Prison Officer Stress and Wellbeing: Support Available 2026

In shortSamaritans (116 123), NHS 111 and 999 are the first doors; the EAP, Care Team and TRiM are the in-service ones.

This page is general information, not medical advice, and it cannot replace a conversation with a person. If you are thinking about harming yourself, or you are worried about a colleague, please use one of the services below before reading further.

There is no wrong time to ask for help and you do not need to be in crisis to use them.

Samaritans

Answers on 116 123, free from any phone, at any time, and says the number does not show on a phone bill (checked on Samaritans' own site on 3 October 2026).

NHS

Get help from NHS 111 online or by calling 111 and choosing the mental health option; call 999 or go to A&E if someone's life is at risk (NHS page checked 3 October 2026). Those are England-wide; in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 111 or the local urgent route may differ, so use 999 in an emergency.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

A confidential line run for HMPPS staff by an external provider.

Care Team

A group of trained colleagues who offer practical and emotional support.

TRiM practitioners and Mental Health Allies

Volunteers trained to check in after difficult events. Later sections explain what each one is and how to reach it.

In shortMental ill health is the largest known reason for absence in both HMPPS and PSPRB figures, so this is not a minority problem.

• Working days lost, all HMPPS12.5 days12 months to 30 June 2026; public sector prisons 12.4
• Mental ill health share of days lost, HMPPS43.5%60.3% for probation officers; musculoskeletal second at 18.0%
• Operational staff days lost (PSPRB)13.2 daysUp from 11.9; band 3 and 4 officers highest at 14.0
• Band 3 to 5 officers, mental ill health36.5%Most common known reason; musculoskeletal 20.8%

The best-sourced numbers come from HMPPS's own workforce statistics and the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB). These are absence figures, not diagnoses, and they bundle together everything classed as mental ill health.

They do not tell you why people are off or how many carry on working while unwell. What they do show clearly is that this is not a minority problem, which matters if you are wondering whether you are the only one finding the job hard. You are not.

In shortNo single source explains why officers struggle; the PSPRB, MoJ figures, unions and the Inspectorate each describe part of it.

• Assaults on staff9,83312 months to March 2026; 113 per 1,000 prisoners, down 7% in rate
• Serious assaults on staff871MoJ Safety in Custody, March 2026
• Female establishments311 per 1,000Assaults on staff per 1,000 prisoners, a new peak

No single source explains why officers struggle, and it is worth being clear about who is saying what. The PSPRB's 2026 report records HMPPS's view that prisons are a challenging workplace and that both physical safety and the day-to-day culture and facilities affect staff.

It reports that assaults on staff reached a new peak in the year to March 2025, and lists measures HMPPS has introduced.

• Body-worn video cameras and PAVA spray
• Rigid bar handcuffs for operational band 3 to 5 staff
• A new personal safety package with a professional standard for use of force
• Protective body armour in the long-term and high security estate

In shortHMPPS describes a layered system of EAP, occupational health, peer support and charity help, but most evidence is its own and some is from 2022.

Most of what is published about staff support comes from HMPPS's own descriptions rather than independent evaluation, and some of the detailed sources are from 2022.

The picture below is the structure as described in those sources; names of providers and exact services change when contracts are renewed, so check your intranet for the current offer.

The annual employee package, "Looking After Our People", is published on GOV.UK (first published 9 August 2022, last updated 1 December 2023 on the page we checked) and is the best single overview of the wider offer.

In shortThere is no wrong order, but this sequence keeps you in control of how much your employer is told.

Many officers say they are unsure which door to knock on first. The sequence below reflects how the services are described in HMPPS sources and is not a policy document.

If you are comfortable doing so, tell your line manager what you can.

The head of OH and EAP noted in 2022 that some staff avoid the EAP for fear of being found out or labelled, even though it is confidential, so it is worth knowing that choosing to use a confidential line is a normal and legitimate step.

1. Decide your first contact. If it is urgent, use Samaritans, NHS 111 or 999. If it is not urgent but affecting you, call the EAP or your GP.
2. Find the EAP details on your intranet or on the keyfob, poster or app HMPPS distributed; ask a Care Team or Mental Health Ally if you cannot find them.
3. If a specific incident is behind it, ask for a TRiM assessment or a Care Team check-in. HMPPS says staff who witnessed a potentially traumatic event can be offered TRiM and that managers should keep in touch.
4. Consider a GP appointment. If you suspect something more than stress, the NHS says you can refer yourself to NHS talking therapies for many problems, including PTSD, without seeing a GP first, if you are registered with a GP and over 18 (16 in some areas).
5. Ask your line manager about an occupational health referral if work adjustments would help. Ask what the OH report will contain and who will see it.
6. Write down dates, what you asked for and what you were told. If work is the cause, this helps with a grievance or health and safety concern later.
7. Contact your POA or other trade union representative if you are unsure about your rights, time off, or a process that is affecting you.

In shortThe EAP is described as confidential; occupational health advises the employer, so ask what will be written before you disclose.

Two worries come up repeatedly in staff discussions: will asking for help count against me, and who finds out?

Disability (Equality Act 2010, section 6)

A physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Some mental health conditions will meet that test and some will not, depending on your circumstances.

Reasonable adjustments

If you meet the test, you are entitled to them. That might include changes to hours, duties or location. Whether something counts as a disability is a legal question, and your union representative or ACAS can help you work out where you stand.

In shortEmployers must assess and control the risk of work-related violence and support affected workers, so you can legitimately ask for a risk to be assessed.

The Health and Safety Executive defines work-related violence as any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work. HSE also separates bullying and harassment, which it directs people to ACAS for. In a prison, those duties sit alongside the safety frameworks HMPPS publishes for staff and prisoners.

• Carry out risk assessments and put in place control measures
• Record and report incidents
• Support affected workers, including both those directly involved and witnesses

In shortStress is usually a combination of long shifts, short rest, overtime and what that does at home, so check the numbers and protect your rest.

Officers rarely describe stress as a single event. It is the combination of long shifts, short rest, overtime and what that does at home.

• The PSPRB reported in 2026 that operational managers said their hours were well in excess of their 37-hour contract and that this affected their families' wellbeing.
• Staff told the Review Body on visits that flexible working requests are often refused, with adverse effects on wellbeing and home lives.
• HMPPS told the Review Body that staff can submit up to two statutory flexible working requests in any 12-month period, subject to operational needs.
• Money worry is also a stressor: HMPPS's own recruitment pages say staff can use a financial wellbeing portal and the Charity for Civil Servants.

In shortWe could not verify the HMPPS sick pay entitlements, so confirm yours with HR in writing; ill-health retirement and injury benefit exist for serious cases.

We could not verify the HMPPS sick pay entitlements (the periods of full and half pay) from a primary source on 3 October 2026, so we do not state them.

Your contract, the HMPPS attendance management policy and your HR or payroll team will confirm what applies to you and how a sickness absence affects pay, so ask for a written explanation before you plan around it.

Our sick pay guide and the sickness absence management guide explain the process as far as the published sources allow.

Ill-health retirement

If you cannot continue the job because of ill health, the ill-health retirement guide explains the lower and upper tiers in the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Civil Service Injury Benefit Scheme

If an injury or condition is wholly or mainly attributable to the nature of your duty, you may be able to claim; see our guides on injury benefits and assault compensation. Neither route is automatic and both depend on medical evidence.

In shortYou do not need to be a counsellor: check in days later, ask directly, listen, and point to the EAP, Care Team, Samaritans or 999.

You do not need to be a counsellor to help. HMPPS describes TRiM as a way of identifying who may be struggling after a traumatic event and offering one-to-one follow-up, and says managers should keep in contact with staff exposed to an incident, because the impact may not be immediately apparent.