OSG Pay Scale 2026/27: Salary, Wage and Hourly Rate

In shortThe OSG is Band 2, a spot rate of £25,409 National base, or £31,761 with the 25% unsocial working hours payment.

• National base£25,40937-hour week
• National incl. 25% UWH£31,761Outer London £36,051; Inner London £38,284
• 39h incl. 2 x ACHP and 25% UWH£33,478National zone
• Gap to a Band 3 officer£3,167Band 3 National starts on £34,928 on 37 hours

The Operational Support Grade is Band 2 of the Fair and Sustainable structure in England and Wales. It is a spot rate, so there are no pay points to climb.

From 1 April 2026 the National base figure is £25,409 a year for a 37-hour week. The PSPRB's table adds a 25% unsocial working hours (UWH) payment, giving £31,761.

These are the figures people search for as OSG pay, OSG salary, OSG wage or OSG pay scale. The answer is a table of three zones and two contract patterns rather than a scale. Use the free salary calculator for your own figure and read the OSG role guide for the job itself.

In shortThe 2026 base of about £13.17 an hour is roughly 46p, or 3.6%, above the National Living Wage on our arithmetic.

Band 2 has long been the grade most exposed to the National Living Wage (NLW). The NLW for workers aged 21 and over rose from £12.21 to £12.71 an hour on 1 April 2026, a 4.1% increase.

On our arithmetic (annual pay ÷ 52.143 weeks ÷ 37 hours), the 2025 base figure of £24,527 was about £12.71 an hour, and the figure after the statutory uplift alone, £24,549, about £12.72.

The PSPRB again said there should be no formal link between Band 2 pay and the NLW. The PSPRB's table shows the rate after the NLW uplift alone (£24,549 National) and then the rate after the 3.5% award on top, £25,409, which is what is paid.

The result is a base hourly rate of about £13.17, around 46p, or roughly 3.6%, above the NLW on our arithmetic.

The government accepted all the recommendations. HMPPS had proposed 3.0% for Band 2 including 0.1% for the NLW; the POA argued for 6.3% or a spot rate 20% above the NLW.

In shortBand 2 gets 25% of base pay for all contracted hours, pensionable, held until the 2027 report; Bands 3 to 5 get 20%.

Band 2 OSGs receive an unsocial working hours payment for all contracted hours.

In the 2025 report the PSPRB raised it from 20% to 25% as a temporary measure for two years, and in 2026 (recommendation 10) it maintained 25% of base pay until the 2027 report is published. For Bands 3 to 5 the rate is 20%.

The 25% is why the National total is £31,761 rather than £30,491, a difference of £1,270 a year. The payment is pensionable, like the officer allowance.

The 2027 report will review unsocial hours payments for Bands 2 to 5, so this arrangement is under review, and we do not forecast the result. A POA proposal for officers asked for 33%; the PSPRB did not adopt it.

In shortUnlike Bands 3 to 5, OSGs can be paid overtime at 1.33 times weekday and 1.75 times weekend rates, plus £5 an hour; it is not pensionable.

• Weekday multiplier1.33Effective 1.72 on 2025 base rates plus £5 an hour
• Weekend multiplier1.75Effective 2.14; midnight Friday to midnight Sunday or a Public or Bank Holiday
• Operation Tornado, OSG£30 an hourOfficers £40 an hour
• Dirty protest allowance£15 / £30 a day£15 for four hours or less, £30 for more

The PSPRB describes overtime as 1.33 times the standard hourly base rate for weekday time and 1.75 times for weekend time, meaning midnight Friday to midnight Sunday or a Public or Bank Holiday, with a permanent extra £5 an hour added.

On 2025 base rates that gave effective multipliers of 1.72 on weekdays and 2.14 at weekends.

Applying the formula to the 2026 base of about £13.17 an hour gives roughly £22.52 for a weekday hour and £28.05 for a weekend hour.

These are our estimates on the stated formula, not published rates; the PSPRB's multipliers are quoted on 2025 pay, so check your payslip. A hundred weekday overtime hours would be about £2,252 gross, which raises a National OSG's take-home from about £25,219 to about £26,840, so £1,621 net.

• Overtime is not pensionable, and time off in lieu is single time only.
• It can cover vacancies, sickness or training if the establishment has the budget.
• Overtime is scheduled for review in the 2028 report.
• For the officer-grade equivalent, Payment Plus at £23 an hour, see Payment Plus explained and prison officer overtime.

In shortA National OSG on 37 hours takes home about £25,219 a year, £2,163 less than a starting Band 3 officer.

The estimates use 2026/27 rUK rates for a taxpayer on 1257L: £12,570 personal allowance, 20% tax to £50,270, employee National Insurance of 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, and Alpha pension contributions of 4.6% on pensionable earnings up to £36,199 and 5.45% from £36,200.

The pension comes off before tax. We assume there is no student loan or other deduction.

A National OSG on 37 hours, gross £31,761, pays £1,461 in pension, £3,546 in tax and £1,535 in National Insurance, leaving £25,219 a year, about £2,102 a month. On 39 hours with ACHP (£33,478) it is about £26,392, or £2,199 a month.

In Outer London on 37 hours (£36,051) the figure is about £28,150, and in Inner London (£38,284) about £29,415, because the Inner London figure crosses into the 5.45% band.

In shortOSG work is mainly gate security, searches, deliveries, visits and monitoring, with limited prisoner contact that varies by post.

• Band 2 FTE (30 June 2026)5,661Up 242 on the year
• Bands 3 to 5 FTE22,001Down 701

HMPPS describes OSG work as security and searches at the gate, managing deliveries, supervising visitors, and monitoring phone calls and CCTV, with contact with prisoners limited, though it can occur depending on the establishment.

It is an active role needing a reasonable level of physical stamina, with lifting and carrying and long periods of standing and walking. Some OSGs work nights. The mix of duties varies between prisons and between posts, so read the advert.

For the work in more detail see the planned guide to the operational support grade role, and prison officer ranks and grades for how the grades relate.

• Gate duties: secure entry and exit of staff, visitors and vehicles, searching, escorting vehicles and contractors, issuing keys and radios and patrolling the perimeter
• Control room duties including the radio and CCTV
• Visits and correspondence
• Reception, night duties and food delivery
• Supervising prisoners and helping officers escort them in some posts

In shortYou need to be 18 or over with the right to work, no qualifications are required, and the process takes 4 to 5 months on average.

To become an OSG you need to be 18 or over, with the right to work in the UK and the Civil Service. A valid driving licence is desirable. No qualifications are needed, though HMPPS says you should have basic maths, spelling, grammar and IT skills and fluent English.

Tattoos are permitted as long as they are not offensive, discriminatory, violent or intimidating; facial tattoos are generally not acceptable except for cultural, religious or medical reasons.

The process has two stages: an online application of about 10 minutes plus a values-based assessment of up to 20 minutes, then an interview of about 30 minutes. If you pass, pre-employment checks average 25 working days and include security, identity and employment verification.

HMPPS says the whole process takes 4 to 5 months on average from application to first day, and describes Enhanced Level 2 vetting.

1. Check you are 18 or over and have the right to work in the UK and the Civil Service.
2. Search the HMPPS jobs site for OSG vacancies and read the advert for the allowance, hours and shift pattern.
3. Complete the online application and the values-based assessment.
4. Prepare for the 30-minute interview using real examples and the STAR method.
5. Complete pre-employment checks and vetting, allowing for the timescales above.
6. Confirm your pay, hours and the unsocial hours percentage in writing on offer.

In shortThere is no published pathway from OSG to officer: officer vacancies go through the normal recruitment process, and the pay gain is about £2,163 after deductions.

HMPPS says the OSG role can provide opportunities to move into other prison jobs, but its pages do not set out a specific pathway to prison officer. In practice, officer vacancies are advertised and applicants go through the officer recruitment process, so OSG experience is useful evidence rather than a guaranteed route.

Check with your establishment's HR about any internal or accelerated arrangements, which we could not verify.

The financial case is clear at the lowest pay point. Against that, officers do a different job, with more contact with prisoners and a fitness test; see the fitness test guide and how to become a prison officer.

In shortBand 2 pay is partly driven by the National Living Wage, and the 25% payment could change after the 2027 review.

That pattern means Band 2 pay is partly driven by the statutory wage. The NLW for April 2027 is not set at the time of writing and we do not forecast it.

The Ministry of Justice remit letter of 15 July 2026 formally began the 2027/28 PSPRB round and the review of unsocial hours payments is due, so the 25% could change.

Keep an eye on the pay rise page and prison officer pay rise 2027/28.

A final note for those on legacy terms: the PSPRB's tables list a closed-grade rate of £25,876 for OSG, Prison Auxiliary and G4S Security Officer posts on a 39-hour basis, made NLW compliant from 1 April 2026.

If you are on a closed grade, ask HR what Fair and Sustainable would mean for you before opting in.

In shortOSGs are in the Alpha scheme at 4.6% up to £36,199; check the zone, base figure, allowance percentage and hours on your offer.

OSGs are Civil Servants and members of the Alpha pension scheme. The 2026/27 member contribution is 4.6% on pensionable earnings up to £36,199, so an OSG on £31,761 pays £1,461 a year. The unsocial hours payment is pensionable, overtime is not.

The 2026/27 employer rate was not confirmed in our sources. See civil service pension for prison officers and the pension calculator.

The HMPPS Employee Package (2023-24 edition) gives 25 days' annual leave rising to 30 after 10 years' service, plus eight public holidays and one privilege day.

It also gives sick pay of up to 10 months' sick pay in a rolling four years for staff new to HMPPS on modernised terms (the split between full and half pay is not published).

We could not confirm whether OSGs differ, so ask HR; the prison officer sick pay guide sets out what we could and could not verify.