Band 6 and Band 7 Prison Manager Pay 2026/27: £64,978

In shortBand 7 is a spot rate of £54,148 base (£64,978 with the 20% Required Hours Addition); no Band 6 figure is published, so we do not state one.

• Band 7 base pay£54,148National, 37 hours
• Band 7 inc 20% RHA£64,978National, 37 hours
• Outer London inc RHA£69,096Base £57,580
• Inner London inc RHA£71,239Base £59,366
• Band 6Not publishedNo PSPRB pay row

The Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) sets pay for operational prison staff in England and Wales in Bands 2 to 5 and 7 to 12.

For Band 7, titled Head of Function, the 2026/27 figure is a spot rate: £54,148 base pay, or £64,978 including the 20% Required Hours Addition (RHA), in the National zone on 37 hours.

Band 6 does not appear in the PSPRB's pay tables. HMPPS's own career pages use the label, describing senior management as Bands 6 to 8 and covering heads of function and governor roles, and HMPPS evidence refers to Band 6 in discussing the Required Hours Addition. We could not find any published salary for it.

The honest answer is that a Band 6 salary figure is not publicly confirmed in the sources we could verify, and this guide will not make one up. If a Band 6 job advert shows a figure, that advert is the authority.

In shortWe cannot tell you what a Band 6 earns, whether it has pay points or whether it carries the Required Hours Addition.

• Remit group28,905 FTEAt 30 September 2025
• Band 25,388Within the remit group
• Bands 3 to 522,534Within the remit group
• Bands 7 to 12983Within the remit group

The PSPRB's 2026 report covers Band 2, Bands 3 to 5 and Bands 7 to 12, with a remit group of 28,905 full-time equivalent staff at 30 September 2025. Band 6 is not a separate line.

HMPPS pages that describe career progression group senior management as Bands 6 to 8 and give a top figure of up to £63,139, which is the National maximum for Band 8 base pay, not a Band 6 pay point. All we can say is that the label is used by HMPPS in career guidance.

That matters for anyone searching for a Band 6 prison salary: the figures quoted on third-party salary sites are not from the PSPRB's tables, and we do not repeat them.

In shortFor Bands 7 to 11 the headline base pay is not the full pay: a pensionable 20% addition sits on top, and Band 12 does not receive it.

HMPPS evidence says Bands 7 to 11 receive a Required Hours Addition equivalent to the 20% unsocial working hours allowance for the lower grades. The PSPRB table notes it as 20% of base pay and pensionable.

It is why Band 7 National pay is shown as £54,148 base and £64,978 inclusive: £54,148 × 1.20 = £64,977.60, rounded to £64,978.

• Band 12, the Prison Group Director spot rate, is not eligible for the addition because the spot rate is inclusive.
• For comparison, the lower grades' equivalent is covered in unsocial hours allowance explained.
• The 2027 PSPRB report is due to review the unsocial hours payments for Bands 2 to 5 and 7 to 11, so the arrangement is under review; no change has been announced.

In shortBand 7 is a single spot rate with no progression; Band 8 is a 10%-wide range that received 3 1/3% progression in 2026.

The pay tables label Band 7 as Head of Function, and HMPPS job descriptions for Head of Function posts show both standard and complex versions, for example Reducing Reoffending, Education, Skills and Work, and Drug Strategy and Healthcare Provision.

Which band a given post sits at is set by its job description, so Heads of Function can appear at more than one band. For governors see prison governor salary.

In shortA National Band 7 on £64,978 takes home about £45,379 a year (£3,782 a month); the 40% threshold is crossed in every example here.

• Band 7 take-home£45,379A year; £3,782 a month
• Band 8 minimum£47,469£3,956 a month (on £68,878)
• Band 8 maximum£51,161£4,263 a month (on £75,767)

The example is a National Band 7 officer on £64,978 including the Required Hours Addition, using 2026/27 rUK rates and a 1257L tax code. Pensionable pay includes the addition, so the Alpha member contribution is 7.35% (the band for £56,001 to £150,000), which is £4,776.

Taxable income is £60,202, so tax is £11,513 (20% on £37,700 and 40% on £9,932 above the £50,270 mark). National Insurance is £3,310. The result is £45,379 a year, or £3,782 a month.

The 40% higher-rate threshold at £50,270 is crossed in all of these, so each extra pound of pay is taxed at 40% with a further 2% National Insurance above £50,270, leaving about 58p before any pension effect.

In shortBand 7 is the Head of Function grade: it sits below deputy governor and governor and above Band 5 custodial managers, and the job description is the real definition.

A head of function manages a major department of a prison. The HMPPS job descriptions published on the Justice jobs site include posts such as Reducing Reoffending, Education, Skills and Work, and Drug Strategy and Healthcare Provision, in standard and complex versions.

• Treat the job description attached to a vacancy as the definition: it sets out accountability, budget, staff numbers, the type of establishment and the person specification.
• Each advert states whether the post is open to internal candidates only or to external applicants, so check the eligibility line before you invest time in an application.
• To see where you might work, use the prison finder and the prisons directory.
• Prison governor roles covers the structure above it, and HMPPS structure explained shows how establishments, groups and headquarters fit together.

In shortMost uniformed routes pass through Band 5, built on breadth of experience, and the jump from Band 5 pay point 3 to Band 7 is £17,921 gross a year.

HMPPS says senior management roles including heads of function and governor roles are open to those who have built experience, with career development support that includes rotation, temporary deployment and leadership and talent programmes. The youth justice pages similarly say that to reach senior roles you build experience as a custodial manager.

In practice most uniformed routes pass through Band 5, but vacancies are advertised and some are open to applicants from other backgrounds, so check eligibility in each advert.

1. Build breadth as a custodial manager: move across functions, take temporary promotion, join leadership programmes.
2. Read Band 6 to 8 job descriptions on the HMPPS jobs site and compare essential criteria with your record.
3. Ask your line manager and the learning and development team about talent and development schemes.
4. Check the advert for pay, hours and whether the Required Hours Addition is included.
5. Prepare evidence of budget, performance and risk leadership for the application.
6. Before accepting, confirm in writing the pay, hours, location and pension implications.

In shortSenior managers are in Alpha at a 7.35% member rate above £56,000, and the Required Hours Addition is pensionable; senior-grade conditions are not confirmed.

• Alpha rate above £56,0007.35%2026/27 member rate
• Alpha rate above £150,0008.05%2026/27 member rate
• Annual leave25 daysRising to 30 with long service (service-wide)

Senior managers are in the Civil Service Alpha scheme. The Required Hours Addition is pensionable, so it adds to your pension, which is one reason it matters. The 2026/27 employer contribution is not confirmed in our sources. See civil service pension for prison officers and the pension calculator.

Other conditions, including annual leave of 25 days rising to 30 with long service, are described by HMPPS for the service generally; we could not confirm whether senior grades have different terms, so check your offer.