Prison Officer - HMP

Eligibility

• to become a prison officer, you will need to:
  • be at least 18 years old at the point you commence employment
  • meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements (see nationality requirements section below)
  • pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process
  • meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes (with and without corrective lenses)
  • have a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids) for safety during training
  • tattoos are permitted but must not be offensive, discriminatory, violent, or intimidating

Facial tattoos are generally not acceptable, except where this is for cultural, religious, or medical reasons.

Some prison establishments are situated in rural locations with limited public transport options; a driving licence and own transport is beneficial but not an essential requirement of the role (unless specified). Please note that shift start and finish times are fixed, and it is your responsibility to get to and from your place of work on time for the start of your shift.

Please carefully consider the location of this vacancy and your transport options before applying.

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and those who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the EUSS
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements: the Nationality rules in the document at

Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

You don’t need qualifications to become a prison officer. Personal qualities are more important. You need to show:

• communication and influencing skills
• commitment to quality
• effective decision-making
• care and understanding

The initial training is 37 hours a week. After training, you can choose to work 37, 39 or 41 hours a week. Your annual salary will reflect your weekly hours:

• 37 hours a week – £33,746 a year
• 39 hours a week – £35,875 a year
• 41 hours a week – £38,003 a year

All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances that are applicable to the role/location.

Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means you will have to cover various shift patterns that will include evenings, some nights, weekends and public holidays (these days are added to your holiday allowance). Most prisons work with a changing shift pattern of 39 hours a week.

You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme. Jobs are provided by the Find a Job Service from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).