Firefighter maternity and paternity leave: 26 weeks full pay

What the Grey Book guarantees for maternity, paternity and adoption leave

Family leave for firefighters is set in Section 3, Part D of the NJC Scheme of Conditions of Service (the Grey Book), which covers maternity, childcare and dependency. The wording says the provisions are minima that may be enhanced locally and must not be construed as less favourable than statutory rights. Employers should have policies reflecting these provisions and any local enhancements, and copies should be openly available to employees.

The Grey Book applies its maternity provisions to everyone who is due to give birth or has given birth, including trans and non-binary people. It covers time off for antenatal care, maternity leave and pay, keeping in touch days, the right to return, maternity support leave (which incorporates paternity leave), adoption leave, unpaid parental leave, flexible working and time off for dependants.

The pay terms were improved nationally in 2024. An FBU circular dated 3 July 2024 records that the provision was extended to 26 weeks at full pay followed by SMP for 13 weeks, for employees with at least one year’s continuous service who intend to return to work, and that services may need to review local practices to see whether further change is needed. Because of that flexibility, some services pay more than the national minimum. Always check your local policy.

Maternity pay: how the 26 + 13 weeks work

The Grey Book gives everyone 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks of additional maternity leave, a right to one year in total. Maternity leave can start no earlier than eleven weeks before the expected week of childbirth (EWC) and, if it has not started by the birth, it starts the day after. Pay depends on service. Someone with less than a year’s continuous local government service at the start of the eleventh week before the EWC receives Statutory Maternity Pay only.

With at least a year’s continuous local government service at that point, the pay is: full pay offset against SMP (or Maternity Allowance if not eligible for SMP) for the first six weeks; then, where you have declared an intention to return to work, a further twenty weeks at full pay offset against SMP or MA, then SMP if eligible for a further thirteen weeks. If you do not intend to return, the entitlement after the first six weeks is SMP only, for the next 33 weeks.

The full-pay weeks come with a condition. Payments under the intention-to-return option are on the understanding that you return for at least three months, which the service can vary for good cause. If you do not return, the service may require you to refund all or part of the payments, but payments made as SMP are not refundable. Pay for these purposes is the amount payable for working your normal hours in a week.

Worked example: what the Grey Book scheme is worth

To see what the national terms add, compare them with the statutory minimum for a competent firefighter on the July 2026 rate of £40,358 a year. Dividing by 52.143 gives about £774 a week. GOV.UK gives Statutory Maternity Pay as 90% of average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks.

On statutory pay alone: six weeks at 90% of £774 (about £697 a week) is about £4,180, and 33 weeks at £194.32 is about £6,413, so roughly £10,590 across 39 weeks. On the Grey Book scheme with a year’s service and intention to return: 26 weeks at full pay is about £20,120 in total (SMP counts towards this rather than being added on top), and the following 13 weeks at £194.32 is about £2,526, so about £22,650 across 39 weeks.

These figures are before tax, National Insurance and pension contributions, and they use one week’s pay as the base. Contributions to the pension scheme continue on the pay you actually receive. If your service pays 52 weeks of full pay locally, the numbers will be higher, and if you started a role recently, your service history may change which column applies. Use them to plan, not as a promise, and ask HR for a written illustration.

Pregnancy, risk assessment and returning to operational duty

The Grey Book asks employers to treat pregnancy as part of everyday life and to manage health and safety through the usual risk assessment process. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a risk assessment for new or expectant mothers, and temporary adjustments to working arrangements may be needed. Pregnant employees should normally stay on their watch or in their department unless an individual risk assessment says otherwise.

If medical advice is that you can no longer perform your current duties or work your current pattern of hours, you must be consulted immediately about changes, and you continue to receive your normal pay. The same applies on return: there may be a period when a different pattern or duties are appropriate on medical advice, and normal pay continues. Pregnant employees are entitled to paid time off for antenatal care, including relaxation and parentcraft classes.

Check your pay through the payslip checker and pay scales, and see fire service benefits and perks. Before you go back to operational firefighting, the Grey Book says you should attend a health check with the occupational health unit. Ten keeping in touch days are available during maternity leave by agreement, paid at normal hourly pay for hours worked in addition to SMP for that week. Many services also offer fitness support on return; see our guide to staying fit as a serving firefighter.

Maternity support leave (paternity leave) for partners and nominated carers

The Grey Book calls paternity leave maternity support leave. An employee who is the child’s father, the expectant mother’s spouse or partner, or her nominated carer is entitled to a week’s paid maternity support leave, meaning seven consecutive days free from duty. If they have at least 26 weeks’ continuous local government service at the fourteenth week before the EWC, they are entitled to a further week, taken immediately after the first, which is paid in accordance with Statutory Paternity Pay where eligible. The provisions also apply to an adoptive mother or father not taking adoption leave.

GOV.UK gives the statutory weekly rate of Paternity Pay as £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, with statutory paternity leave being two weeks. GOV.UK’s eligibility page currently lists a 26-week continuous employment test up to the qualifying week and a minimum average weekly earnings figure, and says leave itself is available from the first day of employment. The government has been reforming statutory family leave, so check GOV.UK for the current qualifying rules before you rely on them.

Partners also have time-off rights before the birth. An employee with a qualifying relationship to the pregnant woman or the expected child is entitled to unpaid time off of up to six and a half hours on no more than two occasions to accompany her to antenatal appointments. Employers may also give sympathetic consideration to reasonable time off for partners to attend antenatal classes. Shared Parental Leave and Pay is a separate statutory route that lets eligible parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay.

Adoption leave, parental leave and time off for dependants

Adoption leave follows the same shape as maternity leave. An employee newly matched with a child by an adoption agency, with at least 26 weeks’ continuous local government service ending with the week in which they are notified of the match, is entitled to up to 26 weeks’ ordinary and 26 weeks’ additional adoption leave, one year in total. In the first week they receive full pay offset by Statutory Adoption Pay, and for the following 38 weeks Statutory Adoption Pay if eligible. Leave can start from the placement date or a fixed date up to fourteen days before it.

Unpaid parental leave of up to eighteen calendar weeks is available to an employee who has completed initial training (or has at least a year’s service if that is sooner) and is a parent or holds parental responsibility, following the birth or adoption of a child. It requires at least 21 days’ notice, can be postponed for pressing operational reasons for no longer than six months, and must be taken by the child’s eighteenth birthday.

The Grey Book also gives a right to reasonable unpaid time off for dependants in an emergency, for example when a dependant falls ill, care arrangements break down, or a child’s school raises an unexpected incident. Formal flexible working requests are dealt with under the statutory framework. Where the baby is stillborn after 24 weeks, the maternity provisions continue to apply, and for a miscarriage before 24 weeks the employer should give sympathetic consideration and grant special leave or sick leave as appropriate.

• Adoption: up to 52 weeks in total, first week full pay offset by Statutory Adoption Pay, then SAP if eligible
• Parental leave: up to eighteen calendar weeks unpaid, at least 21 days’ notice
• Time off for dependants: reasonable unpaid time off in an emergency
• Premature birth: the employer should consider the case on its merits and may extend maternity leave

How family leave interacts with annual leave, sickness and pension

The Grey Book links family leave to other entitlements in useful ways. Maternity leave counts as service for annual leave and is not treated as sick leave, so it does not eat into sick pay. If you are on ordinary or additional maternity leave on a public holiday, you are granted a day in lieu. Contractual benefits such as a mobile phone with permitted personal use and car allowances continue during maternity and adoption leave. See our guide to firefighter annual leave for the leave scales.

Pension is a separate question that depends on your scheme rules. Contributions are calculated on the pay you actually receive, and the effect of a period of maternity or reduced pay on benefits, including any ability to buy back lost pension, is set by the scheme regulations and your administrator. Use our pension calculator for a first look and ask your administrator for the exact position. Our guide to part-time firefighter pay is also relevant if you ask to return on reduced hours.

If you are returning to a different duty system, or asking for a change to accommodate childcare, read firefighter shift patterns and day-crewing and LLAR duty systems to understand the options, and remember that the Grey Book says duty systems should be family friendly and reflect the special circumstances of individual employees.

Step-by-step: planning your leave and pay

Planning early gives you time to check the details and avoid surprises. The steps below follow the Grey Book’s notice rules, but your own service policy will say exactly which forms and dates it uses.

1. Read your service’s maternity, adoption or paternity policy and check whether it enhances the national terms.
2. Tell your line manager as soon as you can after you know of the pregnancy so the risk assessment can begin.
3. Give formal notice at least 21 days before your absence starts, stating the expected week of childbirth and the leave start date.
4. Ask HR for a written pay illustration showing full-pay, SMP and unpaid weeks, plus any pension effect.
5. Decide whether to use keeping in touch days (up to ten) and agree them with your manager.
6. Give the required notice before returning early, and book an occupational health check before returning to operational duty.