Standards of behaviour: The handling of misconduct in fire and rescue services

Published on: 1 August 2024

Publication types: Fire & rescue services and Thematic inspection

Fire and Rescue Services: Avon, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon and Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, Durham and Darlington, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Hereford and Worcester, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Merseyside, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Relevant to fire and rescue services, Royal Berkshire, Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Sussex and West Yorkshire

Between October 2023 and January 2024 we carried out an inspection of the handing of misconduct in fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England.

Our terms of reference were to carry out an inspection of the handling of misconduct in FRSs in England. This was to include examining:

  • the extent to which services are identifying and investigating misconduct;
  • the effectiveness of misconduct processes and how consistently they are applied;
  • how confident FRS staff are in raising concerns and in misconduct processes; and
  • the role of fire and rescue authorities and other organisations in handling misconduct.

We carried out detailed inspections of ten FRSs: Cornwall, Dorset and Wiltshire, Greater Manchester, Humberside, Kent, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Tyne and Wear, and West Midlands.

These services were selected to be a representative sample of FRSs across England in terms of size, location, governance structures and performance. We reviewed their relevant policies and processes; examined a sample of their grievance, discipline, whistle-blowing and public complaints case files; and interviewed and held focus groups with staff in a variety of roles and at all levels of seniority.

We analysed data provided by all 44 FRSs in England about their grievance and discipline cases.

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We worked with Crest Advisory to survey staff working in FRSs in England about their experiences relating to misconduct. The survey asked whether they had personally experienced and/or witnessed misconduct, as well as questions about training, perceptions and their understanding of policies and procedures.

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Misconduct in fire and rescue services in England (HTML)

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Fire and Rescue Services make progress to improve culture, but more must be done to tackle unacceptable behaviour