London Fire Brigade firefighter pay in 2026
London Fire Brigade (LFB) publishes its uniformed pay rates in Policy 558, reviewed as current on 24 July 2026. It records that the National Joint Council reached a pay agreement in circular NJC/2/26 and that the revised rates represent an average 3.8% increase in basic pay from 1 July 2026, with implementation in July 2026 salaries. On that scale a Development Firefighter earns £37,402 and a Competent Firefighter £47,991, with a Competent Plus rate of £49,223 after five years from the PDR sign-off date.
This is the biggest difference between London and the rest of England. Most services use the national table, on which the competent firefighter rate is £40,358. LFB's scale is a local one, negotiated over many years, and the policy says the hourly rates reflect the national formula of dividing the annual rate by 52.143 and then by 42. The annual figure is where it departs from the NJC.
If you are comparing London with other services, keep in mind that London's higher pay is offset by London living costs; this guide only deals with pay. For the national picture see firefighter salary UK 2026, and for the calculator with a custom salary use the pay calculator.
| Stage | LFB annual | LFB hourly | NJC national annual | London premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development Firefighter | £37,402 | £17.08 | £31,539 | £5,863 (18.6%) |
| Competent Firefighter | £47,991 | £21.91 | £40,358 | £7,633 (18.9%) |
| Competent Plus (after 5 years from sign-off) | £49,223 | £22.48 | No national equivalent | n/a |
Source: LFB Policy 558 (24 July 2026) and NJC/2/26. Premium is LFB minus national; percentage is the premium divided by the national figure.
The full LFB scale from firefighter to group commander
LFB's scale up to Station Officer is expressed in annual basic salary, hourly rate and overtime rates. Leading Firefighter, Sub Officer and Station Officer have no development step of their own: staff on development in those ranks are paid at the competent rate, following the 2019 Role to Rank agreement. Station Commanders and Group Commanders are on A and B rates with Competent Plus rates, and development staff at those ranks have been paid at competent rate since 1 January 2023.
The figures below are copied from Appendix 1 of Policy 558, with overtime at time and a half. Above Station Officer the policy shows basic salary, flexible duty supplement, total and hourly rate. The flexible duty supplement is 20% of basic salary, so a Station Commander B Competent on £64,589 receives £12,917.80, a total of £77,506.80. For an explanation of the supplement, see flexi duty allowance explained.
LFB's rank titles differ from the NJC role titles used elsewhere. Job evaluation for these ranks is local, so do not assume a direct match with an NJC role; the ranks and career progression guide sets out the national structure.
| Rank and stage | Annual basic | Hourly | Overtime x1.5 | Public holiday x2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighter Development | £37,402 | £17.08 | £25.62 | £34.16 |
| Firefighter Competent | £47,991 | £21.91 | £32.87 | £43.82 |
| Firefighter Competent Plus | £49,223 | £22.48 | £33.72 | £44.96 |
| Leading Firefighter Competent | £52,374 | £23.92 | £35.88 | £47.84 |
| Leading Firefighter Maximum | £53,610 | £24.48 | £36.72 | £48.96 |
| Sub Officer Competent | £54,781 | £25.01 | £37.52 | £50.02 |
| Sub Officer Maximum | £55,850 | £25.50 | £38.25 | £51.00 |
| Station Officer Competent | £57,666 | £26.33 | £39.50 | £52.66 |
| Station Officer Maximum (after 3 years) | £62,476 | £28.53 | £42.80 | £57.06 |
Source: LFB Policy 558 Appendix 1. Above Station Officer, Station Commander A Competent is £60,792 basic and B Competent £64,589; Group Commander A Competent £68,923 and B Competent £73,631, each plus a 20% flexible duty supplement.
What happened to London weighting
Many people search for the London weighting allowance for firefighters. LFB's policy answers it directly: under local agreements reached in 2012, London weighting was consolidated into the basic pay of station and group commanders, backdated to 1 July 2011. Under a local agreement in August 2019, it was consolidated into the basic pay of firefighters, leading firefighters, sub officers and station officers with effect from 1 October 2019.
That means there is no separate London weighting line to add for these ranks: the weighting is already inside the annual figure. This is why a London Competent Firefighter is on £47,991 rather than the national £40,358 plus an allowance. If a payslip shows a separate London allowance, it belongs to a different arrangement, and you should query it with payroll rather than adding it to the figures in this guide.
The policy also records that earlier NJC CPD payments were consolidated for all roles under local agreements between 2008 and 2013. They are now reflected in the maximum rates for leading firefighters, sub officers and station officers and the competent plus rates for firefighters, station commanders and group commanders. In practice that is why a London firefighter's five-year step (Competent Plus) is a fixed £1,232 above the competent rate, rather than a separate CPD application.
How London compares with the national rate over time
LFB's Policy 558 for 2023 (reviewed 3 July 2023) listed a Competent Firefighter at £43,076 and a Development Firefighter at £33,571, with a Trainee Firefighter rate of £32,280, all effective from 1 July 2023 when the national competent rate was £36,226. That is a premium of £6,850, or 18.9%. In 2026 the premium is £7,633, also 18.9%, so the London scale has moved in step with national awards.
The trainee rate has since gone, in line with the NJC's 2025 decision to remove the trainee rate from its pay tables. LFB's careers page still describes an apprenticeship with a 15-week initial training course followed by 18 to 24 months as a Development Firefighter, and quotes £36,032 at the start of training and £46,234 once competent. Those two figures are the 2025 equivalents of the 2026 policy figures: £37,402 ÷ 1.038 is £36,032 and £47,991 ÷ 1.038 is £46,234. Recruitment pages can lag behind the policy, so always look at the year stated.
For a broader view of how national awards have changed since 2021, see firefighter pay rises history, and for arrears when a new award is applied see back pay explained.
London firefighter take-home pay
Using the same 2026/27 assumptions as the site's other guides (England tax, 1257L code, FPS 2015 contribution bands, no student loan, no allowances), a Competent Firefighter on £47,991 pays a 14.09% pension contribution of £6,761.93, income tax of £5,731.81 and National Insurance of £2,833.68. That leaves £32,663.57 a year, about £2,721.96 a month. A Development Firefighter on £37,402 pays a 12.59% contribution (£4,708.91), £4,024.62 in tax and £1,986.56 National Insurance, leaving £26,681.91 (£2,223.49 a month).
Compare that with the national competent firefighter: £28,512.50. The London competent firefighter therefore takes home £4,151.07 more (14.6%), even though the gross premium is £7,633 (18.9%). The gap narrows because the London salary crosses into the 14.09% pension band (above £45,407) and pays more tax and National Insurance on the extra pay. Extra earnings are worth roughly 54p in the pound in take-home terms at this level.
Real payslips will also include CPD or competent-plus differences, MTA payments, union subscriptions and any salary-sacrifice arrangements. Try your own numbers in the pay calculator or see take-home pay by role.
| Stage | Gross | Pension | Income tax | NI | Take-home | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development Firefighter | £37,402 | £4,708.91 | £4,024.62 | £1,986.56 | £26,681.91 | £2,223.49 |
| Competent Firefighter | £47,991 | £6,761.93 | £5,731.81 | £2,833.68 | £32,663.57 | £2,721.96 |
| Competent Plus | £49,223 | £6,935.52 | £5,943.50 | £2,932.24 | £33,411.74 | £2,784.31 |
| Leading Firefighter Competent | £52,374 | £7,379.50 | £6,484.90 | £3,058.08 | £35,451.52 | £2,954.29 |
Illustration only, using the site's 2026/27 tax model and FPS 2015 bands. Your payslip will differ.
Joining LFB: apprenticeship and progression
LFB describes its firefighter entry as a Level 3 Operational Firefighter Apprenticeship. New recruits follow a 15-week initial training course, then spend around 18 to 24 months as a Development Firefighter learning on the job, after which they become a Competent Firefighter and move to the higher salary. The brigade's website lists five training venues and a Monday to Friday training schedule for the initial course.
Under the Grey Book, most firefighters are expected to demonstrate competence within three years from entry, but LFB's own progression is set by its PDR sign-off process. Competent Plus follows five years from sign-off. The guide to firefighter pay progression explains the national principles, and the trainee firefighter pay guide explains how the trainee rate was removed.
If you want to understand how to apply and what the selection stages are, see become a firefighter and the selection process stages. The London Fire Brigade also publishes current vacancies with the salary applying on the date of the advert.
Pay, pensions and benefits in London
Firefighters in London are members of the same firefighters' pension schemes as those in the rest of England, so the contribution bands in the take-home table are the FPS 2015 tiers used across the site's calculators. The higher salary means that London firefighters generally pay a higher contribution rate than colleagues on the national scale, but they also build pension on the higher pensionable pay. See the firefighter pension 2015 guide.
LFB's pay policy also covers sick pay. Its contractual entitlement for sickness unrelated to duty is full pay for six months (184 days) and half pay for a further six months (181 days), and for illness or injury arising out of authorised duty full pay for one year (365 days) and half pay for a further six months, in any one year period. Those are LFB terms recorded in the policy; check your own contract for the current wording.
There is also a mess manager's allowance of £31.96 a month, in place since 1 July 2009, and a flat rate return-of-kit allowance of £14.10 from 1 July 2026, per the same policy. For local allowances in other services see firefighter allowances explained, and for a personalised comparison of your payslip with your contract, the Personal Pay Report is designed for this.
How to check that you are being paid correctly in London
Match your rank and stage with the correct line of Policy 558: Development, Competent, Competent Plus for firefighters, or Competent and Maximum for leading firefighters and sub officers. Check that your basic annual salary on the payslip equals the policy figure and that the July 2026 salary has been applied, since the policy says implementation was in July 2026 salaries.
Then check the recurring extras: the MTA skills payment, flexible duty supplement (if you are a Station Commander or Group Commander), and any temporary promotion or additional duties payments. The policy's Appendix 3 sets additional-duty rates for Station and Group Commanders converting a nine-hour duty or a rota leave day to a 24-hour duty, at 50% and 60% of the hourly rate per extra hour respectively.
If your figures do not match, contact the HR Helpdesk or payroll named in the policy, and involve your representative. You can also use the payslip checker to compare your entries with the expected rates.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a London firefighter earn?
From 1 July 2026, London Fire Brigade's policy shows a Development Firefighter at £37,402 and a Competent Firefighter at £47,991, rising to £49,223 after five years from PDR sign-off. These include London weighting, which was consolidated into basic pay.
Do London firefighters get London weighting on top of salary?
According to LFB's policy, London weighting was consolidated into basic pay for firefighters to station officers on 1 October 2019 and for station and group commanders from 1 July 2011. There is no separate weighting to add to the published figures. Check your payslip for any other allowance.
How much more do London firefighters earn than the national rate?
A London Competent Firefighter earns £47,991 against £40,358 on the national NJC scale, £7,633 or about 18.9% more. A Development Firefighter earns £37,402 against £31,539, £5,863 more. Take-home is less than the gross gap because of extra tax, NI and pension.
What is a London firefighter's hourly rate?
LFB's hourly rates from 1 July 2026 are £17.08 for a Development Firefighter and £21.91 for a Competent Firefighter, calculated with the NJC formula of annual salary ÷ 52.143 ÷ 42. Overtime at time and a half is £32.87 and double time on a public holiday £43.82.
What is LFB's take-home pay for a competent firefighter?
On 2026/27 England tax assumptions with a 14.09% pension contribution, a £47,991 salary leaves about £32,663.57 a year, roughly £2,721.96 a month. That excludes MTA payments, overtime and other allowances, so your payslip will differ.
Do LFB rank titles match the national ones?
No. LFB uses Firefighter, Leading Firefighter, Sub Officer, Station Officer, Station Commander and Group Commander, with local pay steps. The NJC national table uses Firefighter, Crew Manager, Watch Manager, Station Manager, Group Manager and Area Manager, so compare roles carefully.