With training, teamwork and the support you need to succeed.
As a prison officer, you’ll be trained for every situation. Whatever the challenge, you’ll have the support you need from your team to make a difference every day.
Why people love the job
Pay
Your pay depends on where you work in England and Wales, and your weekly shift hours.
You will start on a 37 hour contract until your initial training is complete. After this you can choose to increase your hours to 39 or 41 hours a week.
You can also earn more if overtime is available in your prison.
| Example starting salary for a 39 hour week (including 17% unsocial hours allowance) |
|
|---|---|
| Inner London | £32,044* |
| Outer London | £30,461 – £32,461* |
| South and South East | £27,427 – £29,427* |
| Other locations | £24,427 |
See full salary information for England and Wales
Inner London
HMP Brixton, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs
| 37 hours | £30,518* | |
| 39 hours | £32,044* | |
| 41 hours | £33,570* | |
|
* includes market supplement of £3,000 and 17% unsocial hours allowance
|
||
Outer London
HMP Downview, Feltham, High Down
| 37 hours | £31,018* | |
| 39 hours | £32,461* | |
| 41 hours | £33,903* | |
|
* includes market supplement of £5,000 and 17% unsocial hours allowance
|
||
HMP Belmarsh, Isis
| 37 hours | £29,018* | |
| 39 hours | £30,461* | |
| 41 hours | £31,903* | |
|
* includes market supplement of £3,000 and 17% unsocial hours allowance
|
||
South and South East
HMP Aylesbury, Bedford, Bullingdon, Coldingley, Cookham Wood, Elmley, Grendon, Highpoint, Huntercombe, Medway, Send, Stanford Hill, Swaleside, The Mount, Woodhill, Winchester
| 37 hours | £28,144* | |
| 39 hours | £29,427* | |
| 41 hours | £30,710* | |
|
* includes market supplement of £5,000 and 17% unsocial hours allowance
|
||
HMP Chelmsford, Erlestoke, Guys Marsh, Lewes, Littlehey, Rochester, Whitemoor
| 37 hours | £26,144* | |
| 39 hours | £27,427* | |
| 41 hours | £28,710* | |
|
* includes market supplement of £3,000 and 17% unsocial hours allowance
|
||
Other locations
All other government-run prisons in England and Wales
| 37 hours | £23,144* | |
| 39 hours | £24,427* | |
| 41 hours | £25,710* | |
|
* includes 17% unsocial hours allowance
|
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Benefits
- 25 days of annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years service)
- paid time off for public holidays and 1 extra privilege day*
- generous maternity leave cover
- Civil Service pension of up to 20% of your salary
- cycle to work scheme and travel loans
- property rental deposit loans
- access to local keyworker housing schemes
- employee assistance programmes.
*As prisons operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you will be expected to work on some public and bank holidays. Any that you do work will be added to your annual leave entitlement.
"A chance to better myself"
Steve, HMP & YOI Belmarsh
Steve has been a prison officer for 4 years. He was previously an undertaker and coach driver.
I honestly just searched online for ‘jobs with no driving’. I was fed up with the same routine and wanted to work with people.
Becoming a prison officer has given me the chance to learn new things and push myself.
HMP & YOI Belmarsh has a high security unit, serves local courts and houses young offenders. You can throw yourself into things that interest you and get experience as you go.
I had to talk a prisoner down from a roof. Now, I’m following up with specialised training for negotiating at height.
I’m also a trained member of the Tornado Team. We are called in to restore order. I might join the national team one day, but I think I’d miss the daily variety of talking to people and solving problems.
People don’t realise the different roles open to them as a prison officer. It is so much more than locking and unlocking doors.
Training
From Summer 2021 all new prison officers starting in establishments in the North and Midlands region of England will begin their career by completing a Custody and Detention Professional Apprenticeship which should take 12 – 18 months to complete.
Week 1 to 10: following a local induction at your ‘home’ prison you will go on a foundation training programme at a designated learning centre. This will usually be close to your ‘home’ prison location.
Week 11 to 25: you will be back at your ‘home’ location where you will carry on with your training with regular support from apprenticeship coaches.
You will also have 2 checkpoints to review your progress:
Checkpoint 1 (weeks 25 to 28)
This will include 1 week of portfolio work outside of your regular working area and 1 week at a Learning and Development Centre.
Checkpoint 2 (weeks 44 to 47)
You will spend 1 week at a designated learning centre. This week is an opportunity to reflect on your current progress and prepare for the Gateway at the end of your apprenticeship.
You will receive full pay and expenses.
Prison officers starting in the South
Prison officers starting their career this year in the South of England or Wales will complete the same training as the apprenticeship (listed above) but will work towards a Professional Vocational Diploma in Custodial Care. If you start in your establishment before the national launch of the apprenticeship in 2022, you will still benefit from a comprehensive training programme that will give you all of the essential skills, knowledge and behaviours to be a fully trained prison officer, but you will not be able to obtain the apprenticeship qualification at the end of your training.
What to expect during training
The apprenticeship prepares you for life as a prison officer. You will learn and practise all the key skills and behaviours that are vital to the role including:
- how to look after people in custody
- search and security procedures
- de-escalation techniques
You will receive an NVQ Level 3 Diploma in custodial care and, for those starting in adult prisons from Summer 2021, a level 3 professional apprenticeship qualification in Custody and Detention when you complete the course.
Opportunity and progression
Training continues throughout your probation. There may be a further 2-week residential course if you work in a high security prison.
Training is available throughout your career. You could choose to specialise in working with vulnerable prisoners, become a dog handler or train as a physical education instructor.
Working for HM Prison & Probation Service
Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), created in April 2017, oversees 121 prisons and employs over 42,000 staff across England and Wales.
You will be joining a team committed to improving the rehabilitation of offenders and carrying out the biggest reform of the prison system in a generation.
You will be working for an organisation that rewards performance, invests in your career development and cares about your well-being both inside and outside of work.
