Prison Officer Pay Progression 2026: Pay Points and Promotion

In shortProgression is not an automatic annual right: it is a PSPRB recommendation each year, accepted for 2026 and unknown for 2027.

• Band 3 and Band 5Three pay pointsProgress one point from 1 April 2026 (Recommendation 6)
• Band 4Spot rateNo progression, only promotion out of it
• Bands 8 to 113⅓%Consolidated, pensionable progression, capped at the band maximum (Recommendation 7)

HMPPS describes progression in its Employee Package as follows: staff who meet the required performance and capability standards are eligible to progress within their pay band, meaning an annual increase to salary. The Pay Review Body (PSPRB) sets out the mechanics each year.

For the 2026/27 award, its Recommendation 6 says all staff on Bands 3 and 5, except those on formal poor performance procedures, who were in post on 31 March 2026, progress one pay point from 1 April 2026. The government accepted all twelve recommendations in full.

• Band 3 has three pay points. The PSPRB records that HMPPS's objective is for officers to reach the maximum within three years.
• Band 5 (Custodial Manager) also has three points; Band 4 (Supervising or Specialist Officer) is a single spot rate.
• Managers on Bands 8 to 11 sit in ranges ten per cent wide.
• Whether progression is repeated for 2027 is not yet known. Our 2027/28 pay rise guide and the pay rise page track what is confirmed, and the PSPRB explained guide covers the process.

In shortThe Band 3 range from entry to maximum is only £1,850 a year including UWH on the National scale, and London scales are wider.

• National base (37h)£29,107 to £30,648Pay points 1 to 3: £29,107, £30,125, £30,648; steps £1,018 and £523
• National incl. UWH£34,928 to £36,778Steps £1,222 and £628; range £1,850 a year
• Longer contract£39,334 to £41,41741-hour officer, pay point 1 to pay point 3, a range of £2,083

The 2026/27 Band 3 figures from the PSPRB's Appendix E show the full picture. The steps are small, which is not a large number for three years of service.

In Outer London the 37-hour UWH-inclusive figures are £38,840, £40,199 and £40,896, so the steps are £1,359 and £697. In Inner London they are £40,876, £42,305 and £43,039, with steps of £1,429 and £734.

• The PSPRB's Recommendation 8 adjusted the London differentials so that progression steps match the National bands in proportion.
• For all scales and contract hours see Band 3 prison officer pay and prison officer pay in London.
• Contract hours scale the figures: because additional committed hours and UWH are built on top of base, each pay point is worth more the more hours you work.
• Our contract hours guide and hourly rate guide explain the conversion.

In shortThe step to pay point 2 is worth about £835 take-home, but the step to pay point 3 only about £179 because the pension contribution band rises.

• Pay point 1 take-homeAbout £27,382On £34,928 of pay
• Pay point 2 gainAbout +£835Take-home about £28,217 on £36,150
• Pay point 3 gainAbout +£179Take-home about £28,396 on £36,778

Gross pay is not take-home. On the National scale, we calculate the net value of each Band 3 step using 2026/27 income tax (20% basic rate), National Insurance at 8% and the alpha contribution bands.

The Civil Service Pension Scheme's published 2026/27 rates are 4.6% on pensionable earnings up to £36,199 and 5.45% from £36,200. Pay point 2 at £36,150 is just inside the lower band; pay point 3 at £36,778 is over the line.

• On our reading of the published bands, the higher percentage applies to all your pensionable earnings, so at pay point 3 you pay about £2,004 into the pension instead of the £1,692 you would pay at 4.6%, an extra £313 a year, which eats most of the £628 gross step.
• You are not losing that money: you are paying it into a pension that builds at 2.32% of pensionable earnings a year, so the pay point 3 officer accrues about £853 of annual pension against about £810 at pay point 1.
• Check how the percentage appears on your own payslip, as the way it is applied is for the scheme and your payroll to confirm.
• Our alpha pension contribution rates guide covers the bands in detail, and the payslip guide shows where each deduction sits. For your own figures use the take-home calculator.

In shortThe published condition is narrow, while how progression applies to later joiners, leave and sickness is not published.

Recommendation 6 applies to staff in post on 31 March 2026 and excludes those on a formal poor performance procedure.

HMPPS's Employee Package describes progression as available to staff who meet required performance and capability standards, and gives an illustrative example from its 2023/24 pay rate: a Prison Officer on the 2023/24 National 37-hour rate of £30,902 could be earning £32,539 within two years.

Those are old figures and base rather than UWH-inclusive, so use them only to see the principle.

In shortPromotion is worth far more than progression: £4,550 gross from Band 3 pay point 3 to Band 4 and £10,279 from the top of Band 3 to the top of Band 5.

• Band 3 pay point 3 to Band 4+£4,550 grossAbout +£3,078 take-home
• Band 4 to Band 5 pay point 1+£3,572 grossAbout +£2,416 take-home; Band 5 starts at £44,900
• Top of Band 3 to top of Band 5£10,279 a yearBand 5 pay point 3 is £47,057

Progression within a band is small beside promotion. On the National 37-hour scale including UWH, Band 3 pay point 3 is £36,778 and Band 4 Supervising or Specialist Officer is £41,328.

The route up is by assessment. HMPPS's Employee Package says it piloted twice-yearly Custodial Manager assessment centres in 2023, to be evaluated in early 2024, with a view to adopting the model for other grades.

We did not find the current 2026 promotion process, the eligibility rules for Band 4 or the success rates, and we do not state any.

• See Band 4 supervising officer pay, Band 5 custodial manager pay and Band 6 and 7 pay.
• Use the free promotion calculator to compare your own pay before and after.
• Promotion changes more than the number: the Band 5 spot is the first where you are managing others, and a higher salary also moves you across the alpha contribution bands.
• Band 4 at £41,328 pays 5.45%, and Band 5 at £47,057 still pays 5.45% until £56,000.
• To plan pay points and promotions over several years, the Pay Planner lays out a multi-year projection with your own contract hours.

In shortAbove Band 5 progression works through ranges, closed-grade staff face an opt-in decision, and Band 3's narrow range is why promotion matters for earnings.

The PSPRB reports that the Band 3 pay range is much narrower than Scotland's. See prison officer pay in Scotland.

Bands 8 to 11

Ranges, for example Band 8 from £57,398 to £63,139 on the National scale (base, 37 hours), and Recommendation 7 gave a 3⅓% progression increase capped at the band maximum for staff in post on 31 March 2026. Bands 7 and 12 are spot rates. Bands 7 to 11 also get a 20% Required Hours Addition, and Band 12 has none. The full table is in Band 6 and 7 prison manager pay and prison governor salary.

Closed grades (Recommendation 5)

Closed-grade staff who opt in to Fair and Sustainable this year move to the maximum of their Fair and Sustainable range or scale, with the opt-in process to be expedited.

Closed grades (Recommendation 3)

Those who would not benefit from opting in get a non-consolidated, non-pensionable payment of 3.5% of base pay. Whether opting in is right for you depends on your allowances, hours and legacy locality payments, so take advice from the POA and HR before deciding. The closed-grade Prison Officer rate is £32,915 on a 39-hour basis.

In shortProgressing each April would pay £3,072 gross more than staying at pay point 1 over three years, about £1,024 a year.

• With progression, three years£107,856£34,928, £36,150 and £36,778
• Held at pay point 1£104,784
• Difference£3,072 grossAbout £1,024 a year on average

This is the cumulative effect on the National scale at 37 hours, using only the 2026/27 published figures and ignoring any future pay awards, for an officer who is at pay point 1 and then moves up one point on each of the next two 1 April dates.

• Each year's pay award changes every point on the scale, so real figures will be higher whatever happens.
• It assumes progression is paid each April, which depends on future PSPRB recommendations we cannot know.
• It is a way of seeing the scale of a pay point step, not a forecast.

In shortDo not assume progression is automatic, forget the pension band, double-count UWH or confuse a pay award with progression.

Use this checklist after each April and before any promotion board.

• What is my pay point on my April 2026 payslip, and does it match the National, Outer London or Inner London table?
• Did I progress from 1 April 2026? If not, was I in post on 31 March 2026 and not on a formal poor performance procedure?
• What is my pension contribution percentage, and has it changed with my pay point?
• If I joined after 31 March, what does HR say about when I will progress?
• What would a promotion to Band 4 or 5 add, gross and net?
• Am I being paid UWH on the correct contract hours?
• Do I understand the difference between a pay award percentage and a pay point move?