What your pay means for home, borrowing and everyday life.

Lenders assess affordability on income after tax and National Insurance plus your commitments, and income multiples are their own policy. As an illustration only, a pay point 1 officer on £34,928 at an assumed 4.5 times income could borrow about £157,000. See the mortgage guide; this is not an offer or advice.

It depends on the lender. Payment Plus (£23 an hour) and market supplements are non-pensionable and variable, so some lenders count part of them or none. Your unsocial hours allowance is inside the advertised salary. A whole-of-market broker can tell you who counts it most generously.

At basic rate tax and National Insurance you keep about £16.56 of a £23 hour (72%), or about £14.49 (63%) if you also repay a student loan. See overtime planning and savings and the overtime to deposit calculator.

Yes. Repayments are 9% of income above your plan's threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), and overtime and bonuses count as income. A large Payment Plus month can trigger a deduction in that month, and you can ask for a refund after the tax year if your annual income was below the threshold. See student loans.

No. GOV.UK says you cannot claim tax relief for ordinary travel to and from work. HMRC's uniform flat rate expense for uniformed prison officers is listed at £80 a year if you meet laundering costs yourself, worth £16 at 20% tax. See commuting costs.

Pay differs in only three zones (National, Outer London, Inner London), but house prices and rents vary far more. ONS August 2026 private rents run from about £788 a month in the North East to £2,332 in London. Read cost of living by region.

The provider lists HMPPS workers as eligible, with the Scottish Prison Service and roles such as Prison Custody Officer also named. It advertises £4.99 for two years, but check the price at sign-up. The Northern Ireland Prison Service is not named, so use the provider's eligibility checker. See Blue Light Card.

Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week for up to 28 weeks, and an occupational scheme can pay more; HMPPS gives up to 10 months' sick pay in a rolling four years for staff new to HMPPS on modernised terms. Death in service and injury benefits also exist. Read income protection and life insurance.