How on-call firefighter pay works: the four elements
Under the Grey Book retained duty system, pay is built from separate elements rather than one wage. The annual retainer pays you for making yourself available. A disturbance payment recognises the interruption when you are called out. Work activity payments are made at an hourly rate for the time you spend on incidents and other authorised work, and a training payment covers scheduled drill and course attendance. Services may add local availability bands, allowances or rules through the contract they issue.
The retainer is expressed as a percentage of the matching wholetime annual basic pay. Because wholetime pay rose 3.8% from 1 July 2026, the retainer and hourly rates rose with it. The important idea is that the retainer is a payment for availability, not for hours worked: full cover means committing to at least 120 hours of cover in the week, but you are not paid a wage for those 120 hours.
The NFCC describes on-call pay as depending on development stage, hours covered, incidents attended, community work and training completed, which matches this structure. The practical consequence is that two people with the same contract can earn quite different annual amounts if one covers a busy station and the other a quiet rural one.
The 2026 on-call rates in full
The table shows the national 2026 figures for firefighter and the main manager roles. The retainer columns are calculated from the wholetime salary at 15% (full cover) and 5% (day-crewing retainer). The hourly column is the rate paid for work activity. Overtime does not apply to normal retained work activity; it is a separate wholetime concept covered in firefighter overtime rates.
Use the figures as a baseline. Where a service has agreed local terms, for example a different availability structure, a bespoke drill payment or supplements for hard-to-fill stations, your contract will say so. Ask the recruiting service for a sample pay calculation for your likely availability rather than relying on national numbers alone.
| Role and stage | Full retainer (15%) | Day-crewing retainer (5%) | Work activity per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighter – development | £4,731 | £1,577 | £14.40 |
| Firefighter – competent | £6,054 | £2,018 | £18.43 |
| Crew manager – development | £6,434 | £2,145 | £19.59 |
| Crew manager – competent | £6,711 | £2,237 | £20.43 |
| Watch manager – development | £6,857 | £2,286 | £20.87 |
| Watch manager – competent A | £7,047 | £2,349 | £21.45 |
| Watch manager – competent B | £7,505 | £2,502 | £22.85 |
Source: NJC Circular 2/26. Published disturbance payment: £5.31 per occasion. Higher manager roles follow the same percentages.
Retainer bands: what if I cannot give full cover?
Many people cannot commit to 120 hours a week around a main job. The Grey Book provides lower retainer bands for reduced cover, and services set which bands they use. The NJC wording is that full cover is at least 120 hours a week for 15% of the annual wholetime basic pay; for reduced cover the retainer steps down through 12.5% (91 to 119 hours), 10% (61 to 90 hours), 7.5% (31 to 60 hours) and 5% (up to 30 hours).
The table below applies those percentages to the 2026 competent and development salaries. Treat it as an illustration of the national structure: the bands your service offers, and any minimum cover it requires, appear in your contract and the recruitment pack. Reduced cover lowers the retainer but not your hourly activity pay, so a lower-availability firefighter at a busy station can still earn from incidents.
Availability matters to the service as well as to your pay. An on-call station has to be crewed during the hours it is meant to be available, so recruits with limited availability may be needed for specific times of day. See on-call firefighter availability for how services think about cover.
| Weekly cover | Percentage | Competent (£40,358) | Development (£31,539) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120+ hours (full cover) | 15% | £6,054 | £4,731 |
| 91–119 hours | 12.5% | £5,045 | £3,942 |
| 61–90 hours | 10% | £4,036 | £3,154 |
| 31–60 hours | 7.5% | £3,027 | £2,365 |
| Up to 30 hours | 5% | £2,018 | £1,577 |
Percentages as published in the NJC Scheme of Conditions; check which bands your service applies. Figures rounded to the nearest pound.
Worked examples: what an on-call firefighter might earn in a year
The examples below are illustrations, not promises. They use the 2026 rates, treat the £5.31 disturbance payment as applying once per call-out occasion as published in the national table, and assume no other allowances. Real income depends on local incident numbers and contract terms.
Example 1: competent, full cover, busier station
A competent firefighter provides full cover. They attend 2 hours of drill every week (104 hours a year), and respond to 80 incidents in the year with an average paid duration of 1.5 hours. The retainer is £6,054. Drill pays 104 × £18.43 = £1,916.72. Each incident earns £5.31 plus 1.5 × £18.43 = £27.65, a total of £32.96 (rounded), so 80 incidents earn about £2,636. The annual total is about £10,607, roughly £884 a month, gross.
Example 2: competent, full cover, quiet station
The same person at a quieter station attends 30 incidents averaging 1 hour. Incidents earn 30 × (£5.31 + £18.43) = £712.20. With the £6,054 retainer and £1,916.72 of drill pay, the total is about £8,683 a year, roughly £724 a month, gross. The retainer forms about 70% of the income: this is why availability, not call volume alone, drives on-call pay.
Example 3: development firefighter, 61–90 hour cover
A development firefighter provides 75 hours of cover a week (10% band), so the retainer is £3,154. Drill for 104 hours at £14.40 pays £1,497.60. Forty incidents averaging one hour earn 40 × (£5.31 + £14.40) = £788.40. The total is about £5,440 a year, or £453 a month, gross. As the firefighter becomes competent the same pattern would rise because both retainer and hourly rates increase.
Tax, National Insurance and pension on on-call pay
On-call earnings are employment income, so they are taxed through PAYE. If on-call is your only job, your personal allowance of £12,570 in 2026/27 normally covers the first part of it; Example 2's £8,683 would be below the allowance and below the National Insurance primary threshold, so no income tax or employee National Insurance would be due before any pension contribution.
If on-call is a second job, the picture changes. Your main employer usually uses your personal allowance, and the fire service is likely to tax your on-call pay at the basic rate using a tax code such as BR. That means 20% Income Tax on the whole amount. For Example 2, that would be about £1,737 tax, leaving roughly £6,946 before pension. Employee National Insurance is calculated separately for each employment, so on-call pay below the annual primary threshold of £12,570 in that employment would not attract it. Your total PAYE position can be corrected at year end, so check your tax code and see firefighter second jobs.
Pension is separate again. On-call firefighters can be eligible for the firefighters' pension scheme, and contribution and accrual depend on pensionable pay and the rules in your scheme; see our FPS 2015 guide and contribution rates. The on-call firefighter pension guide covers eligibility in more detail. Ask the service how pensionable pay is defined for on-call staff and whether joining is automatic.
Free toolPlan a year of on-call earningsModel different availability bands, drill hours and incident volumes, then see the tax-adjusted result.Open the earnings planner →Other terms: holiday, sickness, age and fitness
The NFCC states that the minimum age for on-call firefighters is 18 with no maximum age limit, and that applicants must pass a bleep test and the Chester treadmill test. Holiday entitlement typically starts at four weeks a year, rising to five weeks after five years' service. Training is provided throughout employment, including driver training, and fitness is regularly re-assessed.
Employer agreement is a practical point that catches people out. If you are employed elsewhere you normally need your main employer to let you leave work to attend emergencies. The NFCC provides guidance that employers can use to understand the arrangement. Ask about it early because a refusal can make a role unworkable regardless of pay.
Sick pay, notice, and rest requirements are set in your contract and the Grey Book, not by the pay table, so read them before accepting a role. If you also hold other work, working-time limits and fatigue after night call-outs should be considered together; our guide to shift patterns and working time explains how the 42-hour week applies to wholetime staff and why on-call fatigue is a different calculation.
On-call versus wholetime: what is the real earnings gap?
A competent wholetime firefighter is paid £40,358 a year for full-time duty. The three on-call examples above range from about £5,400 to £10,600. On-call is not designed as a full-time income, and the extra work is fitted around your main job, so the two should not be compared as like for like. The better comparison is hourly commitment: an on-call firefighter may spend a small number of hours on paid activity each week while remaining available for many more.
For people who want a full-time career, on-call service is often a route rather than an alternative. The National Careers Service lists on-call work as one of the routes to becoming a firefighter, and many services encourage on-call firefighters to apply for wholetime vacancies, though there is no automatic transfer. Our guides on becoming a firefighter and how to become an on-call firefighter set out the route and what to expect from selection.
If you want to see the full pay picture across duty systems, use the pay calculator for wholetime take-home pay, and the on-call pay calculator for retained income. For more worked annual scenarios see on-call firefighter annual earnings examples.
PremiumOn-call planner reportA paid planner that builds a personalised on-call income, tax and pension projection from your own availability and contract.See the on-call planner →What to check in an on-call contract or payslip
Before you accept a role, ask for the availability band and minimum cover in writing, the retainer percentage and monetary value, the hourly rates for drill and incidents, how the disturbance payment is calculated and paid, when payroll pays activity claims, and how pensionable pay is defined. A good service will provide a worked example.
On your payslip, look for the retainer line, activity and training lines, and disturbance payments. Payroll may pay activity a month in arrears, so an incident this month can appear next month. If you think a claim is missing, keep a record of incident numbers and times and ask your station manager or payroll for a breakdown. The payslip checker helps you sense-check deductions.
- Confirm your weekly availability band and the retainer percentage in writing.
- Convert the retainer to a monthly figure by dividing by 12.
- Check drill and incident pay against the hourly rate for your role and stage.
- Check that each call-out includes the disturbance payment your contract specifies.
- Confirm your tax code, especially if on-call is a second job.
- Ask what counts as pensionable pay and whether you are enrolled.
Frequently asked questions
How much do on-call firefighters get paid in the UK?
There is no salary. A competent on-call firefighter on full cover receives a £6,054 annual retainer from 1 July 2026 plus £18.43 an hour for work activity and £5.31 per call-out occasion. Typical annual totals depend on drill hours and incidents.
How much does a retained firefighter earn per year?
It varies widely. Our worked examples give roughly £5,400 for a development firefighter on reduced cover and £8,700 to £10,600 for a competent firefighter on full cover, before tax. Your station's call volume and your contract determine the real figure.
Do on-call firefighters get paid while waiting at home?
The retainer pays for being available. It is a fixed annual amount, not an hourly wage for the waiting time. Work at incidents, drill and training is then paid separately at the hourly rate.
Is on-call firefighter pay taxed?
Yes, it is employment income. If it is your only income, your personal allowance may cover a lot of it. If it is a second job it is often taxed at 20% under a basic-rate code, with National Insurance calculated separately per employment.
What is the difference between retained and on-call firefighter?
Nothing in practice. Retained duty system, retained and on-call all describe firefighters who respond from home or work when alerted. Services now mostly use the term on-call.
Can I be an on-call firefighter with another job?
Yes, and most are. You need an employer willing to release you for emergencies, and you should check your main contract and working-time limits. The NFCC provides guidance for employers about the arrangement.
Do on-call firefighters get a pension?
On-call firefighters can be eligible for the firefighters' pension scheme, but contribution and accrual depend on pensionable pay and scheme rules. Ask the service how joining works and what counts as pensionable pay.
What age can you become an on-call firefighter?
The NFCC gives a minimum age of 18 and no maximum age limit, but you must pass the fitness assessments, including the bleep test and Chester treadmill test.