Public sector jobs in Rotherham

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is the borough’s largest public employer, with jobs in social care, schools support, housing and street services. The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Rotherham Hospital, is the other big one. Mental health services, schools, South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue account for most of the other jobs, and Sheffield’s hospitals and offices are a short commute away.

Rotherham Council and its pay

The council is a metropolitan borough council, so it delivers the full range of local services itself: children’s and adult social care, education support, council housing, highways, waste and recycling, libraries, parks and public health. It recruits social workers, occupational therapists, family support workers, care staff, housing officers, refuse crews, customer service staff and corporate roles, and lists them on its own website.

Pay follows the NJC spine. After the 3.3 per cent award from 1 April 2026 the bottom point, SCP 3, is £25,614, and the top of the spine is £56,293 at SCP 43. Each council has its own grading structure, which maps grades onto groups of spine points, so the advert will show something like “Grade 5, SCP 12 to 17”. Spine points explained shows how to read that, and NJC pay spine 2026/27 lists every point.

Leave starts at 23 days plus eight bank holidays and two extra days, and rises to 26 days after five years’ continuous local government service. Sick pay follows the Green Book scale, which starts at one month’s full pay and two months’ half pay in the first year once you have four months’ service, and reaches six months full and six months half after five years.

The council pension

Council staff, including support staff in maintained schools, can join the Local Government Pension Scheme. Contributions depend on your actual pay:

Pay in 2026/27	Main section	50/50 section
Up to £18,400	5.5%	2.75%
£18,401 to £29,000	5.8%	2.9%
£29,001 to £47,300	6.5%	3.25%
£47,301 to £59,800	6.8%	3.4%
£59,801 to £84,000	8.5%	4.25%

In the 50/50 section you pay half and build up half the pension, while death and ill-health cover stays at the full level. Your employer reviews your band each April. The Local Government Pension Scheme explains how the benefits build up.

Hospital and mental health services

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust runs Rotherham Hospital, which has an emergency department, as well as community nursing and therapy services in the borough. Mental health and learning disability services are provided by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH). Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust covers 999 calls.

Agenda for Change pay for England rose 3.3 per cent from 1 April 2026. Band 3 pays £25,760 to £27,476, band 5 pays £32,073 to £39,043, and band 6 pays £39,959 to £48,117. There is no high cost area supplement in South Yorkshire. Both trusts advertise on NHS Jobs or Trac.

Schools

Rotherham schools are a mix of maintained schools and academies. Teachers are paid on the national scale from 1 September 2026, with M1 at £34,069 and U3 at £52,835 outside London, once the 2026 pay and conditions document comes into force. Support staff are usually on the NJC spine and paid term-time only, so their actual salary is a percentage of the full-time figure. How term-time-only pay is calculated works through an example. School vacancies are on Teaching Vacancies and on academy trust websites.

Police and fire

South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue cover Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield. Constables start on £32,255 (PP1) from 1 September 2026. Firefighters are paid £31,539 in development and £40,358 once competent from 1 July 2026. Both forces also employ civilian staff, whose pay is set locally.

For hospital, university and Civil Service jobs nearby, see public sector jobs in Sheffield, and for the next borough north, public sector jobs in Barnsley.