Prison Officer Pay by Region 2026/27: England, Scotland, NI

In shortThere is no regional salary map for England and Wales: one national scale, a London differential and a short supplement list, with Scotland and Northern Ireland on their own systems.

If you hope to find a map showing different salaries in the North West, Yorkshire or the Midlands, there is not one for England and Wales.

The Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) recommends a single national scale for each grade, with a cash differential for establishments in Outer and Inner London. Anything outside London is paid at National rates.

The only other geographic element is a market supplement paid to Band 3 officers at establishments with acute recruitment and retention problems.

HMPPS

Employs prison staff in England and Wales, on PSPRB-recommended pay.

Scottish Prison Service (SPS)

Sets its own pay through Scottish public sector bargaining. The PSPRB's own comparison notes that Scotland's Residential Officer scale is wider and starts higher than the English Band 3 scale.

Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS)

Has its own scales, although the PSPRB also reports on Northern Ireland.

In shortOutside London a Band 3 officer's pay depends on pay point and contract hours, not on the town.

• Pay point 3, 37 hours£36,778Newcastle or Norwich alike
• Pay point 3, 39 hours£38,766With two pensionable additional hours
• Pay point 3, 41 hours£41,417National scale

HMPPS says all new trainees start on 37 hours and can choose 39 or 41 once training is complete. In London the PSPRB adds a fixed cash differential, with a maximum of £5,218 in Inner London and £3,432 in Outer London above the National base maxima from 1 April 2026.

We cover the zones, prisons and tables in prison officer pay in London. For all grades, the pay structures are in prison officer pay bands.

In shortEighteen prisons pay a £1,500 to £3,500 supplement, mostly in the South East and East of England; most officers elsewhere are on the National scale alone.

Eighteen establishments appear on the HMPPS list of prisons paying a market supplement as of 3 October 2026, which matches the Minister's January 2026 letter to the PSPRB. Most sit in the South East and East of England.

• Kent coast: Elmley, Swaleside, Standford Hill.
• Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes: Aylesbury, Grendon and Springhill, Woodhill.
• Oxfordshire: Bullingdon, Huntercombe.
• Surrey: Coldingley, Send. Hertfordshire: The Mount.
• Bedford, Highpoint in Suffolk, Stocken in Rutland and Winchester.
• In the London zone: Downview, Feltham and High Down.

In shortFrom 1 April 2026 SPS Residential Officers start on £37,682 and reach £44,248 within three years, but the figures are not like-for-like with England.

• SPS start£37,682Residential Officer, from 1 April 2026
• SPS within three years£44,248Subject to pay progression
• National Band 3, 37h£34,928 to £36,778England, incl. 20% UWH

The Scottish Prison Service is outside the PSPRB's remit. The two are not like-for-like: we have not verified SPS contract hours, unsocial hours treatment or the full Scottish band structure, and the English figures include a 20% unsocial hours allowance and may be higher on 39 or 41 hours.

• The PSPRB's own comparison notes that the Scottish Residential Officer scale is wider than the English Band 3 scale: the difference between maximum and minimum was £6,061 in 2024/25 against £1,781 for Band 3, and Band 3 pay was entirely below the Scottish scale.
• The SPS pay deal described by the Scottish Parliament's research service is 4.25% in 2025/26 and 3.75% in 2026/27, each with an inflation guarantee of one percentage point above average CPI. We have not read the primary SPS or pay-bargaining document for that, so treat it as secondary.
• SPS rewards pages describe annual leave rising to 42 days a year after five years' service, 27 weeks of full basic maternity or adoption pay then 12 weeks statutory, and two weeks' paternity leave.
• Scottish taxpayers use different income tax bands, which add slightly to tax at higher pay: our overtime after tax guide shows the effect.

In shortThe four employers are not directly comparable on a single number: hours, unsocial hours treatment, leave, pension and allowances differ and are not published consistently.

In shortPut two offers on the same basis: grade and contract, supplement, take-home, then your own location costs and the non-pay factors.

Band 3 on 37 hours is the common baseline in England and Wales, with 39 and 41 hour contracts available later. Add any market supplement and treat it as non-pensionable, then convert to take-home so that you compare what you actually receive.

Location costs mean housing (rent or mortgage), the cost of getting to work including shift-time travel, and anything specific such as childcare. We have no verified regional averages for prison staff, so use your own quotes.

HMPPS offers 25 days' annual leave increasing to 30 with long service, whereas SPS says up to 42 days after five years, though the SPS figure may include public holidays and we have not verified how the two are counted.

1. List each job's grade, contract hours, zone and supplement from the live advert.
2. Convert each to take-home, treating supplements and Payment Plus as non-pensionable.
3. Add your own annual housing and travel costs for each location.
4. Compare leave, pension, shift pattern and the establishment's character.
5. Ask the establishment about transfers, probation and what happens to supplements or zone pay if you move.

In shortLocality Pay Allowance is closed to new staff; it matters only on a legacy grade, though today's London and supplement prisons largely match the old high-locality ones.

Regional differences used to be larger and more granular. Staff on closed grades who were in post at 31 March 2012 may still receive a pensionable Locality Pay Allowance. The PSPRB lists six rates for 2026/27 (table below).

Those allowances are closed to new staff and are only relevant if you are on a legacy grade. Under Fair and Sustainable, which covers more than 99% of the remit group, locality is replaced by the London differentials and market supplements.

The places that had higher locality rates are mostly the ones that have London zone pay or supplements today.

• Amber supplements were removed via the 2022 award.
• Band 2 supplements were consolidated into base pay from 1 April 2023.
• The red and red plus tiers continue for Band 3 at the prisons listed.
• At 30 June 2025, 3,124 full-time-equivalent Band 3 staff were eligible for a supplement.

In shortMoving region rarely changes base pay; it can change a supplement, a London zone payment and your costs, so ask HR and your POA representative and get the answer in writing.

Because pay is set nationally with only a few geographic add-ons, moving region rarely changes your base pay. The questions that matter are rules we could not verify. These are matters of HMPPS policy and local practice.