Frequently Asked Questions

Find out more and apply today if you are a:

• Service leaver in your last 12 months' of service
• or an armed forces veteran and are currently unemployed or not in full-time employment*, having spent at least a year in service as a regular or reserve in her Majesty's Armed Forces and left within the last five years.

*Working part-time or on a zero hours contract are considered as 'not in full-time employment.'

If neither of these apply to you, we'd still love to hear from you. You can find our current vacancies and more insights into working as a prison officer on our website. If you meet the eligibility criteria, the 'Making the Civil Service a Great Place to Work for Veterans' initiative guarantees you an interview.

To apply to be a prison officer you'll need to:

• be at least 18 years old
• have the right to work in the UK
• be reasonably fit, have good eyesight and hearing.

If you are not a UK or EU citizen, you will need a leave to remain entitlement of approximately 24 months or more at the point you apply. To work in a high security prison, you must have been resident in the UK for the last three years.

The scheme is currently only for prison officer roles.

You will initially be offered a two-year fixed-term contract, with an opportunity to move to permanent after one year. This will be subject to a performance review.

To support your resettlement, you will be offered one of the following:

• If you live within 75 minutes of the allocated establishment, you will be offered home to work travel expenses for up to two years.
• If you live more than 75 minutes of the establishment, you can claim up to £12,000 in receipted relocation costs. Relocation costs over £8,000 are usually taxable, however we will be covering the tax burden for the additional £4,000.

You will initially be placed on a two-year fixed term contract; with an option to change to a permanent contract with the relevant approvals.

The Advance into Justice scheme could see you fast-track from application to employment and paid prison officer training in as little as 3 months.

Once your assessment day has taken place and you are offered a role, we aim to have the pre-employment checks completed within 4-6 weeks

If you are a Service Leaver, you can go through this process whilst you are in transition and we can agree a deferred start date to align with your leave date from the armed forces ensuring an immediate second uniformed career. Your deferred start date can be up to 12 months from the successful assessment day.

Advance into Justice team will provide support at every stage of the process. This will include:

• an invitation to a webinar to give you top tips to prepare for the assessment centre
• support during your assessment
• advice and guidance on your pre-employment checks.

Once in post, you will have access to a range of employee support networks and will be linked with your local veteran champion.

Advance into Justice is currently open until 17th February 2022. We anticipate the scheme will open for applications every 3 months following on from this first campaign.

Your application can be held for up to a year from the date of your assessment day. This is because the certification for some of our assessments (fitness/medical) are time bound.

If your Armed Forces exit date is more than 12 months from the assessment date, we may need to make further arrangements but can discuss these with you on a case by case basis.

No. Advance into Justice is for prison officer roles only.

The 'Making the Civil Service a Great Place to Work for Veterans' who meet the eligibility criteria an interview for other HMPPS roles.

There is no upper age limit to be a prison officer. While you can apply ahead of your birthday, you must be 18 when you start your role.

Most prisons work with a changing shift pattern of 39 hours a week. This can include some nights, weekends and public holidays (these days are added to your holiday allowance).Shifts usually follow regular hours although the start and finish time may vary depending on your prison. An example shift pattern is shown below.

	Start	Finish
Early	7.00am	12.30pm
Late	12.00pm	8.00pm
Main	8.00am	5.00pm
All day	8.00am	8.00pm
Nights	8.45pm	7.30am

The independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) review prison officer pay on an annual basis in line with public sector pay policy guidelines.

Staff within a pay scale/pay range receive progression increases as they move through the pay scale/pay range, subject to meeting performance requirements (where applicable).

The effective date for increases is 1 April. However, these may be applied retrospectively where there has been a delay in remit approval, discussions with trade union groups have taken place after April, or where increases are linked to annual performance markings

Your pay depends on where you work in England and Wales, and your weekly shift hours.

You can find full details here.

You can read about the range of benefits available here.

You do not need qualifications to become a prison officer. Personal qualities are more important.

You will need to demonstrate the following:

• good communication and influencing skills
• teamwork and collaboration
• effective decision-making
• care and understanding

During your assessment centre, we will test your numeracy and literacy levels to ensure they meet the standards needed to work as a prison officer.

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 alongside many other opportunities.

These specialisms, plus promotional opportunities, will be available to you once you become permanent.

We don't currently have a home learning package. Take a look at the assessment centre page for information to help you prepare for the numeracy and literacy tests you will need to complete

Unfortunately, not. You will accrue service within the civil service from the first day of your fixed-term appointment within the Civil Service.

You can find information on the Civil Service's pension, here.

We advise you to contact the pension provider directly for information on whether you can link your current pension.

You will be entitled to claim travel expenses and will be given an expenses form to complete on the day. Please ensure you keep your receipts.

Following a 1 week induction at the prison you will be working at, your initial training will take nine weeks. Find out more here.

We have a number of training centres across the UK. If you live withing 75 minutes of your designated centre, you will be able to reclaim your travel costs. If you live further away, you will stay at the centre during the week. You will be able to claim expenses for your travel and food costs.

This will depend on the awarding body and the time that has elapsed since you did your training. You may be asked to complete new training.

You can contact the Advance into Justice team by emailing advance-into-justice@justice.gov.uk.