Job offer comparator: prison officer pay against any other job
Compare a prison service job with a police constable role or any offer on take-home, hours, pension, leave and commute, using verified 2026/27 prison pay and your own inputs for the other job.
Job A: prison service
Verified 2026/27Job B: the other job
Your inputsSide by side
2026/27, England, Wales and NI tax rules| A: Prison officer | B: Police constable (estimate) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay a year | £34,928 ✓ | £32,255 |
| Take-home a year (after tax, NI, pension) | £27,382 ✓ | £23,420 |
| Take-home a month | £2,282 ✓ | £1,952 |
| Take-home after commuting costs | £27,382 ✓ | £23,420 |
| Contracted hours a week | 37 ✓ | 40 |
| Take-home per paid hour (after commute) | £14.19 ✓ | £11.23 |
| Annual leave days (your figures) | 25 | 25 |
| Your pension contribution | 4.60% (£1,607) ✓ | 12.88% (£4,154) |
| Employer pension contribution | £10,119 | not entered |
| Salary at top of scale | £36,778 | £52,015 ✓ |
Where the money goes
Ask about this comparison
AI · grounded in your numbersIllustrative planning estimate based on published rules, not financial, legal, pension or tax advice. Your payroll record, contract and scheme administrator control your actual position.
What this job offer comparator does
This free tool compares a prison service job with another job offer on the things that decide whether an offer is actually better: take-home pay after tax, National Insurance and pension, contracted hours, annual leave, the pension you and your employer pay in, commuting cost, and where each salary tops out. You choose a prison officer or Operational Support Grade role, pick your pay zone, hours and pay point, and the tool fills in the verified 2026/27 pay and the Civil Service alpha pension contribution for you. For the other job you either pick a police constable (an estimate, flagged as such) or type in any offer.
The result updates as you type. You see take-home a month for each job, take-home per paid hour (the fairest way to compare jobs with different hours), a side-by-side table with the better figure marked on each line, a chart, and a break-even figure: the gross salary the other job would need to match the prison role on take-home per hour after commuting. One AI answer is free, grounded in your numbers.
It is a planning tool for England, Wales and Northern Ireland tax rules in 2026/27. It is not financial advice, it does not know your tax code or pension details, and numbers you enter yourself are only as good as the offer pack they come from.
Which figures are verified, and which are yours
Only verified figures are built in, and the page is explicit about the rest. Prison officer and OSG pay come from the 2026/27 Prison Service Pay Review Body award (Twenty-Fifth Report, accepted in full, effective 1 April 2026), as held in our single pay data file. The alpha pension member contribution bands come from the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Tax and National Insurance use the 2026/27 rUK rates. Everything else about the other job (its hours, leave, employer pension, bonus, commute) is your input, because we will not guess it.
| Item | Prison job (A) | Other job (B) |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Verified 2026/27 pay scales by zone, hours and pay point | Police constable: estimate. Any other job: you enter it |
| Hours and leave | Contract hours from the pay scale; leave 25 days (30 with long service) as a starting value you can edit | You enter them from the offer |
| Your pension contribution | Alpha bands 2026/27: 4.6%, 5.45%, 7.35% or 8.05% by pensionable pay | Police: 12.88% to 14.22% (Police Pension Scheme 2015, from 1 Apr 2026). Other: you enter it |
| Employer pension | 28.97% to 31 March 2027 | You enter it from the offer pack |
| Tax and National Insurance | 2026/27 rUK rates | 2026/27 rUK rates |
Scotland has different income tax bands and different Scottish Prison Service pay: enter Scottish jobs by hand and treat tax as approximate.
Prison officer pay in the comparison
A prison officer in England and Wales is on Band 3 of the Fair and Sustainable structure. From 1 April 2026 the national 37-hour rate including the 20% unsocial working hours allowance is £34,928 at pay point 1, rising to £36,778 at pay point 3. Officers who work additional committed hours are paid more: a 39-hour pensionable contract is £36,816 to £38,766 nationally, and a 41-hour contract £39,334 to £41,417. Outer and Inner London pay more: the Inner London 37-hour entry rate is £40,876.
All trainee officers start on a 37-hour contract and can choose 39 or 41 hours after training, according to the careers site. That choice is a trade: more hours is more money, but it is also more of your week, and the comparator shows the take-home per paid hour so you can see what the extra hours are really worth. Allowances such as Payment Plus (£23 an hour from 1 April 2026, non-pensionable, for specified duties) and market supplements at named prisons are extra: put what you realistically expect in the "other pay" box, or leave it at zero for a conservative comparison.
| Role | Entry | Top of scale |
|---|---|---|
| Band 2 Operational Support Grade, 37 hours (25% unsocial hours) | £31,761 | £31,761 (spot rate) |
| Band 3 Prison Officer, 37 hours | £34,928 | £36,778 |
| Band 3 Prison Officer, 39 hours (pensionable) | £36,816 | £38,766 |
| Band 3 Prison Officer, 41 hours | £39,334 | £41,417 |
| Band 4 Supervising Officer, 37 hours (spot) | £41,328 | £41,328 |
| Band 5 Custodial Manager, 37 hours | £44,900 | £47,057 |
Source: PSPRB Twenty-Fifth Report, Appendix E (opened 3 October 2026). See the prison officer pay bands page for every zone and hours option.
Take-home pay: how the tool works it out
Gross salary is not what you live on. For each job the tool deducts your pension contribution from your pay before tax (the net pay arrangement used by the Civil Service scheme), applies the 2026/27 income tax bands with the £12,570 personal allowance, and takes employee National Insurance at 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above. The result is annual take-home pay, divided by 12 for a monthly figure. Student loan repayments, a tax code that differs from the standard one, salary sacrifice and other deductions are not included, so your payslip will differ.
The tool then divides take-home by paid hours (contracted weekly hours across the year, including paid leave) to give take-home per paid hour. This is the single most useful comparison when two jobs have different hours: a job paying £2,000 more for four extra hours a week may be worth less per hour than the one you are leaving. Commuting costs are subtracted to give take-home after commuting, because a longer commute is a real cost in both money and time.
Pension: the biggest hidden difference
The prison service pension is the Civil Service alpha scheme for most members. You pay 4.6%, 5.45%, 7.35% or 8.05% of pensionable pay depending on your band of earnings in 2026/27, and your employer pays 28.97% of pensionable pay until 31 March 2027, falling to 22.32% from 1 April 2027 (Civil Service Pension Scheme employer contribution notices). Alpha is a career-average scheme: each year you build a pension of 2.32% of that year's pensionable earnings, revalued each April, and your normal pension age is the later of your State Pension age and 65. Our pension calculator models it in detail.
The Police Pension Scheme 2015 in England and Wales is also a career-average scheme, with an accrual rate of 1/55.3 and a normal pension age of 60. From 1 April 2026 members pay 12.88% on pensionable earnings up to £37,035, 13.88% above that and below £79,588, and 14.22% from there up (full rates). The tool applies those contributions. It does not apply an employer rate for police because we have not verified the current figure; if you know it, enter it in the employer box so the comparison is like for like.
Be careful reading pension lines in a comparison. A higher contribution from you reduces your take-home today but buys a different future benefit. Comparing percentages tells you what is paid in, not what comes out: the scheme designs, retirement ages and accrual rates differ. For a private-sector or defined-contribution offer, the employer percentage is a contribution to a pot whose value depends on investment returns, which no comparison tool can predict.
Hours, shifts and leave
A prison officer works a rolling seven-day pattern. HMPPS lists example shifts: early 7am to 12:30pm, late 12pm to 8pm, main 8am to 5pm, all day 8am to 8pm and nights 8:45pm to 7:30am, with some nights, weekends and public or bank holidays. Part-time and job-share may be available after training. The 20% unsocial working hours allowance is built into the pay scales above, which is why a prison officer's 37-hour figure is higher than the base rate. Leave is 25 days rising to 30 with long service (the service threshold is not stated on the page we read), plus public holidays and a privilege day on the advert we checked. Treat leave as an input and check it against your offer.
When you compare with a nine-to-five job, remember that shift work is the cost the extra allowance is paying for. A job that looks lower paid on a per-hour basis may be worth more to you if its hours are predictable. The comparator cannot score that: only you can.
Prison officer versus police constable
Police constable is the most-searched comparison, so it has a preset. The preset is an estimate and says so. New constables in England and Wales are on the seven-point scale. The official 2026/27 points were not published as at 3 October 2026: the 3.5% award was confirmed on 15 July 2026 for 1 September 2026, and the tool shows the 2025/26 scale plus 3.5%, rounded. On that basis the estimated range is £32,255 at point 1 to £52,015 at point 7.
The hours, leave and employer pension for police are not preset: check them in the force's offer and enter them. What the comparison does show clearly is the take-home effect of the pension contribution, which is larger for a constable than for a prison officer at the same salary, and the difference in starting salary at the entry point of each scale. Read our prison officer versus police officer guide for the non-financial differences, and ex-police to prison officer if you are considering moving between the two.
Comparing with any other job
For any other job, switch Job B to "Any other job" and enter the gross salary, its top salary if you know it, your pension contribution, the employer contribution, hours, leave, any regular extra pay and your commute. Use the figures in the offer letter or contract, not the advert headline: adverts often quote a range or a full-time-equivalent figure. Check whether the salary includes a market supplement, shift allowance or on-call payment that you will not earn every week.
Also look at what the tool cannot show: probation periods and notice terms, sick pay (HMPPS sick-pay terms are not published on the pages we checked, so ask HR), parental leave, training and progression, whether overtime is paid or time off in lieu, and how secure the employer is. A good comparison is a numbers check followed by a conversation about the parts that do not fit in a spreadsheet.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The tool's built-in prison pay is England and Wales. The Scottish Prison Service is outside the PSPRB: its Residential Officer starts at £37,682 and reaches £44,248 within three years from 1 April 2026, subject to progression, and Scotland has its own income tax bands. The Northern Ireland Prison Service advertised a custody prison officer salary of £32,510 to £42,725 (marked under review) plus a supplementary risk allowance of £4,284. To compare these, enter them as Job B. Because the tool applies rUK tax, Scottish take-home figures will be approximate.
Mistakes people make comparing offers
A few errors account for most bad comparisons. Avoid them and the numbers become far more trustworthy.
- Comparing gross salaries when the hours differ: use take-home per paid hour.
- Counting overtime or Payment Plus you may not get as if it were guaranteed.
- Ignoring commuting cost and time, especially at rural prisons.
- Treating a higher pension contribution as simply a cost, or an employer contribution as simply a gain.
- Using a headline advert salary instead of the contract figure.
- Forgetting that the start of a pay scale is not where you will stay: check the top of each scale and the speed of progression.
- Not allowing for the cost of changing jobs: notice, probation and a possible gap in pay.
Where to go next
If the comparison favours the prison role, check you meet the published entry rules with the eligibility checker and read starting salary. To see what your real take-home would be, use the salary calculator. If you are about to interview, the interview practice tool is free. To plan a full year of earnings including overtime and Payment Plus, Pay Planner Pro is the paid upgrade for this tool's AI answers.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a prison officer earn compared with a police constable?
From 1 April 2026 a national-zone prison officer starts at £34,928 on a 37-hour contract including the 20% unsocial hours allowance. The tool's police constable preset is an estimate (2025/26 scale plus the 3.5% confirmed for 1 September 2026): about £32,255 at point 1 for new recruits. Hours, leave and pension differ, so compare take-home per hour.
Which figures in the comparator are verified?
Prison officer and OSG pay (PSPRB 2026/27), the alpha pension contribution bands, the 28.97% employer contribution to 31 March 2027, and the 2026/27 tax and National Insurance rates. Police constable pay is an estimate; every other input is yours.
Does it work for jobs in Scotland or Northern Ireland?
You can enter them as Job B, but the tool applies England, Wales and Northern Ireland income tax rules, so Scottish take-home will be approximate. Scottish and Northern Ireland prison pay is not built in; see the section above for the published starting figures.
Why does it show take-home per paid hour?
Because jobs with different contracted hours cannot be compared fairly on annual salary. Take-home per paid hour divides your annual take-home by contracted hours across the year, including paid leave.
Is the pension comparison fair?
It compares what you and your employer pay in, not what each scheme pays out. The schemes differ in accrual, pension age and revaluation, so treat the contribution lines as a guide and use a pension calculator for the benefit.
What is the break-even salary?
The gross salary Job B would need, with the hours, pension percentage and commute you entered, to match the prison role on take-home per paid hour after commuting.
Does it include overtime and Payment Plus?
Only if you add them in the other-pay box. Payment Plus is £23 an hour from 1 April 2026 for specified duties, taxable and non-pensionable. We do not assume you will earn any.
Is my data saved?
Your inputs are saved in your browser only. Analytics record only a coarse result band, never your salary or the other job's details.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a planning estimate using published 2026/27 rules. Your payslip, contract and pension administrator control your actual position.
Sources
Opened on 3 October 2026. Check the live page before you rely on any figure or rule.
- PSPRB Twenty-Fifth Report on England and Wales 2026 (Appendix E pay scales)
- HMPPS Prison and Probation Jobs: prison officer pay
- Civil Service Pension Scheme: contribution rates
- GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
- Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/267)
- Police Federation: 2015 CARE pension scheme
- Police Professional: pay award confirmed at 3.5 per cent
- Scottish Prison Service: Residential Officer
- Department of Justice NI: prison service jobs
Related guides and tools
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