Prison officer pay rise back pay calculator
Choose your band, pay point, contract hours and where you work. See old pay against new pay, your monthly and yearly rise, the arrears owed back to 1 April 2026 and an estimate of the take-home difference. Results update as you type.
Your details
Free| Where the rise comes from | £ a year |
|---|---|
| 3.5% scale increase | +£1,182 |
| Pay point move (Band 3, point 1 to 2) | +£1,222 |
| Total change | +£2,404 |
Illustrative 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 the calculator does
The 2026/27 Prison Service Pay Review Body award is a consolidated, pensionable 3.5% on the Fair and Sustainable pay points and spot rates, effective 1 April 2026, accepted in full by the Government. This calculator turns the published pay tables into your own figures. It shows what you were paid on the 2025/26 scale, what you are paid on the 2026/27 scale, the difference each month and each year, the arrears owed for months already worked at the old rate, and an approximate take-home figure after income tax, National Insurance and pension. It covers Bands 2 to 5 in England and Wales, in the National zone and in Inner and Outer London, and the 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 hour contract patterns where they are published.
Pay figures come from one verified data file built from the PSPRB's Twenty-Fifth Report, Appendix E, published on 26 March 2026. The calculation runs in your browser and your inputs are kept there so they are there when you come back; they are only sent anywhere if you choose to ask the AI helper, which reads your figures to answer. If you want the wider story, including what is confirmed and what is not for 2027/28, read the prison officer pay rise tracker.
How to use it in four steps
- Pick your band. Band 2 is the Operational Support Grade, Band 3 the Prison Officer, Band 4 the Supervising or Specialist Officer and Band 5 the Custodial Manager. Governor grades (Bands 7 to 12) are in the pay bands guide.
- Choose your pay point and location. Bands 3 and 5 have three pay points; Bands 2 and 4 are spot rates. Use the pay point you held on 31 March 2026. Inner London is Brixton, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs and Westminster headquarters; Outer London includes Belmarsh, Downview, Feltham, High Down and Isis. Everywhere else is National.
- Select your contract hours. New officers start on 37 hours and can choose 39 or 41 after training. The published figures include the 20% unsocial hours allowance, and Band 2 has a 25% payment for now. Choose "base pay only" to see the figure without it.
- Say when the new rate reached you. The default is June, which is what HMPPS told the POA it intended. Look at your payslips and change it if your new rate appeared earlier or later. Arrears cover every month before that at the old rate.
Worked examples you can check by hand
These use the same functions as the calculator above, so you can confirm the maths against the published tables. Differences are our arithmetic on the PSPRB figures.
| Example | 2025/26 pay | 2026/27 pay | Rise a year | Rise a month | Arrears (2 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 3, point 1, National, 37h, with pay point move | £33,746 | £36,150 | +£2,404 | £200.33 | £400.67 |
| Band 3, point 2, Inner London, 39h (2 ACH), no pay point move | £43,451 | £44,973 | +£1,522 | £126.83 | £253.67 |
| Band 2, National, 37h base pay | £24,527 | £25,409 | +£882 | £73.50 | £147.00 |
Gross pay. Band 3 National 37h inc 20% allowance: £33,746 on pay point 1 in 2025/26, £34,928 after the 3.5%, £36,150 after moving to point 2. Source: PSPRB 25th Report, Appendix E.
Take the first example. A National Band 3 officer on pay point 1 with a 37-hour week was on £33,746 including the allowance. The 3.5% took the point to £34,928, a rise of £1,182. Moving up to point 2 lifted pay to £36,150, another £1,222. The total of £2,404 a year is £200.33 a month, so two months of arrears is £400.67 gross.
Where each part of the rise comes from
The 3.5% scale increase. Recommendation 1 raised every Band 3 to 12 pay point and spot rate by 3.5%, consolidated and pensionable. For Band 3 on 37 hours including the allowance that was £1,182 on point 1, £1,223 on point 2 and £1,245 on point 3.
One pay point. Recommendation 6 moved Band 3 and Band 5 staff in post on 31 March 2026, and not on formal poor performance procedures, up one pay point. The HMPPS objective stated in the report is for officers to reach the top of the three-point scale within three years. If you were already on point 3 there is nothing to move to, which the calculator handles.
London. The fixed London differentials rose 3.5% to £5,218 (Inner) and £3,432 (Outer) above the National 37-hour maxima. The result is that a London officer's cash rise is a little larger than a National officer's at the same point.
Band 2 and the National Living Wage. The Review Body again said there should be no formal link between Band 2 pay and the NLW. Band 2 therefore got the full 3.5% on top of the NLW rise to £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026. On 37 hours base pay the National spot rate went from £24,527 to £25,409, passing £24,549 after the NLW step alone.
Payment Plus. The £1 rise to £23 an hour is separate, non-consolidated and non-pensionable. Enter your usual monthly hours in the calculator to see the annual effect.
What to check on your payslip
Look at three things. First, the basic pay line: from the month the new rate is processed it should match your band, pay point, hours and zone in the published table. Second, the arrears line: it should cover each month from April at the old rate, back to 1 April 2026. If your pay point moved, the arrears should reflect the higher pay point as well as the 3.5%. Third, your pension contribution rate. Alpha member contribution rates for 2026/27 are 4.6% up to £36,199, 5.45% from £36,200 to £56,000, 7.35% above that up to £150,000 and 8.05% over £150,000, applied to all your pensionable pay in the band, so a rise can tip you into the next band.
If a figure does not match, ask your payroll team first, and speak to your POA representative if you need support. We cannot see your payslip and the calculator is an estimate, not a payroll check. For detail on arrears see our guide to back pay explained.
What the calculator does not do
It does not know your tax code, student loan, union fees, salary sacrifice or any other deduction. It treats your whole pay as pensionable for the contribution band, which overstates the pension charge if part of your pay (for example non-pensionable additional hours) is outside it; whether additional committed hours that are not marked pensionable count towards pension is not stated in the sources we have read. It does not model market supplements, closed-grade rates, Bands 7 to 12, Scotland or Northern Ireland. It does not predict any 2027/28 award: the what-if tab is arithmetic on your current pay, and the Government has published no timetable or figure for that round.
London 2025/26 pay is derived rather than published, so it can differ from your payslip by a few pounds. Everything else for 2026/27 is taken directly from the published tables.
The premium year plan and the AI helper
The free result above is complete on its own. If you want to plan the pay year, Pay Planner Pro adds a month-by-month view of your 2026/27 gross pay with the arrears in the month they land, a 2027/28 award planner with a slider for the percentage and months of arrears, a CSV download and a print-ready page. It is a one-off £12.99 with no subscription and a 14-day money-back guarantee; see our terms. The "Ask AI" tab answers one question for free, using only your own figures as ground truth, and then needs the paid unlock. It can make mistakes, so check anything important with payroll.
Related guides and tools
- Prison officer pay rise: living tracker
- Prison officer pay rise 2026/27: full guide
- Back pay explained
- Prison officer pay bands
- Payment Plus explained
- Pay against inflation
- Salary and take-home calculator
- Market supplements
- How the Pay Review Body works
- Pay news
Sources
- PSPRB Twenty-Fifth Report on England and Wales 2026, Appendix E (pay tables), recommendations 1 to 12 (26 March 2026)
- HMPPS Prison and Probation Jobs: prison officer pay
- POA CIRC 038 (payment in June salaries, a union account)
- Civil Service Pension Scheme contribution rates
- GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
Back pay calculator FAQs
How is the back pay calculated?
We take the difference between your annual pay on the 2025/26 scale and on the 2026/27 scale, divide by twelve to get the monthly difference, and multiply by the number of months you were paid at the old rate. If the new rate first appeared in June, that is April and May, so two months. HMPPS told the POA it intended to pay the award in June salaries backdated to 1 April, which is why that is the default. Change it to match your own payslips.
Does the calculator include my pay point move?
Yes, for Bands 3 and 5. Staff in post on 31 March 2026 who are not on formal poor performance procedures moved up one pay point (recommendation 6). Tell us the pay point you held on 31 March and leave the switch on. For a National Band 3 officer on 37 hours including the allowance, point 1 to point 2 is worth £1,222 a year on top of the £1,182 scale increase.
Why is my take-home rise smaller than the gross rise?
Because tax, National Insurance and your pension contribution all take a share of extra pay. The take-home tab estimates this using rUK 2026/27 income tax and NI and the alpha pension contribution band for your pay. If your new pay crosses a contribution band, the higher rate applies to all your pensionable pay, which trims the gain further. Your own tax code and other deductions are not included.
Is the London figure exact?
The 2026/27 London figures are published and exact. The 2025/26 London figures are not in our verified data, so we derive them from the PSPRB's own rule: the London maximum is the National maximum plus a fixed cash differential (Inner £5,041 and Outer £3,315 in 2025/26), with other points keeping the same share of the maximum. That can differ from your payslip by a few pounds.
What about Band 2 and the National Living Wage?
Band 2 got the 3.5% on top of the National Living Wage rise to £12.71 an hour on 1 April 2026. For a National Band 2 on 37 hours base pay the total rise is £882 a year, of which about £22 was the NLW-only step and the rest the award.
Does the 3.5% apply to Payment Plus, supplements and overtime?
No. Payment Plus rose by £1 to £23 an hour as a separate recommendation; you can enter your usual hours to see the effect. Market supplements are not part of the 3.5% and are non-pensionable. Overtime for Bands 3 to 5 is Payment Plus only. Closed-grade staff who did not opt in to Fair and Sustainable received a non-consolidated 3.5% payment instead.
Are Scotland and Northern Ireland covered?
No. This calculator covers the PSPRB award in England and Wales. The Scottish Prison Service and Northern Ireland Prison Service have their own pay deals. See our guides on pay in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Is this tool official or financial advice?
No. It is an independent estimate from published rates, not payroll or financial advice. Your payslip and payroll team decide your actual pay. We are not affiliated with HMPPS, the Ministry of Justice, the POA or any union.
What does the premium year plan add?
Pay Planner Pro (£12.99, one payment, no subscription) adds a month-by-month view of your 2026/27 pay including when the arrears land, a 2027/28 award planner with arrears timing, a CSV download and a print-ready page. The free calculator already gives you the full old-against-new, back pay and take-home result. There is a 14-day money-back guarantee; see our terms.