The short answer: who earns more, a prison officer or a police officer?
In shortAt the start, the prison officer; over a career, the constable.
"Who earns more" is the wrong single question. Ask instead: what is my pay at each stage, how many hours does it take, which extras are pensionable, and what does each job cost me in travel, shifts and risk? The rest of this guide takes those in turn.
If you are weighing a specific offer, the job offer comparator lets you enter both.
Start of career versus top of scale
At the start: the prison officer
- A newly appointed Band 3 prison officer in England and Wales outside London is on pay point 1 of the Fair and Sustainable scale: £29,107 base pay, or £34,928 once the flat 20% unsocial working hours allowance is included, on a 37-hour week.
- A constable on pay point 1 of the seven-point scale is on about £32,255 from 1 September 2026. That is roughly £2,673 less before any local allowance.
Over a career: the constable
- The constable scale has seven points and reaches about £52,015 in the seventh year of service, provided the force's progression standard is met.
- The Band 3 prison officer scale has three points and reaches £36,778 (37 hours), £38,766 (39 hours with two pensionable additional committed hours) or £41,417 (41 hours).
- Prison staff who want to earn constable-level money have to be promoted, to Band 4 (£41,328 including UWH) or Band 5 (£44,900 to £47,057).
| Stage | Prison officer (Band 3) | Police constable |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | £34,928 (pay point 1, 37h incl. 20% UWH) | about £32,255 (pay point 1, from 1 Sep 2026) |
| After year 1 | £36,150 (pay point 2) | about £33,609 (pay point 2) |
| After year 2 | £36,778 (pay point 3, the top) | about £34,972 (pay point 3) |
| After year 4 | £36,778 (top, unchanged) | about £39,058 (pay point 5) |
| After year 6 | £36,778 (top, unchanged) | about £52,015 (pay point 7, the top) |
| Same officer on a 41-hour contract, at the top | £41,417 | n/a: hours set differently, see below |
Prison: PSPRB 25th Report Appendix E (opened 3 October 2026). Police: 2025/26 Home Office points (PRRB 11th Report, Appendix F) multiplied by 1.035 for the 3.5% award from 1 September 2026, rounded by us; the official 2026/27 table had not been published when we checked. Local allowances are excluded.
How each pay system is set: two review bodies, different dates
In shortBoth jobs are paid through independent review bodies, but the same 3.5% headline landed five months apart.
Both jobs are paid under independent review-body systems, but they run to different calendars.
- The same headline percentage landed five months apart, so a prison officer's 2026/27 rise reached payslips for April while a constable's started in September.
- The prison officer's rise also included pay-point progression for Bands 3 and 5; a constable's progression is separate and annual.
- Our PSPRB explained and 2026/27 prison pay rise guides cover the prison process in detail.
Two review bodies
Prison officers: PSPRB
- The Prison Service Pay Review Body's 25th Report was published on 26 March 2026 and the government accepted all twelve recommendations.
- That included a consolidated, pensionable 3.5% for Bands 3 to 12 effective 1 April 2026, with Band 3 and Band 5 staff also moving up one pay point.
- The money was paid in June salaries, backdated.
Police officers: PRRB
- The Police Remuneration Review Body recommended 3.9% for ranks up to chief superintendent in the 2026 round.
- The government announced on 15 July 2026 that it would award a flat 3.5% from 1 September 2026, with London weighting and the London and South East allowances also rising 3.5% and protection allowances rising by £8.
- This is reported by the Police Federation and LBC; we could not open the written statement itself.
Starting pay in detail, including the hours question
In shortThe prison hourly rate looks strong because 20% of it compensates for unsocial hours you will actually work, and starting pay for constables can differ by force.
All trainee prison officers start on a 37-hour contract, and after training can choose to move to 39 or 41 hours (HMPPS Prison and Probation Jobs). Each extra block of hours is paid at your pay-point rate with the 20% UWH on top.
At pay point 1 in the National zone the published figures are £34,928 (37h), £36,816 (39h with 2 pensionable additional committed hours) and £39,334 (41h). So a prison officer who wants to be level with a constable's top basic pay can only get there by working longer hours or by being promoted.
Hourly rates
Using our convention of 52.143 weeks a year, a Band 3 pay point 1 officer on 37 hours incl. UWH earns about £18.10 an hour; on 41 hours about £18.40.
A constable on about £32,255 earns £16.72 an hour if you assume a 37-hour week and £15.46 if you assume 40. We have not verified a single standard weekly hours figure for police that applies to every force, so both are shown.
The point is that the prison hourly rate looks strong because 20% of it is compensation for unsocial hours you will actually work.
Starting pay for constables varies by force
A chief officer may assign new constables to pay point 2 (about £33,609) to meet local recruitment needs, and some forces build a regional allowance into the advertised starting salary: Thames Valley Police advertises a constable starting salary of £35,359 from 1 September 2026 that includes a £3,105 South East allowance.
When you compare adverts, check whether the figure is base pay or a bundle. For the prison side see prison officer starting salary.
Progression: three points against seven
In shortBy year three or four the prison officer has stopped progressing; the constable is only about half-way up.
The structural difference is the length of the ladder.
Two ladders
Band 3 prison officer: three points
- One point a year for staff in post on 31 March and not on formal poor-performance procedures (PSPRB Recommendation 6), with HMPPS's stated aim being that staff reach the maximum within three years.
- The gap between pay point 1 and pay point 3 is only £1,541 base pay (£1,850 including UWH).
- The PSPRB itself noted that Band 3 pay is narrow compared with Scotland's equivalent grade.
Constable (post-2013 scale): seven points
- Six increments to climb. In our calculation the steps are about £32,255, £33,609, £34,972, £36,335, £39,058, £44,544 and £52,015.
- The big jumps arrive late: pay point 5 to 6 is about £5,500 and pay point 6 to 7 about £7,500.
- Increments depend on meeting the progression standard (an annual review, required training and no formal performance or attendance proceedings).
| Level | Prison (England and Wales) | Police (England and Wales) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry grade, bottom | £34,928 | about £32,255 |
| Entry grade, top of scale | £36,778 (37h) / £41,417 (41h) | about £52,015 |
| First supervisory step | Band 4: £41,328 incl. UWH (spot) | Sergeant: about £55,443 to £58,175 |
| Next level | Band 5: £44,900 to £47,057 incl. UWH | Inspector: about £66,000 to £71,396 outside London |
Prison: PSPRB 25th Report Appendix E, 37 hours including 20% UWH. Police sergeant and inspector figures are our calculation from the 2025/26 points plus 3.5%, as published on PolicePay; not yet an official table.
London and the South East
In shortAt the start an Inner London prison officer and a new Met constable are within about £1,458 of each other, but by year seven the constable's lead has reopened.
Both services recognise London, in different ways. Put side by side, the new Inner London prison officer (£40,876) and the new Met constable (about £42,334) are within about £1,458 of each other at the start. By year seven the constable's lead has reopened.
How London is paid
Prisons: separate scales
- The Inner and Outer London scales are separate pay tables. A Band 3 officer at Inner London pay point 1 earns £40,876 on 37 hours incl. UWH, rising to £43,039; Outer London ranges from £38,840 to £40,896.
- The London differentials were raised 3.5% for 2026/27 and are built into base pay, so they are pensionable and attract the 20% UWH.
Policing: elements on top
- The Metropolitan Police and City of London Police pay a pensionable London weighting of £3,260 and a non-pensionable London allowance of £6,819 (2026/27 rates, £10,079 together, as published on PolicePay).
- A new Met constable on pay point 1 is therefore on about £42,334 in total, of which £6,819 does not count towards pension.
- Forces in the South East pay regional allowances of £3,105 or £2,070, depending on the force.
Overtime, unsocial hours and other pay on top
In shortPrison officers get a flat 20% allowance and only Payment Plus for extra work; constables get paid overtime but no flat unsocial allowance.
This is where the two jobs diverge most.
Unsocial hours and overtime
Prison officers
- Unsocial hours are paid through the flat 20% UWH allowance, calculated on contracted hours and pensionable.
- Bands 3 to 5 have no overtime other than Payment Plus, a flat £23 an hour from 1 April 2026 for specified operational duties, non-consolidated and non-pensionable.
- The PSPRB noted that after the 2026 award some Band 4 and 5 staff paid Payment Plus earn less per hour than their normal rate, because the duties are Band 3 duties. Details: Payment Plus explained.
Constables and sergeants
- Eligible for paid overtime: our PolicePay guide records casual overtime at time-and-a-third and planned rest-day working at time-and-a-half or double time depending on notice.
- Overtime is not pensionable for police either.
- There is no equivalent of a flat unsocial allowance on the constable scale, so rostered night and weekend work is not separately rewarded in the basic figure in the same way.
Modelling the comparison
The safest comparison is annual pay for the hours you would really work, then your own estimate of extra paid hours.
Eight hours of Payment Plus a month adds £2,208 a year gross to a prison officer; the same hours of police overtime would be worth more or less depending on the multiplier and the officer's hourly rate. Our overtime calculator handles the prison side.
Pension: contributions are not the whole story
In shortA new constable pays far more (12.88% against 4.6%), but the schemes differ in accrual, pension age and protections, so compare the pension at the end too.
On a new constable's about £32,255, 12.88% is £4,154 a year before tax relief. On a new prison officer's £34,928 of pensionable earnings (UWH is pensionable), 4.6% is £1,607.
That is a take-home difference of roughly £2,548 a year in the prison officer's favour before the constable's higher gross at later pay points is counted. Contributions come off before tax, so the net effect is smaller.
- 2015 Police Pension Scheme (from 1 April 2026)
- Members pay 12.88% of pensionable pay up to £37,035, 13.88% above that and under £79,588, and 14.22% from £79,588 (SI 2026/267, as published on PolicePay).
- Civil Service Alpha (prison officers, 2026/27)
- Employee rates are 4.6% up to £36,199, 5.45% from £36,200 to £56,000, 7.35% to £150,000 and 8.05% above.
| Example | Pensionable pay | Rate | Annual contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| New prison officer, Band 3 pay point 1 (37h) | £34,928 | 4.6% | £1,607 |
| Prison officer, Band 3 pay point 3 (37h) | £36,778 | 5.45% | £2,004 |
| New constable, pay point 1 | about £32,255 | 12.88% | £4,154 |
| Constable, pay point 5 | about £39,058 | 13.88% | £5,421 |
Alpha rates from the Civil Service Pension Scheme contribution page; police rates from SI 2026/267 as published on PolicePay. Rates are set by earnings band; check which band applies to you. Excludes tax relief.
Leave, sickness and what we could not verify
In shortWe do not compare leave or police sick pay in numbers: ask each employer for the written entitlement.
HMPPS advertises 25 days' annual leave rising to 30 with long service, with the ability to carry days over and to buy or sell some. The HMPPS Employee Package (2023-24 edition) gives the long-service threshold as 10 years and adds eight public holidays and one privilege day.
We have not confirmed police annual leave from an official source either, so we do not compare leave in numbers here: ask each employer for the written entitlement in hours, not days.
Request each employer's written terms for
- Annual leave and public holidays.
- Sick pay.
- Maternity and paternity leave.
- The pension scheme.
- Any relocation or retention payments.
Sickness
The HMPPS Employee Package (2023-24 edition) 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 do not state police sick pay terms.
What the PSPRB does record is that operational prison staff lost an average of 13.2 working days to sickness in the year to 30 September 2025 (14.0 for Bands 3 and 4), against 11.9 the year before. See sick pay for what is and is not confirmed.
Rights, risks and the constraints on pay
In shortNeither service can lawfully strike, so pay follows the review-body process; we have no verified comparative risk statistics.
Neither prison officers nor constables can lawfully strike. In both cases pay is the product of the review-body process and the government's response, not of bargaining leverage. See industrial action and the strike ban.
- Prison officers
- In England and Wales the ban rests on s127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and a permanent High Court injunction against the POA (Secretary of State for Justice v POA [2019] EWHC 3553 (QB)). The PSPRB said in its latest report that over 80% of its remit group cannot take industrial action.
- Police
- The P-factor is the element of pay meant to reflect the unique restrictions of the office of constable, including having no right to strike (PolicePay).
Recruitment and retention
HMPPS workforce statistics to 30 June 2026 recorded 22,001 FTE Band 3 to 5 officers, 701 fewer than a year earlier, with a resignation rate of 5.6% and 2,116 appointments in 12 months. The PSPRB has described retention in the first two years as fragile.
Pay is only one reason; policing has its own retention problems, which the Federation links to workload and trauma.
Risk
The risk profiles are not the same. We do not rank them here, and we have no verified comparative assault or injury statistics for both services, so we leave the question to you.
If risk matters in your choice, read the Inspectorate and HMPPS safety reports for the establishments you are considering and the local force's published data.
Worked examples: three people comparing offers
In shortOutside London the prison job leads in year one and the constable by year five; in London the two are close at the start.
Each example is illustrative and uses the figures set out above.
What the examples show
- Compare the full year-one offer, not just the headline salary.
- Look five years ahead on each ladder.
- In London, compare promotion prospects and career length as well as pay.
Example 1: outside London, starting out
Sam is offered a Band 3 role on 37 hours (£34,928) and a constable role (about £32,255) in the same region. Sam values the shorter ladder less than the higher start, so the prison job looks £2,673 better in year one.
By year five, the constable's about £39,058 beats the prison officer's £36,778 by about £2,280, unless Sam moved to 39 hours (£38,766) or 41 hours (£41,417) or won promotion. Sam's pension contribution is also about £2,548 lower on the prison side in year one.
Example 2: Greater London
Priya compares an Inner London prison officer role (£40,876 at pay point 1, 37h) with a Met constable role (about £42,334 including London weighting and allowance). The two are close in year one.
By year six the constable's pay point 7 plus London elements reaches about £62,094, against £43,039 for the prison officer at the top of Inner London Band 3. London living costs are the same for both; the decision is promotion prospects and career length.
Example 3: moving across
An experienced constable on about £52,015 considering prison work would start at Band 3 pay point 1 unless they joined as a manager. That is a large step down in basic pay; the roles are covered in ex-police to prison officer and prison officer vs police officer career.
The reverse, a prison officer joining the police, would typically start at pay point 1 of the constable scale; check the force's rules on prior service.
How to decide, and a checklist of questions
In shortThe prison officer role pays better in the first couple of years and the constable from year four or five; promotion matters more than starting salary over a career.
The numbers suggest a rule of thumb: the prison officer role pays better in the first couple of years and the constable role pays better from year four or five if you stay at your grade.
Over a 30-year career, whether you are promoted matters more than the starting salary in either service. Do not treat either as a hypothetical top salary: most people spend most of their career below the top grade.
Money is one input. Shift patterns, travel, the kind of work, the training, family circumstances and the culture of the specific prison or force all matter more than a few thousand pounds in year one. We have written about the non-pay side in is prison officer a good career and prison officer pros and cons.
- Write down the full offer for each job: base pay, allowances, contract hours and the pay point you would start on.
- Ask which parts of pay are pensionable and which are not (for prisons: UWH yes, Payment Plus and market supplements no).
- Work out annual pay at the hours you would actually work, and the hourly rate for each.
- Add your realistic overtime or Payment Plus, not the maximum.
- Compare the pension: your contribution, the scheme type and the age you can draw it.
- Check the written leave, sick pay and family leave terms from each employer.
- Look five years ahead on each ladder, assuming no promotion, and then assuming one.
Planning for the long run
If you plan to stay a prison officer for the long run, the Pay Planner shows what your pay could look like with progression, awards, Payment Plus and promotion, so you can compare a realistic career curve with a constable's rather than a single headline number.
Frequently asked questions
Do prison officers earn more than police officers?
At the start of the career, yes: £34,928 (Band 3, 37h, including 20% UWH) against about £32,255 for a constable from 1 September 2026.
Over time, no: a constable at the top of the seven-point scale earns about £52,015 against £36,778 to £41,417 at the top of Band 3 depending on contract hours. Promotion changes the picture in both services.
What is the starting salary of a police officer in 2026?
Pay point 1 of the constable scale is about £32,255 from 1 September 2026: the 2025/26 figure of £31,164 plus the 3.5% award. Some forces assign new recruits to pay point 2 (about £33,609) and many pay regional allowances on top.
The Home Office's official 2026/27 table had not been seen when we checked, so confirm with the force.
Is the prison officer 20% unsocial hours allowance pensionable?
Yes. HMPPS evidence to the PSPRB describes it as calculated at 20% of contracted hours worked and pensionable, and the published Band 3 figures include it. Payment Plus, by contrast, is non-consolidated and non-pensionable, as are the market supplements paid at 18 prisons.
Can prison officers and police officers go on strike?
No, in England and Wales neither can lawfully take industrial action. For prison officers it rests on section 127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and a High Court injunction against the POA.
The PSPRB notes that more than 80% of its remit group cannot strike. Pay is determined by independent review bodies and the government's response.
Who pays more pension contributions, police or prison officers?
Police pay more. From 1 April 2026 the 2015 Police Pension Scheme rates are 12.88%, 13.88% or 14.22% depending on pensionable pay, whereas Alpha for prison officers is 4.6% to 8.05%. The schemes build benefits differently, so compare the pension you would receive as well as the contribution.
Is it easy to move from the police to the prison service?
There is no published conversion of rank or pay. A former constable would normally apply as a prison officer on the standard Band 3 recruitment route, which means starting on pay point 1 unless joining at a higher grade.
Check the current HMPPS recruitment pages and read our ex-police guide for what transfers, such as vetting and experience.
Does London pay the same in both services?
No. London prison officers are on separate Inner and Outer London scales (Band 3 pay point 1 is £40,876 Inner and £38,840 Outer on 37 hours including UWH). The Met adds a pensionable London weighting of £3,260 and a non-pensionable London allowance of £6,819 on top of the constable scale (PolicePay, 2026/27).
Sources
- assets.publishing.service.gov.ukPSPRB Twenty-Fifth Report on England and Wales 2026 (CP 1550), published 26 March 2026
- prisonandprobationjobs.gov.ukHMPPS Prison and Probation Jobs: Prison officer pay
- assets.publishing.service.gov.ukHMPPS written evidence to the PSPRB 2026/27
- civilservicepensionscheme.org.ukCivil Service Pension Scheme: member contribution rates
- btpolfed.org.ukPolice Federation: police pay award 2026
- lbc.co.ukLBC: police officers in England and Wales to receive 3.5% pay boost (15 July 2026 announcement)
- policepay.co.ukPolicePay: police pay scales 2026/27 (sister site; includes SI 2026/267 pension rates)
- gmb.org.ukNapo, UNISON and GMB/SCOOP: Probation Service Pay Claim 2026 (Appendix A: probation pay bands at 1 April 2025; Appendix B: police constable points)