The Fire Brigades Union has called for twelve months of maternity leave on full pay for firefighters, citing research finding that exposure to contaminants while firefighting impacts the health of pregnant firefighters, foetuses, and babies. (1)
In a letter addressed to the Local Government Association, the FBU’s National Women’s Committee reports that many women feel they must return to firefighting duties once their pay is halved as they cannot afford to stay on maternity leave.
Despite the physically demanding nature of the job and the risk of exposure to fire contaminants, current maternity pay for firefighters provides only 90% pay for an initial 6 weeks, decreasing to 50% pay for 12 weeks, followed by statutory maternity pay. This is outlined as the national standard in the Grey book. (2)
However, some fire and rescue services have improved their maternity offers, leaving firefighters facing a postcode lottery. For example, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service provides 26 weeks of full pay.
The demand has now been raised with fire service employers, who have engaged with the issue and have committed to responding in due course.
Ben Selby, FBU assistant general secretary said:
We need the best possible national maternity provision to support new mothers in the fire service instead of them being punished with a pay cut. This injustice is a health issue, with firefighters facing occupational health risks for themselves, foetuses, and new-borns due to exposure to contaminants.
Firefighters rightly expect employers to take the threat contaminants pose to mothers’ and babies’ health seriously. Employers should be doing everything in their power to ensure that the material support is there, so that nobody is forced to choose between working as a firefighter and becoming a parent. Proper maternity pay is essential for building an equal, supportive fire service which values and protects the health of pregnant staff and new parents."
Robyn Richardson, acting secretary of the FBU National Women’s Committee said:
No-one should have to choose between protecting their salary and having a baby. Many firefighters struggle to make ends meet on half pay, forcing them to return to work far sooner than they should have to.
Firefighter maternity pay is currently a lottery depending on where you work in the country. Stress and financial pressure are the last things you need when caring for a new-born. Women have been raising the need for proper maternity provision for decades: it is vital to building a supportive, inclusive workplace. The fire service can and must do better."
NOTES
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Minimising firefighters’ exposure to toxic fire effluents (2020, University of Central Lancashire) p.76 FBU UCLan Contaminants Interim Best Practice gb (1).pdf
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The ‘Grey book’ covers the national pay and conditions for operational and control staff of local authority fire and rescue services. Grey Book | Fire Brigades Union (fbu.org.uk)
