Pay Policy Statement for 2026/27

Introduction

In accordance with the Localism Act 2011 (Chapter 8 Sections 38 to 43) Lancashire Fire Authority is required to produce a pay policy for each financial year. These statements must articulate an authority’s own policies towards a range of issues relating to the pay of its workforce, particularly its senior staff (or ‘chief officers’) and its lowest paid employees. The pay policy statement must be prepared for each financial year, and they must be approved by members of the Fire and Rescue Authority and published.

Any decision under powers delegated to the Authority’s Constitution with regard to remuneration to be taken in 2026/27 will be bound by and must comply with the 2026/27 Statement.

The Director of People and Development (DoPD) must be consulted prior to any decision impacting on remuneration where there is any question regarding compliance with the Statement.

In general terms the Fire Authority recognises terms and conditions negotiated nationally by the National Employers with the National Employees’ bodies for three distinct staff groups. These are:

· National Joint Council for Brigade Managers (referred to in Lancashire Fire Authority as Principal Officers) of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (commonly referred to as ‘Gold Book’);

· National Joint Council for Local Government Services (commonly referred to as ‘Green Book’);

· National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (commonly referred to as ‘Grey Book’).

Under the definitions provided for within the Act, the officers included in this pay statement are the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO), Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO), Director of Corporate Services (DoCS) and Director of People & Development (DoPD).

The Treasurer responsibilities are undertaken by the DoCS.

The Monitoring Officer duties are undertaken by the Clerk to the Authority who is engaged on a contract for services basis. Monitoring Officer duties are currently being reconsidered by the Authority and will be approved by the Authority in due course.

Changes from national negotiations generally take place each year, in July (Gold Book), April (Green Book) and July (Grey Book). The Fire Authority’s policy is to implement national agreements, amended as needed to meet local needs.

A chosen natural internal benchmark for Chief Officer pay is the percentage rise in firefighters pay. This is the standard for most of the staff within the Service and has been deemed affordable and proportionate by the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services. It has previously been agreed that the Chief Fire Officer’s pay with the established linkages to the other Executive Board members should rise by the same amount as NJC for grey book when they receive their annual pay award.

No bonus payments are made to Executive Board members.

Information relating to chief officers pay and benefits in kind is found in the Fire Authority’s Statement of Accounts and on the Authority’s website.

Objectives of the Policy

The Fire Authority attracts and retains a competent, motivated and well led workforce, to meet current and future organisational needs and to be an employer of choice with improved working practices, work life balance, personal development, health and well-being and fair pay. We are committed to striving to achieve fairness in pay and reward structures across all occupational groups considering all the employment relationships that exist.

Pay increases in 2025/26 were:

3.2% for staff covered by the “grey book” (with effect from 1 July 2025).

3.2% for Principal Officers (with effect from 1 July 2025) in accordance with the agreed linkage to “grey book” staff.

3.2% for staff covered by the “green book staff” (with effect from 1 April 2025). In addition, all locally agreed pay points above the maximum of the national pay spine were increased by 3.2%.

In addition to pay, the national agreements cover other terms and conditions such as annual leave and allowances for use of private vehicles on Authority business. The Authority pays car allowances in accordance with these national scales.

There are two Pension schemes in existence: the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 2015 and the Local Government Pension Scheme. Some employees retain legacy scheme pension membership in the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (which became closed to new entrants in 2006) or the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (which became closed to new entrants on establishment of the 2015 scheme). All firefighters are now members of the 2015 Firefighters Pension Scheme, which has a normal retirement age of 60.

All employees may join a pension scheme which is relevant to their occupational group. The operative schemes are statutory schemes with contributions from employers and the employees.

The Local Government Pension Scheme provides for flexible retirement for which the Fire Authority has approved a Policy statement.

The Firefighters’ Pension Schemes allow for re-engagement after retirement. Any utilisation of this option is subject to approval by the Authority based on a business case and demonstrated need and may involve abatement of pension benefit where appropriate.

As part of the 2015 national pay agreement for Grey Book staff the trainee grade was removed. There are therefore now two pay grades for Grey Book staff (development and competent). There is a spinal column point and grading system for Green Book staff, the policy is to start any appointee on the lowest point of the pay grade, save for where an applicant brings specific skills or experience to a post, they then progress through the points until the maximum grade. In respect of Gold Book staff, they are appointed within a grade range of points and progress by incremental progression subject to annual performance reviews until the maximum of the range is reached on a similar basis.

The “green book” grading is determined and underpinned by the Local Government Job Evaluation Scheme. The salaries utilised are above the ‘living wage’. The Service has a Market Supplements Policy, which covers all posts, and where evidence exists of recruitment and retention issues, allows the Service to make any additional payments to reflect the market rate. This is reviewed regularly to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and is of particular importance in times of challenging recruitment and retention.

Delegated powers for the payment of honoraria lie with the Chief Fire Officer.

Individual Chief Officers

Changes to chief officer salaries are approved by the Fire Authority.

The chief officers are conditioned to the Gold Book terms and conditions of employment.

A facility exists for the chief officers (either singularly or collectively) to present a case to the Authority (via the Chair) for a salary increase based on evidence, the overall performance of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and an annual appraisal. This is in line with the ‘two-track’ approach for determining levels of pay for Brigade Managers, as detailed within the ‘Gold Book’ sixth edition 2025.

Lancashire Fire Authority does not operate a bonus scheme or performance related pay for chief officers.

Chief Officers may claim reimbursement for expenses incurred in the course of carrying out their duties.

Chief Fire Officer (CFO) - £181,456

The post holder is a member of the 2015 Firefighters Pension Scheme and has two further increments before reaching the maximum of the salary range.

The current remuneration for this post on recruitment is between £178,272 and £184,637 per annum.

The Chief Fire Officer has a provided car to enable the duties of the post to be performed.

The provisions for redundancy are the statutory payments for redundancy.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) – £171,904

The post holder is a member of the 2015 Firefighters’ Pension Scheme and has reached the maximum of the salary range.

The current remuneration for this post on recruitment is between £165,538 - £171,904 per annum.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer has a provided car to enable the duties of the post to be performed.

The provisions for redundancy are the statutory payments for redundancy.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) - £142,617

The post holder is a member of the 2015 Firefighters’ Pension Scheme and has two further increments before reaching the maximum of the salary range.

The current remuneration for this post on recruitment is between £140,070 and £146,438 per annum.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer has a provided car to enable the duties of the post to be performed.

The provisions for redundancy are the statutory payments for redundancy.

Director of People and Development (DoPD) - £103,200

The post holder is a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme and has two further increments before reaching the maximum of the salary range.

The current remuneration for this post on recruitment is between £98,040 and £113,520 per annum.

There is no provision to utilise the car leasing scheme nor is any car allowance paid. Any mileage reimbursement utilises the casual user arrangement.

The post holder is entitled to discretionary entitlements in relation to redundancy which include average weekly pay with a multiplier of 2.2 applied and in exceptional cases augmentation of pensionable service to the maximum of 3 years. These provisions apply to all staff eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Treasurer/Director of Corporate Services (DoCS) - £108,360

The post holder is a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme and has one further increment before reaching the maximum of the salary range.

The current remuneration for this post on recruitment is between £98,040 and £113,520 per annum.

There is no provision to utilise the car leasing scheme nor is any car allowance paid. Any mileage reimbursement utilises the casual car user arrangements.

The Clerk to the Authority

The monitoring officer activity is undertaken under a contract for services, the cost being £15,150 per annum, this is subject to review this year.

Recruitment of New Officers

The Fire Authority takes the opportunity in year to review the salaries of the senior officer grouping to determine whether the salary range should be adjusted prior to advert.

Pay Floor

The definition of the ‘lowest paid employee’ is that postholder receiving the lowest (full-time equivalent) annual salary (exclusive of Employer pension contributions).

The pay floor level is our Green Book Grade 2 posts (Cooks, Receptionists and Gardener/handypersons) who are on a scale of £25,583 to £25,989 per annum. £25,583 equates to £13.53 per hour. The minimum a current employee is receiving is £25,583.

The Chief Fire Officer’s earnings ratio is 1:7.09 using the minima of pay grade 2.

The government statement is a recommendation that this ratio should not exceed 1:25.

As a further comparison, the ratio between a competent firefighter with continuing professional development (CPD) and the maximum salary for the Chief Fire Officer is 1:4.56.