Judge rules against Devon firefighter's 'shaving and drinking' claim

An on-call operational firefighter from Devon has lost a claim that not being called out amounts to 'working time'. And the fact they cannot drink alcohol, have to shave and cannot dye their hair is a constraint to their role but not a significant one, a judge has ruled.

An Exeter employment tribunal judge ruled: "I do not seek to underestimate or devalue the inconvenience that is from time to time caused to the Claimant and his family by him being on-call, nor the sacrifices he makes to provide this important service to his local community (albeit on a paid basis).

"I have concluded that during his on-call shifts, the constraints imposed on the Claimant by the Respondent are not such as to affect, objectively and very significantly, the possibility for him to freely manage the time during which he was not on call-outs and to pursue his own interests."

The claimant, Andrew Tidd is currently on-call crew manager for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, based at Modbury, south Devon. He has been employed by the service since 2013.

The employment tribunal heard that Mr Tidd is one of a large number of on-call firefighters employed by the service - 99 of the 112 fire appliances are daily crewed by on call teams.

The tribunal heard on-call firefighters are paid 'availability pay' when on call but not called out, and 'activity pay' when their alert goes off until an incident is over - and crews are subject to a five minute response time.

On call firefighters must be sober, have shaved facial hair - so breathing gear can be fitted safely - and cannot dye their hair while on call.

Mr Tidd, who repairs clocks and watches, said he could not take on some work because he would be outside the five minute response time - and this also affected shopping, socialising and going to his twins' school unless he could get cover or take leave if there were other people available.

He also said he could not go for a run, fish or take part in his local drama players group while on call in case there was a shout.

Mr Tidd said in a 45 week period until June 2024 there were 57 incident reports and he went out on a fire engine on 31 occasions and went to the fire station on four other occasions.

The barrister for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said that the judgement in the case may have significant implications for the operation of the fire service nationally which relies on on-call firefighters.

The tribunal judge said: "I accept that the Respondent did place constraints on the Claimant in respect of drinking alcohol, needing to be shaven and his hair style during his on-call shifts.

"I do not conclude that these constraints had 'very significant' impacts on his ability to freely manage his time and pursue his own interests during his on-call period.

"Having to have shaved within the last 24 hours is not, objectively such an onerous undertaking as to impact significantly on someone's ability to manage their time freely nor is having to keep hair styled/coloured in such a way as not to undermine public confidence.

"I accept that not being able to drink alcohol has some objective impact on how a person might pursue their interests, however, it does not prevent them from pursuing those interests at all or, for example, spending time with friends and family socialising."

The judge said Mr Tidd was called out less than once a week in 2023-2024 and for 97% of the time he was on call he was free to pursue his own interests within the constraints of being near the fire station.

A Devon and Somerset FRS spokesman said: "We're pleased with the findings of the hearing as the alternative would have hugely impacted on our ability to provide a fire and rescue service to our communities. We rely on on-call firefighters, and we appreciate and thank them for the commitment they give to serve our communities."

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