Firefighter working time and rest: 42 hours and fatigue rules

Two layers: the Grey Book and the law

Firefighters are covered by contractual limits in the Grey Book and by statutory limits in the Working Time Regulations 1998. The Grey Book, Section 3, Part A, sets four principles for any duty system: basic working hours should average forty-two per week, inclusive of three hours of meal breaks in every twenty-four; there should be at least two periods of twenty-four hours free from duty each week; the system should comply with all relevant legislation including the Working Time Regulations and health and safety legislation; and it should be family friendly and have regard to individuals’ circumstances.

The regulations themselves are the general law that applies to most workers. They set maximum weekly hours, rest periods and night work limits, and they contain exceptions. The important point is that the 42-hour figure in the Grey Book is an average of hours of duty, not a guarantee that no week will be longer, and that firefighters often work long shifts of 12 hours or more, with nights that include rest periods at the station.

Where the two layers interact, you should ask your service to explain how its duty system was assessed. Our guides to firefighter shift patterns and duty systems describe the rotas that result, and the shift calendar shows how the hours add up.

What the Working Time Regulations set as the general rule

GOV.UK sets out the general rules. You cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally averaged over 17 weeks, but you can voluntarily opt out. Workers over 18 have the right to an uninterrupted 20-minute break in a working day of more than 6 hours, 11 hours’ rest between working days, and either 24 consecutive hours without work each week or 48 hours across a fortnight.

Night work has stricter rules. GOV.UK says people who regularly work at least three hours during the night period (normally 11pm to 6am) are night workers, and that night workers must not work more than an average of eight hours in a 24-hour period, usually averaged over 17 weeks, with the limit not waivable. Employers must keep records for at least two years, and those dealing with hazards or significant mental or physical strain cannot exceed eight hours in any 24-hour period.

GOV.UK also notes that limits on the 48-hour week can be exceeded in some sectors, including the armed forces, emergency services or police, and where 24-hour staffing is needed. That is the general position, and the detail of how the regulations apply to a fire and rescue service is set out in regulation 18 and in the service’s own risk assessments and agreements.

Regulation 18: why emergency response is treated differently

Regulation 18(2)(a) of the Working Time Regulations 1998 provides that the regulations do not apply where characteristics peculiar to certain specific services such as the armed forces or the police, or to certain specific activities in the civil protection services, inevitably conflict with the provisions of the regulations. The regulation does not name fire brigades expressly, but it covers certain specific activities in the civil protection services, which is the basis on which emergency response is treated differently.

That exclusion is narrow. It applies to the activities and characteristics that inevitably conflict, not to every hour of a firefighter’s employment, and the Grey Book still says duty systems should comply with the regulations. It does not permit an employer to ignore health and safety law, and it does not remove the employer’s duty of care. Ask your service which of your duties they treat as falling within it and how the remaining time is managed.

This is a legal area where a union representative or employment adviser can help. If you think that your hours or rest are unsafe or unlawful, keep a record and raise it, as described later in this guide. For an overview of union help see FBU membership.

Nights, meal breaks and rest on the shift system

The Grey Book’s shift duty system spells out what rest looks like. Each period of twenty-four hours is divided into a day shift and a night shift, and the night shift must not be less than twelve hours. There must be at least two complete 24-hour periods free from duty each week, leave days must change week by week in a regular progressive manner, no rota may include continuous duty periods of 24 hours, and three hours must be specified for meal breaks in every 24 hours, with account taken of meal breaks interrupted by emergency calls.

The explanatory notes add that employees on the shift system should be allowed rest periods every night between midnight and 07:00, other than when required to respond to emergency calls, perform work arising from emergency calls, or perform other essential activities that arise from the risk management plan, are within the role and are appropriate at those hours. Between 7am and midnight on public holidays staff are expected to undertake the full range of duties.

Day crewing and day duty systems have different structures: a specified one hour a day meal break, and, on day crewing, seven hours a week of standby at home. Flexible duty staff work under a formula that caps consecutive days and total hours, including standby. See day-crewing and LLAR duty systems for the detail.

Fatigue: why the HSE says compliance is not enough

The Health and Safety Executive defines fatigue as a decline in mental or physical performance resulting from prolonged exertion, sleep loss or disruption of the internal clock. It says fatigue slows reactions, causes memory lapses, reduces coordination and leads people to underestimate hazards, and it cites its estimate that fatigue is implicated in a significant share of serious road accidents. That matters for firefighters, who drive at speed and make safety-critical decisions.

The HSE says employers should treat fatigue as a managed occupational hazard: assess the risk of working hour arrangements, develop policies limiting overtime, shift swapping and on-call work, consult employees on scheduling, monitor working hours and shift rotation, and address staffing shortages that drive excessive overtime. It publishes guidance (HSG256, Managing shift work) and a fatigue risk index tool, and stresses that meeting working time law alone is not sufficient.

For you, that means personal responsibility as well as employer duty. The Grey Book says employees have a duty to take care of themselves and others and co-operate with health and safety policies. Plan sleep around night shifts, avoid stacking commitments after a long night, and raise any concern about fatigue with a manager. Our guide to firefighter mental health support links sleep, stress and wellbeing.

Overtime, second jobs and on-call: how extra hours fit the limits

Extra hours are the usual way limits are exceeded. The Grey Book says employees are free to volunteer to work pre-arranged overtime for no more than 24 hours per month, averaged over a six-month period, and that pre-arranged overtime will not be used to make up a planned shortfall in staffing levels. Overtime is paid at time and a half, or double time on a public holiday, for Watch Managers and below. For on-call employees, overtime rates apply only where they work more than 42 hours in a seven-day period.

Second jobs raise the same issue. Employees other than those on the retained duty system may not hold other employment for gain or reward without the employer’s express permission, which may be given with conditions. An absence due to an illness wholly attributable to another job or business may attract limited sick pay. See firefighter second job and firefighter overtime rates.

For on-call staff, the constraint is availability rather than hours on a rota. Hours of availability are agreed between the employer and the individual, and periods of annual leave are disregarded when assessing compliance. Still, being on call for long periods on top of a primary job creates its own fatigue risk. See on-call firefighter availability, and model your week with the on-call pay calculator.

If you think your hours or rest are unsafe: what to do

If your rota, overtime or on-call pattern leaves you routinely short of rest, act early. Start by keeping a factual log of hours worked, rest gaps, call-outs and any near misses, and check them against the Grey Book principles, particularly two 24-hour periods free from duty each week and the night-time rest arrangements.

1. Record hours, shifts, overnight call-outs and recovery time for at least a few weeks.
2. Check your rota against the Grey Book principles and the relevant local agreement.
3. Raise the issue informally with your line manager, and ask how fatigue is being risk-assessed.
4. Involve your union safety representative or FBU representative, and refer to the HSE guidance.
5. If it is not resolved, follow the grievance procedure, which starts informally with your line manager and moves to written formal and appeal stages.
6. If you feel unsafe to work or drive, say so at the time and follow your service’s procedure for reporting fatigue.