How does the payment system work?
On Call Firefighters are paid two retaining fees per year, one in June and the second in December, the retaining fee that On Call staff receive is based on the average amount of availability they have provided in the preceding six months
On Call Firefighter in County Durham & Darlington on average provides 60-80 hours per week.
The below retaining fees are based on what you would receive per annum for the cover shown.
| Hours | 30 | 31-60 | 61-90 | 91-119 | 120+ |
| Percentage | 5% | 7.5% | 10% | 12.5% | 120+ |
| Trainee | £1413 | £2120 | £2827 | £3533 | £4240 |
| Development | £1472 | £2208 | £2944 | £3680 | £4416 |
| Competent | £1884 | £2826 | £3768 | £4709 | £5651 |
On-call firefighters receive an hourly rate of pay for conducting the following activities:
- Attending training evenings (Drill nights)
- Turnout
- Training Course
- Community Safety
- Standard Tests
- Tactical exercises
- High risk visits
- Hydrant inspections
Trainee firefighter: hourly rate - £12.91
When you start your career as an On Call Firefighter you will be classed as a Trainee Firefighter, after you have completed all initial basic training and completed a “safe to ride/Green spot ” assessment you will then move into the Development phase
Development firefighter hourly rate £13.44
Once you have successfully completed your initial training, you will be placed on the development pay scale. You will remain on this scale until all risk critical training, development modules (Minimum 18 month) and end point assessments are completed successfully. Upon completion of the development phase a member of the Divisional Management & Training team will verify the evidence as meeting the standard, you will then be classified as a competent firefighter and receive a competent rate of pay
Competent firefighter hourly rate £17.20
You will be required to attend risk critical courses, weekly training sessions and carry out activities to maintain your competency as a Firefighter.
You will be automatically enrolled into the New Firefighters Pension Scheme 2015. You may, however, opt out of contributions to this scheme.
All above information on pay is correct as of July 2024