Prison Officer Market Supplements 2026: All 18 Prisons Listed

In shortA market supplement is a non-pensionable extra for Band 3 officers at prisons with acute recruitment and retention challenges, paid on top of the zone and contract figure.

The HMPPS jobs site states that supplement prisons "will retain that status until at least March 2027" and that the supplement may be withdrawn from a site if no longer necessary.

It is a Band 3 payment. The sources we read do not describe an equivalent for Band 4 or 5 staff, and Band 2 supplements were consolidated into Band 2 base pay from 1 April 2023. At 30 June 2025, 3,124 full-time-equivalent Band 3 staff were eligible.

Market supplement

Also called a targeted retention payment by HMPPS. Paid to Band 3 prison officers on Fair and Sustainable terms. Not part of base salary, non-pensionable, paid in 12 monthly instalments.

"Red" and "red plus"

Older PSPRB shorthand for historical tiers: "red" for £2,000 and "red plus" for £3,500. The PSPRB describes the current amounts as £1,500, £2,000, £3,000 and £3,500.

In shortEighteen prisons are on the HMPPS list at 3 October 2026: three at £1,500, ten at £2,000, one at £3,000 and four at £3,500.

The table below is the list shown by HMPPS Prison and Probation Jobs on 3 October 2026, with the net value we estimate for a basic-rate taxpayer. The count of 18 prisons matches the Minister's January 2026 letter to the PSPRB, reproduced in Appendix C of its report.

In shortThe supplement is flat, so it matters most at the start of the scale: at a £3,500 prison, pay point 1 is £38,428 against £34,928, close to Outer London starting pay.

• Pay point 1 at a £3,500 prison£38,428Against £34,928, a 10% difference
• Pay point 3 at a £3,500 prison£40,278Against £36,778
• Take-home, National starter at £3,500 prison£29,902Outer London starter with none: £29,791

The comparison with London is revealing. A National-scale officer at a £3,500 prison starts on £38,428, close to the Outer London starting pay of £38,840 without a supplement. After tax, we estimate a National starter at a £3,500 prison takes home about £29,902 against £29,791 for an Outer London starter with no supplement.

An Outer London officer at Downview, Feltham or High Down with the £2,000 supplement would be on about £40,840 gross, a little under the Inner London start of £40,876 on the HMPPS tables, if the two are additive as we read them.

• Non-pensionable: it does not increase your pensionable pay, so it is neutral for your Alpha pension contribution band and does not build pension.
• It is taxable and counts for National Insurance.
• Lenders may treat it differently from basic pay, so ask before relying on it for a mortgage; our mortgage calculator lets you test pay with and without it.

In shortSince April 2025 supplements are reviewed annually and eroded by about £500 a year where evidence supports it, so treat one as a declining benefit.

The principle is described in the PSPRB's report and the Minister's letters. We treat the HMPPS list as authoritative for current amounts; the older tier names are historical.

An illustrative path: a £2,000 supplement eroding by £500 a year would pay £2,000, £1,500, £1,000, £500 and then nothing. That is a scenario, not a forecast, and the review is evidence-based, so it could stop or reverse.

The pay award is meant to offset it: a 3.5% award on the £34,928 pay point 1 figure is about £1,200 a year gross. That offset is the design intention; whether you feel it depends on your pay point and contract.

In shortSupplements are a long-running way to deal with local recruitment problems without a regional pay scale; the POA wants them consolidated and the PSPRB thinks they should be phased out.

Underlying all of this is the staffing picture: HMPPS workforce statistics to 30 June 2026, published on 20 August 2026, show 22,001 full-time-equivalent Band 3 to 5 officers, 701 fewer than a year earlier, a resignation rate of 5.6% and 2,116 appointments in the 12 months to 30 June 2026.

None of that tells you what will happen to your own prison's supplement. The 2027 review is part of the next pay round, which the Ministry of Justice began on 15 July 2026. For the latest, see our pay rise page.

For the wider picture of pay by location, see pay by region and London pay.

In shortAt the start of the Band 3 scale a £3,500 supplement prison is within about £110 of Outer London take-home, but London pulls ahead as pay progresses.

The most common real choice is between a supplement prison on National pay and a London prison with no supplement. The arithmetic at the start of the Band 3 scale, on 37 hours, shows how close they are.

A National starter takes home about £27,382 on our 2026/27 estimates. At a £3,500 prison that rises by £2,520 to about £29,902, which is within about £110 of an Outer London starter with no supplement (£29,791).

An Outer London officer at Downview, Feltham or High Down with the £2,000 supplement would be about £31,231, a little above an Inner London starter without one (£31,168).

In shortThe sources are clear about amounts and headline rules and silent on the details that decide individual cases, so we do not state those rules.

We could not find published answers to the questions below. HMPPS's page says only that it is non-pensionable, paid in 12 monthly instalments, and that qualifying prisons keep the status until at least March 2027.

• Whether a supplement is paid in full during sickness absence, maternity or other leave.
• Whether it is paid pro rata to contract hours or in full on a 39 or 41 hour contract.
• Whether it applies during probation.
• What happens to it if you transfer or are promoted.

In shortA supplement is a reason to look at a job, not a reason by itself: it is non-pensionable, eroding at some prisons and can be withdrawn.

The most valuable question is why that prison needs one: high vacancies, difficult working conditions or distance from where staff live all affect your experience.

Use the steps below. They combine the pay arithmetic with questions only the establishment can answer, so that you compare like with like. Our job offer comparator and prison finder help with the first two.

• Not pensionable: it does not build your Alpha pension.
• Band 3 only, on Fair and Sustainable terms.
• Applies by establishment, not by region or county.

1. Check the current tier and the exact salary figure in the live advert, and whether it includes the supplement.
2. Convert to take-home: a basic-rate taxpayer keeps about 72% of the supplement.
3. Ask when the establishment's supplement was last reviewed and whether it has been reduced.
4. Ask whether the supplement is affected by contract hours, probation, sickness absence or transfer. We could not verify these rules.
5. Weigh the non-pay side: staffing levels, the prison's inspection reports and shift pattern, using the prison's directory page.
6. Do not assume the amount will stay; plan on contracted pay and treat the supplement as a bonus.