What would each promotion really do to your monthly pay?
Compare any two pay points after tax, National Insurance and pension. See the rank ladder, the pension band change, break-even on your costs, lifetime earnings and what waiting a year costs.
Your move
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Rank ladder: take-home per month
EnglandBefore and after, per year
Where each extra £1 of gross goes
| Basic | Overtime | Gross | Tax | NI | Pension | Net / month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Now: Firefighter Competent | £40,358 | £2,654 | £43,012 | £5,072 | £2,435 | £5,081 (12.59%) | £2,535 |
| Target: Crew Manager Competent | £44,742 | £2,942 | £47,684 | £5,762 | £2,809 | £6,304 (14.09%) | £2,734 |
Annualised 2026/27 estimate at NJC rates from 1 July 2026 (England). Pension band is chosen on gross including overtime and charged on basic plus additions. London Fire Brigade has its own pay scale: use the custom basic pay boxes. Acting-up and allowances are local: check your payslip.
Illustrative planning estimate based on published rules, not financial, legal, pension or tax advice. Your payroll record, contract and scheme administrator control your actual position.
What the planner shows you
Set your nation, current pay point and target pay point, and the planner works instantly. The Your move tab draws a rank ladder of estimated monthly take-home for every rank, with your current and target ranks highlighted and the pension contribution rate shown on each step, then splits the change into take-home, income tax, National Insurance and pension for both pay points and shows where each extra pound of gross pay goes. The Break-even tab charts your cumulative gain after the one-off and monthly costs of getting promoted. The Lifetime and timing tab compares cumulative take-home if you stay with cumulative take-home if you are promoted, and shows what waiting 12, 24 or 36 months costs. The Career ladder tab lets you set a pay point and years in role for every rank and charts the whole path.
Everything is recalculated as you type, defaults show a working example on first load, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere. The optional Promotion Prep Pack adds a three-route comparison, the pension effect in detail, an evidence bank built on the NFCC frameworks, practice answers with AI feedback, a 12-week plan and a printable briefing.
How the promotion pay planner works
Most promotion pay calculators stop at the headline salary gap. This planner goes further by converting each pay point into an estimated net monthly figure, because that is what your household actually feels. For each pay point it adds your entered pensionable additions and your monthly overtime hours priced at the NJC overtime rate for that pay point, then applies 2026/27 Income Tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or the Scottish bands), employee National Insurance and an estimated Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 member contribution.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere unless you choose to use the AI assistant or save a report. The existing promotion pay calculator remains the quickest way to compare two pay points; this planner adds the pension-band view, overtime-rate change, break-even on costs and the multi-step ladder.
Worked example: competent firefighter to competent crew manager
At 1 July 2026 NJC rates a competent firefighter earns £40,358 a year and a competent crew manager £44,742, a rise of £4,384. Assume 8 hours of overtime a month at each role's published rate (£27.65 per hour for a competent firefighter, £30.65 for a competent crew manager) and no other pensionable additions.
- Firefighter: gross about £43,012, pension band 12.59%, estimated take-home about £2,535 a month.
- Crew manager: gross about £47,684, pension band 14.09%, estimated take-home about £2,734 a month.
- Difference: about £4,672 more gross a year, but only about £199 more take-home a month, roughly £2,385 a year. About half of the extra gross goes on tax, National Insurance and the higher pension contribution.
The band change matters. In the FPS 2015 tiers used here, the contribution rate steps up at defined pay thresholds and applies to the whole of your pensionable pay. A promotion that crosses a threshold therefore costs more in contributions than the same rise entirely inside one band. You get that money back as pension accrual, so a higher contribution is not a pure loss, but it does reduce today's take-home.
Reading the ladder
The ladder table runs from Firefighter through Crew Manager, Watch Manager, Station Manager and Group Manager to Area Manager. For each rung you choose the pay point (for example Development, Competent A or Competent B) and the number of years you expect to spend there. The table then shows gross pay, net pay per month, the uplift from the previous step, the cumulative uplift against your starting rung, the pension band, the overtime rate, and cumulative years.
With the default pay points (competent firefighter, competent crew manager, Watch Manager Competent A, Station Manager Competent A, Group Manager Competent A, Area Manager Competent A) and 8 hours of overtime, monthly take-home moves from about £2,535 to about £2,734, £2,856, £3,252, £3,429 and £3,818. The biggest single step in these defaults is Watch Manager to Station Manager, roughly £396 a month. The Group Manager step looks small partly because no published NJC overtime rate is used at that rank, which removes the overtime element that lifted the earlier steps.
The line "extra net earned along the way" multiplies the years you spend at each rung by the annual net difference from your starting rung. It uses constant 2026/27 rates, so it ignores future pay awards, and it is a comparison tool rather than a forecast.
Years in role is an assumption, not a rule
There is no national promotion timetable. Vacancies, service structure, whether your service runs a talent pathway, your own readiness and the selection process determine how long you spend at each level. The defaults (4 years as firefighter, 3 as crew manager, 4 at each of watch and station manager and group manager) are only illustrative. Replace them with your own realistic dates, and try short and long versions to see how sensitive the cumulative figure is.
Break-even on acting-up and extra costs
Promotion can cost money before it pays. You may fund courses, travel to an assessment centre, study time or a longer commute. Enter one-off costs and extra monthly costs in the left-hand panel. The planner divides the one-off total by the monthly take-home gain after your extra monthly costs. If your costs are £600 and the gain is about £199 a month, break-even is about three months. If the monthly costs exceed the gain the planner will tell you the costs are not recovered.
Acting-up or temporary promotion is treated separately in the Grey Book and local agreements and is not automatically the full difference. If you expect a temporary arrangement, enter the actual monthly figure you have been told in writing rather than assuming the target pay point applies.
Common mistakes when judging a promotion
- Comparing gross with net. A £4,384 basic pay rise does not become £4,384 in your bank account. Compare take-home.
- Ignoring the pension band. Crossing a contribution threshold reduces take-home even though it builds pension.
- Assuming overtime carries over. Overtime eligibility and local arrangements can change on promotion, and the published overtime rate is not defined at the most senior pay points.
- Forgetting allowances. Flexible duty payments, London weighting and other additions are local. If you would lose or gain them, enter the difference in the pensionable additions box or use your payslip.
- Assuming development pay is permanent. Promotion usually starts at a development pay point before moving to competent. Choose the pay point you will actually be on in the first year.
- Treating a modelled break-even as a promise. Timing of pay awards and process outcomes are uncertain.
What to check before you decide
Confirm the pay point on the vacancy or contract, whether it starts at development, whether additions are pensionable, whether your overtime arrangements continue, and the date pay changes on your payslip. Your pension administrator can confirm your contribution band and any protection that applies to legacy scheme membership. Read the role guides for crew manager, watch manager and station manager, the overview of firefighter ranks and roles, and our guide on how to get promoted. If you also want to think about your wider career, see the Firefighter Career Suite.
Nations, schemes and limits
The NJC rates are national for firefighters covered by the Grey Book in England and Wales and are applied in Northern Ireland and Scotland in their own ways, and legacy pension schemes (1992, 2006) have different contribution structures. This planner models the FPS 2015 contribution tiers from the site's 2026/27 tax module only, and Scottish contribution tiers when you select Scotland. It does not model student loan, tax code differences, salary sacrifice, pension tapering or benefit-in-kind. It is an illustration, not payroll, tax or pension advice; your payslip and administrator records control.
Frequently asked questions
How much more do you take home after promotion from firefighter to crew manager?
Using the 1 July 2026 NJC rates, moving from competent firefighter (£40,358) to competent crew manager (£44,742) adds £4,384 of basic pay. With 8 hours of overtime a month at each role's published rate, gross pay rises by about £4,672 a year and estimated take-home by about £199 a month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, because tax, National Insurance and a higher pension band all bite on the increase. Use the planner to see your own figure.
Does promotion change my pension contribution rate?
It can. The Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 charges member contributions in tiers based on pensionable pay, so a pay rise can move you into a higher percentage on the whole of your contribution, not just the extra. The planner shows the tier before and after so you can see whether a band change is reducing the benefit of the pay rise. The band that applies to you is set by your scheme administrator.
Is overtime paid at a higher rate after promotion?
The published NJC overtime rate rises with each pay point up to Station Manager. The planner shows the change in pounds per hour. Group Manager and Area Manager pay points do not have a published NJC overtime rate in this dataset, so overtime is excluded for those ranks; check your contract and local arrangements.
How do I work out break-even on the cost of getting promoted?
Enter any one-off costs (course fees, travel to assessment, unpaid leave, study materials) and any monthly extra costs (longer commute, childcare changes). The planner divides the one-off costs by the monthly take-home gain after monthly costs to give the number of months to break even. If your monthly costs are larger than the gain, it will say the costs are not recovered.
What does acting up pay?
Payment for temporary promotion or acting up is governed by the Grey Book and your local agreement, and is not always the full difference to the next pay point. Treat the planner as a permanent-promotion comparison. If you are acting up, put your actual expected difference in the additions or costs boxes and check with payroll.
Why does the ladder use 'typical years in role'?
There is no national timetable for promotion: it depends on vacancies, selection processes and your service's development pathway. The years shown are editable illustrative assumptions that let you see cumulative uplift over a career path. Replace them with your own realistic timings.
Is this different from the promotion calculator?
Yes. The promotion calculator compares two pay points once. This planner adds the whole ladder from firefighter to area manager, the pension-band change, the overtime-rate change, net pay per month and a break-even on costs. Both use the same 2026/27 tax rules.
Are the figures the same in Scotland?
Basic pay follows the NJC rates but Scottish Income Tax bands and the Scottish firefighters' pension contribution tiers differ. Choose Scotland under where you pay tax for the Scottish calculation. Local rules and allowances still apply.
Does it work for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Yes, with limits. Pay points are the NJC rates. Scotland uses Scottish Income Tax bands and the Scottish FPS 2015 contribution tiers. England uses the England tiers. Wales and Northern Ireland use your own contribution rate (Wales defaults to 13.0%, the firefighter-grade rate since 1 September 2025, rising to 14.5% for the top three officer grades), because their contribution structures differ and are not tier-modelled here. Pension accrual uses each nation's FPS 2015 denominator: England 1/59.7, Wales 1/61.4, Scotland 1/61.6, Northern Ireland 1/64.8.
Can I use it in London Fire Brigade?
Yes, using the custom basic pay boxes. London Fire Brigade has its own pay scale (development £37,402, competent £47,991 and competent plus £49,223 under LFB Policy 558), so the planner does not apply the NJC table to LFB silently. Enter your current and target basic pay and it estimates overtime at 1.5 times basic divided by 2,190 hours. Check the result against your payslip.
What does the lifetime comparison show?
It adds up your estimated take-home month by month over the horizon you choose (3 to 30 years) for two paths: staying at your current pay point, or being promoted after the delay you set, optionally starting at a development pay point and stepping up to competent. The gap between the lines is your extra take-home after any costs. It uses constant 2026/27 tax and pay unless you set a pay-award growth rate.
How much does waiting for promotion cost?
The timing chart shows the same promotion happening now, after 12, 24 and 36 months. Each year you wait means a year fewer at the higher pay, so the cost of a year's delay is roughly one year of the monthly take-home gain. It is a comparison, not a forecast: vacancies and selection decide the real timing.
Sources and assumptions
- NJC firefighter pay rates from 1 July 2026 (Circular NJC/2/26): Local Government Association.
- Income Tax rates and bands, 2026/27: GOV.UK; Scottish rates: GOV.UK Scottish Income Tax.
- Employee National Insurance: GOV.UK.
- FPS 2015 member contribution tiers as implemented in this site's calculation module (see methodology); confirm your band with your scheme administrator.
- Assumptions: constant 2026/27 rates, overtime hours identical at every rank, pension band chosen on gross pay including overtime and charged on basic plus additions, years in role are illustrative.