Uniform

HMPPS colleagues are expected to dress and maintain an appearance that is suitable for the role they are undertaking and will therefore vary by duties and circumstance. The policy will require local interpretation and may be underpinned by a locally agreed policy.

If you are onboarding as a prison officer, whatever the challenge, you’ll have the support you need from your team.
Before you start your role, you’ll complete the prison officer foundation training. During the training, you’ll learn and practice all the skills and behaviours that are vital for the role.

You’ll learn:

• how to look after people in custody
• search and security procedures
• de-escalation techniques
• Control and restraint techniques
• Policy and procedures of being a priosn officer

You’ll get full pay and expenses during your training.

What to expect

Following a local initial training period of two weeks at the prison where you’ll work (your ‘home’ prison), you’ll start your foundation training programme at a designated learning centre. This will usually be close to your ‘home’ prison.
If the learning centre is not within commuting distance of your home, you’ll stay at the learning centre from Monday to Friday. You’ll be able to go home at weekends.
Your training will cover:

• use of prison radios and keys
• how to de-escalate challenging situations
• control and restraint techniques

Consolidation week

You’ll be back at your ‘home’ prison where you’ll continue on-the-job learning. You’ll get support locally to build on the skills, knowledge and behaviours you learned in your foundation training.
Working with women in custody has some specific challenges that you may not encounter in a male prison.
The training to work as a prison officer in a women’s prison therefore has some specialist parts to it.
The women’s prisons foundation course ensures you are:

• skilled to assess, manage and support women in custody, including their specific risks and requirements
• able to respond to women in custody in a way that focuses on their needs
• confident in dealing with the complex environment of a women’s prison

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Shift patterns

Prisons need 24/7 coverage and most prisons work on a rolling shift pattern of 39 hours. Your shift patterns will include some nights, weekends and public and bank holidays (any public or bank holidays you work will be added to your annual leave allowance).
Your salary will reflect the number of hours you work (37, 39 or 41 hours a week).
Work-life balance options such as part-time hours and job shares may be available after you have completed your initial training. You’ll need to talk to your line manager about this.
Shifts usually follow regular hours, although the start and finish time may vary depending on your prison. Here’s an example shift pattern:

Shift pattern

Shift patterns	Start	Finish
Early	Start: 7am	Finish: 12:30pm
Late	Start: 12am	Finish: 9pm
Main	Start: 8am	Finish: 5pm
All day	Start: 9am	Finish: 8pm
Nights	Start: 8:45am	Finish: 7:30am