Hours and Pay
On-Call Firefighters commence on a development rate of pay and will start to receive a retaining fee on successful completion of the initial On-Call training course .
Pay will remain at development rate of pay until deemed competent in the role.
The average time for a firefighter in development to achieve competence is between 18 and 24 months.
Rates of pay for development and competent On-Call Firefighters from 1st July 2025:
Pay | Development Rate of Pay | Competent Rate of Pay |
Annual retaining fee (paid on a monthly basis) | 100% retained* - £4558 per annum 80% retained* - £3798 per annum 60% retained* - £3038 per annum 40% retained* - £2279 per annum 20% retained* - £1519 per annum | 100% retained* - £5832 per annum 80% retained* - £4860 per annum 60% retained* - £3888 per annum 40% retained* - £2916 per annum 20% retained* - £1944 per annum |
Training and development fee | £41.61 per drill night | £63.25 per drill night |
Turnout fee | £18.99 per turnout | £22.87 per turnout |
Hourly rate | £13.87 per hour | £17.75 per hour |
Attendance fee | £12.06 per hour | £14.00 per attendance |
· 100% are those who offer 120 hours or more of availability each week
· 80% are those who offer between 91 and 119 hours per week
· 60% are those who offer between 61 and 90 hours per week
· 40% are those who offer between 31 and 60 hours per week
· 20% are those who offer 30 hours or less per week.
On-Call Hours
On-Call Firefighters provide ‘on-call’ cover for an agreed number of hours a week (referred to as their ‘availability’); they carry an alerter and must be able to get to the fire station typically within five minutes of a call during their agreed hours of availability. Many on-call Firefighters respond to emergency calls from home and others, respond from their place of work with agreement from their employers.
In addition to providing on-call hours, On-call firefighters are required to attend drill nights once a week. Drill nights last for three hours and this time is used to develop skills and training.
On-Call Firefighters are required to be available to respond to a fire station within five minutes of being called and it is only in exceptional circumstances that the Service can extend this response time. One of the factors that would allow the discretionary extension of response times is the current staffing levels in each station and the station location, however, the Service has to consider all risks and resilience options available on an individual basis.
If you have other permanent employment then you must discuss your application with your main employer and gain their agreement fo you to undertake the role of an On-Call Firefighter. This applies even if you will not be providing cover during your normal working hours.
For further information about On-call Firefighting please visit the On-Call Firefighters page.