Female firefighters face a postcode lottery in which they can earn more than £15,000 less while on a year’s maternity leave than their colleagues elsewhere in the UK, their representatives have said.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said its analysis showed female members were being “systematically undervalued”, and is calling for maternity leave to be full pay for a year, regardless of where in the UK a firefighter is based.
The union has produced a league table of maternity pay, with Staffordshire and Derbyshire joint top. There are 23 fire and rescue services – based in England and Northern Ireland – sitting joint bottom.
“It cannot be right that a new mother in Cornwall gets £15,000 less than a new mother in Staffordshire. This system is unfair and systematically undervalues women firefighters,” said Ben Selby, the FBU’s assistant general secretary.
The union said the disparity had arisen because, while it had been able to negotiate terms with some brigades around the UK, many others insisted on paying the minimum allowed.
In Staffordshire and Derbyshire, this meant that a new mother could earn about £27,250 when taking a year away. In Northern Ireland, Cleveland and Northumberland – as well as West Sussex, Gloucestershire and Cornwall – they would only be paid about £11,800.
“Every year, women are forced to return to work too early – to a job that is physically and psychologically stressful – because their maternity leave is so bad. Others have experienced serious economic hardship,” said Selby.
The FBU’s report said the disparity was “significant and displays the fragmentation of maternity provision across the UK”. It said it “clearly demonstrated women firefighters are being treated unfairly and this needs to be addressed immediately by ministers, fire employers and chief fire officers”. The report highlighted that even new mothers working for the highest paying brigades were not able to rely on their full salaries for a year.
The union said one female firefighter, who asked not to be named publicly, had told reps: “Honestly, working for a professional government body, I wouldn’t have believed I would ever end up in this situation. Both my maternity leaves have been tainted with stress and anxiety due to our absolutely appalling maternity pay.”
Selby said: “The fight for equality in the fire and rescue service is vital. But the service cannot hope to recruit and retain women firefighters if it continues to have such poor and patchy maternity leave provision. We urge employers not to miss this opportunity to properly address the problem, and to agree to a UK-wide policy of 12 months on full pay.”
The union also said the health risks associated with the work meant it was important for new and expectant mothers to be able to take time away from operational duties while still being able to meet the cost of living.
The national minimum for maternity pay for firefighters is 90% pay for an initial six weeks, decreasing to 50% for the following 12 – followed by statutory maternity pay thereafter. The union collected the data via freedom of information requests in 2020 and based its analysis on an assumption of a competent firefighter salary for that year of £31,144.08 and statutory maternity pay at 2020’s rate of £151.20 a week. Maternity terms vary depending on length of service and individuals were assumed to have worked for at least 12 months, and to be intending to return for at least three.
The National Fire Chiefs Council has been approached for comment.
