Prison Officer Maternity Pay 2026: 26 Weeks Contractual Pay

In shortUp to 52 weeks of leave with up to 26 weeks of contractual pay: in the Civil Service pattern, 26 weeks at full pay, 13 at statutory pay and 13 unpaid.

• Contractual (full) pay26 weeksEmployer's own scheme
• Statutory pay13 weeksStatutory maternity pay
• Unpaid leave13 weeksNo pay
• Total52 weeks39 of them paid

HMPPS's Prison Service Employee Package, in its section on family leave, lists 'maternity and Adoption Leave (up to 52 weeks of leave and up to 26 weeks of contractual pay)'. Contractual pay is the employer's own scheme, paid at full pay and better than the legal minimum.

The Civil Service-wide guidance for people having a baby, updated on GOV.UK on 8 July 2026, describes the usual pattern for civil servants: 26 weeks maternity leave at full pay, 13 weeks at statutory pay, and 13 weeks unpaid. Together that is the 52 weeks of leave, with 39 of them paid.

In shortOn our arithmetic the HMPPS structure pays about £19,942 gross over the year against about £10,030 on statutory pay alone, a difference of roughly £9,900.

• HMPPS structureAbout £19,942Gross over the year
• Statutory onlyAbout £10,030Over 39 paid weeks
• DifferenceAbout £9,900Almost all in the first 26 weeks

Take a Band 3 officer on the National scale, pay point 1, 37 hours, with the published annual figure including UWH of £34,928. Weekly gross pay is about £669.85 (our convention of annual pay divided by 52.143).

1. If her contractual full pay is that figure, 26 weeks is £17,416.
2. The next 13 weeks are paid at the statutory rate of £194.32 a week, which is £2,526.
3. The last 13 weeks are unpaid. That is roughly £19,942 gross over the year.

In shortLeave of 52 weeks is a day-one right, but statutory pay needs eligibility conditions, so ask HR very early which qualifying week applies to you.

• Leave52 weeksDay-one right
• Pay, first six weeks90%Of average weekly earnings
• Pay after that£194.32Or 90% of earnings if lower; up to 39 weeks
• Lower earnings limit£129 a week2026/27

Every employee is entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, and the Civil Service guide says it is a day-one right: you can take it as soon as you start work.

You can start leave as early as 11 weeks before the due date, and you must take at least two weeks after the birth (four for manual workers, which does not normally apply to prison staff).

The statutory pay is different and is not day one: you need to meet eligibility conditions, which for statutory maternity pay include a minimum period of continuous employment and average earnings at or above the lower earnings limit. Maternity Allowance from Jobcentre Plus applies for some people who cannot get statutory maternity pay.

The employer's contractual pay sits on top of this: in the Civil Service model, the first 26 weeks are topped up to full pay.

In shortHMPPS's service period, return-to-work commitment, repayment terms and definition of full pay for officers are not published, so get them from HR in writing.

Occupational maternity schemes typically come with conditions: a minimum period of service before the top-up applies, a commitment to return to work for a stated period, and repayment rules if you do not.

The Civil Service guide says you 'will need to check your maternity leave policy to see if you are entitled to full pay'.

We could not open HMPPS's maternity policy, so we do not state its service period, the length of any return-to-work commitment, or the repayment terms. The Civil Service guide defines full pay as what you would earn if you were not on leave. For an officer that raises specific questions.

• Is the 20% unsocial hours allowance included?
• Is Additional Committed Hours pay included if you are on 39 or 41 hours?
• Are market supplement instalments included?
• What about Payment Plus you would normally have earned? It is variable and tied to duties, so it is unlikely to be treated as normal pay, but we found no published statement either way.

In shortEmployers must assess risks to expectant mothers, but we did not find HMPPS's own pregnancy policy, so tell your manager and occupational health early and ask for the risk assessment in writing.

Prison work involves restraint, confinement and unpredictable incidents, so pregnancy raises specific safety questions. Under UK health and safety law employers must assess risks to new and expectant mothers. We did not find HMPPS's own pregnancy policy text, so we cannot say which duties are restricted or when you move to adjusted duties.

• The pregnant mother is entitled to reasonable paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments (Civil Service guide).
• The partner has a statutory right to unpaid time off to attend two appointments, with employers deciding whether to pay for that time.

In shortHow pension accrual, leave carry-over and pay progression are handled during maternity leave is not published, so ask HR before you start leave.

Pension

Alpha contributions and accrual follow pensionable earnings, and pay during leave changes. We could not open the Civil Service Pension Scheme's rules on maternity leave, so we do not say how contributions and accrual are treated on reduced or no pay. The scheme administrator (Capita) and HR can confirm, and it is worth asking before you start leave, because some schemes allow you to pay to cover unpaid periods. The alpha pension guide explains accrual in general.

Annual leave

Statutory holiday continues to build up while you are on maternity leave in the usual legal position, but how HMPPS handles carrying it over or taking it before or after leave is a policy matter we did not find. See annual leave for the entitlement, and ask whether leave must be taken before your leave starts or can be carried into your return.

Pay progression

The PSPRB's 2026 recommendation moves Band 3 and Band 5 staff one pay point if they were in post on 31 March 2026 and not on a formal poor performance procedure. It says nothing specific about maternity leave. Ask HR how progression is applied if your leave spans 1 April, so you can check your pay point on your return. The pay progression guide sets out what is published.

In shortAdopters should expect a comparable structure but the adoption policy is not published; shared parental leave lets you convert unused maternity leave, and Scotland differs.

The HMPPS package groups maternity and adoption leave together at up to 52 weeks and up to 26 weeks of contractual pay, so adopters should expect a comparable structure.

The Civil Service-wide policy has a separate guide for couples adopting or becoming parents through surrogacy. We opened the guide for having a baby, not the adoption one, so we do not set out the adoption rules here. Ask HR for the adoption policy.

In shortWork through eight practical steps and confirm each with HR, because the published sources leave several gaps.

Use this sequence as a planning aid, and confirm each step with HR. It is deliberately practical, since the published sources leave several gaps.

1. Tell your line manager and occupational health early, and ask for a written risk assessment and any adjusted duties.
2. Ask HR for the maternity leave policy and request, in writing, your qualifying week, service conditions, return-to-work commitment and repayment terms.
3. Ask what counts as full pay on your payslip: base, 20% unsocial hours allowance, additional committed hours, market supplement.
4. Use the free calculator to estimate your pay week by week, and compare it with your monthly outgoings.
5. Agree your leave start date in writing, and check how annual leave, TOIL and pay progression are handled around it.
6. Ask the scheme administrator (Capita) or HR how pension contributions and accrual are treated during paid and unpaid periods.
7. If sharing leave with a partner, plan the split and notice periods early; eight weeks' notice applies for shared parental leave.
8. Keep copies of everything, including the maternity certificate and HR's written replies.