Talking to your employer about becoming an on-call firefighter

What the law does and does not give you

Start with the legal position, because it shapes how you ask. GOV.UK sets out the public duties for which employees can take a reasonable amount of time off, normally unpaid: magistrates, local councillors, school governors, statutory tribunal members and several others, plus trade union duties. On-call firefighter is not on that list. The Reserve Forces are dealt with separately on GOV.UK, where employees in the Army Reserves or other reserve forces have certain protections under employment law if they are called up for service. Those protections do not extend to on-call firefighters, so you should not tell your employer that you have a legal right to leave work for a callout.

That does not make the request unreasonable. It means your employer is choosing to support a community role, and that your agreement should be clear about the terms. Fire and rescue services and employers must still comply with ordinary employment law, including the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Working Time Regulations. The NFCC guide for employers notes that, depending on your hours in your main job, you may have to sign a Working Time Regulations opt-out. If you are unsure how the rules apply to your combined hours, our guide to firefighter working time and rest sets out the general position.

In practice this means the strength of your case rests on preparation and mutual benefit, not on entitlement. Employers who have agreed to release staff usually do so because the arrangement is limited, predictable and useful to the business. The rest of this guide is about making it easy for them to say yes.

What employers are being asked to do

The NFCC's guide for employers frames the ask in practical terms. On-call firefighters register as available only for periods their employer agrees to release them. That can be daytime, evenings or weekends, and it can change if the business needs change. The guide says the arrangement prioritises employer needs, and that services aim to keep the impact on the primary employer to a minimum.

Training is the second commitment. The NFCC guide says initial training may need some weekday hours, but ongoing training typically takes place in evenings and weekends. One service's page describes a weekly drill night of about three hours. Ask your service exactly what its initial course involves and when, because your employer will want dates. Some services have flexible or modular initial training routes, and the NFCC study suggests more flexibility may come, as discussed in our guide to the NFCC on-call study.

Third, cost. The NFCC guide says employers face no direct costs from an employee being on call. Whether your employer pays you while you are released for a callout is discretionary: some employers do not pay for the time, and some allow you to make up the hours. Sort this out in advance in writing, because it is the single most common source of misunderstanding. The service pays you for attending incidents under its own terms, as explained in our on-call pay guide.

How often will you be called away, and for how long?

Employers want a number. The NFCC guide says most on-call firefighters respond two or three times a week, usually for about an hour, though this varies by station and by availability. That figure is a national description, not a promise for your station. Ask your station manager for the recent call-out pattern during the hours you propose to cover, and give your employer a realistic range rather than a best case.

Also give them the response-time rule. Many services ask you to be able to reach the station typically within five minutes of an alert during your agreed hours; one service's page says it extends that only in exceptional circumstances. If you work more than a few minutes' journey from the station, you may not be able to offer daytime cover from your workplace, and it is better to know that before you approach your employer. Your service will assess your travel time and your availability pattern, and our on-call availability guide explains how cover hours are set.

Finally, tell your employer what is not asked. You are not asked to be available at all times, because you choose the hours; you are not usually expected to respond to every call when you are at work unless you and the employer have agreed that you are available; and you can typically choose to cover only nights and weekends. If the hours you can cover are outside working time, the conversation is about training and about trust, not about release at all.

The benefits you can put to your employer

The NFCC guide lists benefits that employers can gain. On-call firefighters develop transferable skills such as teamwork, quick thinking and crisis management. They receive first aid training to what the guide describes as the highest standard, which can support workplace safety, and the guide says this can reduce training costs. They gain practical skills including manual handling and risk assessment, and some obtain Large Goods Vehicle licences with advanced driver training. The NFCC also says staff pursuing a meaningful role tend to be happier and more productive at work.

Frame those benefits around your workplace. If you work in a warehouse, mention manual handling, risk assessment and first aid. If you work in an office, the guide's emphasis on first aid and crisis management may fit. If your employer has corporate social responsibility goals, releasing an employee to serve the community can support them. Ask your service whether it offers anything to supportive employers locally; we have not verified a national recognition scheme and do not assume one.

Be honest about the downsides too. There will be times you are absent at short notice, and a good proposal says how you will manage that: a named colleague to cover urgent tasks, a rule that you will not accept availability during key meetings, or a review after three months. A request that anticipates the difficulties is far more persuasive than one that ignores them.

• First aid to a high standard, useful for workplace safety
• Manual handling, risk assessment and, for some, LGV licences and advanced driving
• Teamwork, resilience and quick decision-making under pressure
• Community standing for the business, which you can discuss with your service

Preparing before you speak to your employer

Preparation decides how the conversation goes. Speak to your local on-call station first, so that you know the availability pattern the station needs, the response-time rule, the initial training dates and the typical call volume during your proposed hours. If you cannot offer daytime cover, you might offer nights and weekends and reduce the ask to training days. Have your service's candidate information pack or employer information to hand and ask whether the service will write to your employer or speak to them directly.

Read your contract and staff handbook. Look for clauses on secondary employment, outside activities, notice and time off. Check how your pay is treated when you are absent, and whether you have flexi-time or time off in lieu that could be used for training. If you belong to a trade union, ask your representative whether there is a local agreement on release for community duties. Our guide to firefighter second jobs covers the reverse position, for firefighters who take other work, but the principles about disclosure and agreement are similar.

Think about timing and format. Ask for a short meeting rather than raising it in passing, send a written outline afterwards, and give your employer time to consider. Tell them your target start date for training, and make clear you will not accept a recruitment offer until you have their answer.

1. Contact your local on-call station and confirm the hours needed, the response time and the training dates
2. Decide which hours you can realistically offer and which you can not
3. Read your contract and staff handbook for clauses on outside activities and time off
4. Ask your service for its employer information or contact, and whether it will speak to your employer
5. Book a short meeting with your line manager and send the letter below afterwards
6. Agree in writing how release, pay for absence and training days will work
7. Review the arrangement after three months and adjust hours if needed

A ready-to-edit letter template

The letter below is a template. It is not legal advice and it does not create any legal right; it is a courteous way to put your request in writing. Replace the square brackets, delete anything that does not apply and keep it to one page. Send it after an initial conversation so that it confirms rather than surprises.

Common objections and how to answer them

Expect questions, and treat them as reasonable. The best answers are factual, short and honest about limits. Below are the objections we see most often, with a suggested response. None of them promises a legal right or a certain outcome; they are a way to keep the conversation constructive.

Availability, response time and choosing your hours

Before the meeting, map your week. Write down the hours you are at work, the hours you are near the station, and the hours you could realistically cover, then compare them with what the station needs. A station that is short of weekday daytime cover may be delighted by a daytime offer; a station with plenty of daytime cover may need nights. Our availability planner helps you lay this out, and our guide to wholetime vs on-call sets the role in context.

Remember that hours of cover also drive your retainer. One service's page describes availability tiers from about 20 to 120 or more hours a week determining the retaining fee, and the July 2026 national full-cover retainer for a competent firefighter is £6,054, as set out in our on-call pay guide. Offering fewer hours can make an employer conversation easier but reduces the retainer, so decide what balance is right for you. The on-call pay calculator shows the effect.

After the conversation: agreeing terms and staying on good terms

If your employer agrees, confirm it in writing, including the hours, how release is handled, how it is paid, what happens with training days, and how either side can change or end the arrangement. The fire service may ask for confirmation as part of your application. Keep a copy, and do not sign any opt-out under the Working Time Regulations without understanding what it covers; if your service asks you to, read our working time guide.

Once you start, keep the arrangement working. Tell your employer promptly when you have a callout, make up time as agreed, share what you learn and review the arrangement at three months. If the balance changes, for example because of a new project, adjust your hours rather than letting resentment build. If your employer says no, ask for the reason and whether a narrower arrangement could work. And if you are weighing up the wider decision, our guide to how to become an on-call firefighter covers selection and training.