Fewer firefighters would recommend service

Trust issues rising

Just half of firefighters in Devon and Somerset would recommend working for the service, according to a new survey.

The area’s fire and rescue service’s most recent employee survey show was they call a ‘recommendation score’ of 50 per cent compared to 59 per cent last year among full-time firefighters.

On-call firefighters also are less likely to suggest people join the service, with their recommendation score falling to 59 per cent from 69 per cent.

Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service’s  overall recommendation score – which includes responses from support staff – rose by one percentage point to 59 per cent – below the average of 63 per cent for other areas that use the same survey provider, People Insight.

And the worksforce’s opinion about the service’s leadership has worsened.

Just one in three (33 per cent) of all staff agreed that the leadership team made decisions that supported them and their colleagues, with just a fifth (19 per cent) of full-time firefighters agreeing.

The overall figure fell from 43 per cent in 2023.

Some responses to the survey have been included in a report set to go to a meeting of the authority that oversees the fire service.

Individual fire service staff noted that the logic behind making (and often delaying) decisions is not always communicated well, while trust was poor and perhaps it might have been caused by previous poor behaviour”.

In the fire service’s favour, more than three-quarters (78 per cent) of staff said they had not witnessed or experienced bullying or harassment in the previous 12 months,  up from 68 per cent in the previous year.

Of those who witnesses bullying or harassment, just over half (55 per cent) reported it compared to 62 per cent the prior year.

One member of said said: “I really value my team and my manager as well as a number of colleagues across the service, but almost everyone I speak to is overwhelmed and constantly in back-to-back meetings and feeling like they cannot meet their goals or proactively deliver to the standard they would like.”

Another said: “Sometimes decisions are made which are irreversible or require a lot of work to unpick because impacts haven’t been identified or opinions of the right people are sought too late.”

The fire service said its senior leaders had met twice since the survey concluded in June to create an action plan to address staff concerns.

It now has six themes, including ‘employee voice’ and ‘people impact’, to help it achieve desired outcomes around improving working conditions.