Fire Brigades Union questions reappointment of Northants' chief fire officer

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has hit out at the reappointment of Northamptonshire’s retired chief fire officer saying it as a breach of procedure.

Darren Dovey has postponed his retirement until early 2022 after being asked to stay on at his £118,000 role by the county’s police, fire and crime commissioner Stephen Mold.

However the FBU has raised concerns over the move saying it stifles promotion opportunities and has pointed to the Fire and Rescue Service National Framework which says brigades “must not re-appoint principal fire officers after retirement to their previous, or a similar, post” except for in “exceptional circumstances … necessary in the interests of public safety”. Any such appointments must be “transparent, justifiable and time limited.”

Chris Kemp, Northamptonshire FBU chair, said: “While we acknowledge Chief Fire Officer Darren Dovey’s work through our brigade’s transition to Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner governance, we’re disappointed that he has been re-employed following retirement.

“We’re concerned that any re-appointment of a principal officer stifles the recruitment and promotion opportunities in the service, which can improve workforce motivation. Issues raised in the national framework around pay and retirement benefits also remain and must be addressed.

“The national framework explicitly forbids this kind of activity under all but exceptional circumstances. While we are in a global pandemic, our service has fulfilled its statutory duties through the outbreak. There are serious questions about this re-appointment and we need full transparency from the Commissioner about his justification.”

Commissioner Mold says he took full legal advice before asking Darren Dovey to postpone his retirement.

He said: “I am surprised that the FBU is against this move, since Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has a long standing policy of allowing reappointment of retiring firefighters and officers on the basis of business need that is currently available to all firefighters. A number of retirees – including current FBU members – are still working on this basis.

“We are in the middle of a global pandemic that has changed the way we live and work, so I would say that these are wholly exceptional times. NFRS has also had to pull itself back from years of underfunding and work hard to improve the service it gives to the people of this county.

“In a totally transparent process, the recommendation to reappoint was scrutinised in detail at a public meeting of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel, who approved the reappointment unanimously.

“I wanted to ensure that the service continues to improve and that we don’t lose a senior officer at this time of national crisis. Darren could have chosen to take his pension and find a senior role with another organisation but instead, he has agreed to stay and has been reappointed on the same terms and conditions for a fixed term of two years. During this time, his chief officer team will continue to gain in experience and develop their skills so that there are strong candidates for the post from both inside and outside NFRS when Darren’s contract comes to an end.”

The union argues that Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has not seen any major disruption to its statutory responsibility during the coronavirus pandemic and the FBU are calling for “full transparency” on the reasons for re-appointing Mr Dovey, who was appointed fire chief in 2016.

The National Framework raises specific concerns about senior officers receiving retirement benefits while returning to their previous roles on “favourable terms”, which the FBU says “must be addressed”.

The commissioner’s office says under his new contract, there will be no employers’ contribution to Mr Dovey’s pension which will save the public purse more than £40,000.