How UK firefighters can successfully return to work following injury: Developing a return to work protocol.
This guidance has been developed by Liam Noll at Essex Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), in collaboration with several participating FRSs, following Liam's completion of a four-year PHD.
While national fitness standards exist for UK firefighters, there is currently no national standard for return-to-work (RTW) assessments following injury. The Fit for Duty Screening Tool addresses this gap by supporting the evaluation of a firefighter’s readiness to return to operational duties after a musculoskeletal injury.
The screening tool is grounded in extensive research involving service fitness advisors, operational firefighters (across all ranks and training roles), and occupational health professionals. The tool was adopted by Essex FRS in September 2024 and is now in use by four other services. Since its implementation at Essex FRS, 71 firefighters have completed the assessment—69 passed on their first attempt, and the remaining two passed within 14 days after reassessment.
The Fit for Duty Screening Tool has undergone a comprehensive peer review, has been published in multiple academic journals and is endorsed and used by the Firefighters Charity. Links to these studies are provided at the end of the draft guidance.
Our aim is to establish this tool as a national guidance for fire and rescue services across the UK.
Please review the draft document before you complete this consultation. You can access the document here: Return to Work - Fit for Duty Screening Tool draft document
The consultation also asks about the People Impact Assessment that Essex FRS conducted during their development of this tool. You can access that document here: People Impact Assessment - ECFRS Fit for Duty Screening Tool
If you would like to prepare your response, you can review the questions in advance here: Return to Work Screening Tool consultation questions. There is also a save and continue function that can be used throughout the consultation so that you can return to your response later and pick up where you left off.
This survey will close end of the day Monday 21 July 2025. If you have any questions, please contact PCLhub@nfcc.org.uk.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to this consultation.
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