Small child and woman ff credit Jess Hurd

A momentous and significant move

The country’s second largest fire service has approved maternity leave of 52 weeks on full pay. West Midlands brigade secretary Sasha Hitchins reports West Midlands Fire Service, the second largest in the country, announced on 3 October that its strategic enabling team had approved 52 weeks full pay...

Fight for 52

Front cover Fight for 52
Fight for 52 forms an important part of the FBU's Equality Matters campaign as it seeks to address the dire imbalances in maternity provision across the UK. *This report was updated March 2025.

Equality Matters Fight for 52

Revealed: firefighters face £15,000 gap in maternity pay

By Ben Duncan-Duggal
New research shows £15,000 gap in maternity pay between best and worst fire services Toxic fire contaminants putting babies and mothers at risk, report finds Union demands 12 months on full pay to address safety and recruitment concerns A new report into maternity pay and provisions in the fire...
Fight for 52 Equality Matters cropped

Fight for 52

FBU assistant general secretary Ben Selby explains why the FBU is fighting for 12 months (or 52 weeks) of full-pay maternity leave How can it be right that a woman firefighter in Cornwall receives £15,000 less maternity leave pay than her equal in Derbyshire? Surely this is a case of stark...
kit hanging on hooks

FBU responds to Kent FRS endorsing "inappropriate and unacceptable" practice

By Alice Dann
Today, the FBU has written to HMICFRS with reports of an "extremely inappropriate, unacceptable and unsafe practice" being carried out in Kent Fire & Rescue Service (KFRS). This involves firefighters stripping down to their underwear prior to donning their fire kit in the workplace. The FBU reports...
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