That challenge and creative dissonance of a UK-wide Fire and Rescue Service, the interplay of local, national and international, of employers, unions, elected members and appointed officials, of prevention and response - all makes the sector what it is, and why we remain so proud of it. 

None of this is easy, but we look forward to the challenging agenda ahead of us, and the opportunities therein. We are glad we took this time to look inwardly, to reflect and to ask ourselves to do better. Our task now is to take this learning with us as we move forward. 

Dr Kirsty Darwent
Chair of the National Employers
July 2025