Group Manager Fire Service Role and 2026 Pay (£59,937+)

What a group manager is

The group manager is a senior manager who leads a group of stations or a function. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service describes the group manager as responsible for the service across a geographical area, and gives the example of East Devon. Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service describes a role directing multiple stations or managing specific policy areas. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service uses similar language for a group of stations or specialised functions.

The word group comes from the structure: a service divides its area into groups of stations, and a group manager is accountable for what happens in one of them. In other services or posts the group manager leads a function that cuts across the whole service, such as training, protection, prevention, fire investigation or emergency planning. Which of the two you are talking about changes the daily work considerably, even though the title and pay table are the same.

The role sits between station manager and area manager. Our firefighter ranks and roles guide shows the entire ladder, and the rank structure and hierarchy guide explains how the layers connect. London Fire Brigade and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service use different titles for comparable levels, so treat this page as a guide to the NJC role-based structure.

Group manager pay points from 1 July 2026

The NJC table gives the group manager three pay points: development, competent A and competent B. As at other management levels, the two competent points reflect the evaluation of the post rather than the length of service, so one group manager can be on competent A while another with the same title is on competent B because their jobs are graded differently.

The rates from 1 July 2026 are £59,937, £61,736 and £66,445. The development to competent A step is £1,799, A to B is £4,709 and the full spread is £6,508. The rates follow the 3.8% NJC award effective 1 July 2026, which the Fire Brigades Union confirms covers all NJC basic pay from firefighter to area manager.

You can see each rate on its own page: group manager development, competent A and competent B. To compare with other ranks side by side, use the firefighter pay scales guide or the pay scales overview.

Hourly rate, overtime and retainer values

The hourly basic rate is £27.37 at development, £28.19 at competent A and £30.34 at competent B. There is no standard published NJC overtime rate for group managers, which is a genuine difference from the ranks below. It does not necessarily mean extra hours are unpaid, but it does mean you cannot take a multiple of the hourly rate from the national table. Treatment of extra hours at this level is a matter for your service and your contract.

The retainer values (£8,991 to £9,967 full, £2,997 to £3,322 day crewing) are the NJC annual retainer figures for the pay points. They matter on availability-based systems and are not something every group manager receives. If you are comparing a group manager post with your current role, ask how the service treats out-of-hours availability and extra hours, because it may matter more to your real income than the basic salary.

Turn a gross salary into take-home with the pay calculator. At £59,937 and above you are well into higher-rate territory in much of the UK, so more of each extra pound is taxed. That is one reason to run the numbers before treating a promotion as a straightforward pay rise.

What a group manager does day to day

Most of the working week is leadership and management rather than hands-on operations. A group manager who leads a group of stations is accountable for performance, staffing, budgets, community risk, health and safety and the relationships that matter locally, such as councillors, partner agencies and community groups. One who leads a function is accountable for that function's plans, people and standards across the whole service.

You will spend time with station managers and others who report to you, setting priorities, resolving problems and holding people to account. You will also spend time upwards and outwards: contributing to service plans and policy, reporting to area managers and directors and representing the service. Devon and Somerset lists fire investigation at an incident among group manager responsibilities, which shows that operational and specialist duties remain in the mix.

The role is also a route into the more strategic ranks. If you are considering the step up to area manager, the group manager post is where you build experience in running a large area of work. For the step before, see the station manager guide, and for the day-to-day picture at every level see the ranks and roles guide.

Incident command: major incidents

In the published role descriptions, the group manager is associated with major incidents. Devon and Somerset lists major incidents among the duties, and the wider progression has the station manager charging large-scale incidents and the area manager taking charge of a major incident. Group managers are therefore often the more senior operational officers who take over command or provide strategic oversight when an incident grows beyond what a station manager can handle.

As with other ranks, there is no single national definition of a major incident that applies to every service. Services define their own command levels, and the qualifications and assessment that go with them. If you are considering a group manager post, ask what command level it carries, what training and reassessment is required to keep it, and how often you would be expected to be available.

Availability is a real part of the job. Group managers commonly take turns on a rota as a senior officer who can be called, but the terms are local and can change how the post feels. The firefighter allowances explained guide describes the kinds of payment that may apply, and you should ask specifically what applies to the post you are looking at.

What changes when you are promoted to group manager

A station manager at competent B earns £57,402. Promotion to group manager development at £59,937 adds £2,535 a year in basic pay. From station manager competent A (£53,604) the change is £6,333, and from station manager development (£52,040) it is £7,897. Moving to group manager competent B (£66,445) from station manager competent B is worth £9,043.

Compared with a competent firefighter on £40,358, group manager development is £19,579 higher and competent B is £26,087 higher. That is a big career distance, but you should weigh it against what changes: you lose regular shift patterns, gain wider accountability and probably a heavier out-of-hours availability commitment. You also lose the standard published overtime rate, so a station manager who has relied on overtime should check what a group manager post would replace it with.

The promotion calculator compares basic pay, take-home and pension for any pair of pay points. If you are acting up into a group manager post before it is made substantive, see acting-up pay for the principles, and ask your service how it applies them to senior posts.

How to become a group manager

Group manager is normally reached from station manager, and the routes are set by each service. Senior promotion processes commonly involve a more demanding assessment than lower ranks, and some services advertise externally or expect experience across more than one function. Because the details are local and change over time, we do not state fixed criteria here: read the current job description and your service's promotion policy.

Preparation is about breadth. Officers moving into group manager posts typically have evidence of managing budgets and people at scale, leading projects across teams, commanding incidents and working with partners. If your current role has been mostly station-based, look for cross-service projects or a secondment into a function to broaden your experience. Some services also support development programmes or leadership qualifications, which are worth asking about.

Use the firefighter promotion guide for the general principles, and the promotion pay planner to test the financial side, especially given that there is no standard overtime rate to fall back on at this level.

1. Read the service's promotion policy and the specific group manager job description.
2. Confirm the pay point the post is graded at: development, competent A or competent B.
3. Build evidence across budgets, people, projects and incident command.
4. Ask about availability and on-call commitments and how they are recognised.
5. On appointment, get the start point, the date you move to competent and the treatment of extra hours confirmed in writing.

Duty systems, allowances and pension

Group managers typically work day-duty or flexible-duty patterns rather than a station shift system, but the terms depend on the service and the post. What you should look for is the difference between basic pay and everything on top: any flexible duty allowance, payment for out-of-hours availability, and any local additions. Each has its own rules, and some may count differently for pension.

Your pension is also affected by promotion. A higher salary changes what you pay in contributions and what you build up. The pension contributions calculator helps you see the contribution side, though we do not provide personal financial advice and your pension administrator is the authority on your own scheme. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England share the NJC framework in many respects but not all.

Finally, check the small print of any offer: how long the development period lasts, the date you move to competent, whether the post is on competent A or B, and how the service handles extra hours given there is no standard NJC overtime rate. Put questions in writing and keep the answers. The pay scales overview has the national reference figures.

Group manager insignia and common mistakes

A group manager wears a white helmet with two bands: one broad 19mm band and one narrow 12.5mm band on services that specify sizes such as Devon and Somerset, Essex and South Wales. The epaulettes show one impeller and a wreath. Compare that with the station manager's single broad band and three impellers, and with the area manager's two broad bands. The rank markings and insignia guide shows them together.

The first common mistake is assuming the group manager has the same overtime treatment as a station manager. The NJC publishes no standard overtime rate for the role, so you must ask. A second is comparing salaries without the pay point: the difference between competent A and competent B is £4,709 a year. A third is treating the post as purely operational, when most of the job is management and leadership.

A fourth is ignoring the availability commitment. Many senior officer posts come with an out-of-hours rota, and how that is recognised is local. Read the job description, ask direct questions and compare your take-home with the pay calculator. Where you are heading next, area manager pay is the next step on the national table.