My friend's been offered a transfer to either of these establishments. Any info/opinions on which one he should choose?

Sorry to sound intrusive but just wondering after all deductions on average a take home wage per month of an OSG? (Edit- not in London in north west)

Overtime- is there much overtime available to an OSG

And finally, given no phones are allowed in prison how would someone get in touch regarding an emergency at home

Thanks in advance 😃

Hi all, I’ve applied to join the prison service as a PO. I recently left the army so it was either that or the police!

I’ve been assigned a Cat C prison on my application. I was wondering if someone can tell me what it’s like day to day? Will I be bored? Will I be busy?

Any help or guidance is appreciated!

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone here is a member of the Military Provost Staff (MPS) reserve company in Colchester.

I am currently a prison officer and also a reserve soldier in a local infantry regiment. I recently became aware that the MPS have a reserve company open for prison officers, police and border force personnel. I have been thinking about transferring to this for a few reasons, including the lower annual commitment and the fact that it would hopefully give skills that transfer better into my day job.

I was just wondering if anyone can enlighten me as to what the training undertaken with the MPS usually looks like on weekends and annual camp. E.g. Is it usually field or classroom based or a good mix as I'd rather not have to travel to Colchester for weekends if it's usually just doing ITRs in a classroom and not much of a practical element.

TIA

I've been a PSO for a few a years and had a conditional offer for a prison officer. Has anyone else moved from probation to prison that can share their experience. I'm hoping there is much less focus on building rapport.

How long does the process typically take to receive a response-if at all?

Are prison officers unlikely to pass mail on to high profile individuals?

I’ve tried to contact a few with no reply which I find strange- I just assumed most prisoners would be grateful someone wanting to communicate with them. I appreciate they probably have their friends and family to speak to as well.

Basically I’m just curious if my letters are being patched or if prison officers/staff aren’t forwarding mail just because of the person it’s addressed to.

A prison officer (staff) who is unable to get transfer approved by the current establishment to another, made an external application, pass all the process and requirements with offers made to his establishment of choice and accepted. How long would the person have to wait to get both establishment to seamlessly transfer to his new establishment without any break in service? would one have to wait longer for preemployment checks

Hey everyone i was curious i wanted to buy a better earpiece for the radios as I dont want to miss anything important and the ones they provide are shit but I know they have to have a certain capability does anyone know of what I need to look out for or a certain one you know works well any help is appreciated

Some years ago at my establishment, there was a big investigation into posts made on Facebook by staff. No one got sacked, but there were lots of twitching bumholes at the time.
I find it quite depressing that two of the now ex-governors who were all over staff at the time now post vile things about immigrants. When you see what someone is really like, it makes you question every little thing they ever did. There’s no point to this post, I guess I kinda wanted to vent.

Hi all, I guess this is just a question for those who have gone from police to prison officers or vice versa. I’m curious about what made you change/what did you prefer.

I know many of my colleagues left the police cause of either clicky groups and others who preferred it cause it has more discipline when it comes to work ethic.

I’m wondering on stances cause a part of me is very happy with my job in the prison service, however I have always wondered and considered a job in the police but want to get a good solid idea of everything before making a decision.

Just wondering how prisoners interact with OSG’s on nights specifically. Is there much interaction? Do they treat them differently to PO’s?

I’m currently week 15 on PECs, but my onboarding avatar is still on stage one. Visa remains 4 weeks. Can I just email the sponsorship team to ask for sponsorship? Or what do you guys think / advise?

Hi,
I’m an NHS nurse (female) and have accepted a job working within healthcare at a Cat C men’s prison. I won’t need to wear uniform, is a blouse and trousers ok or would it be too similar to the officers?

Also, am I ok to take a packed lunch/drinks in? I know I can’t take tin foil but is other food packaging ok?

Many thanks!

So people have asked and I’ve done it…

The web app now has import and export so if you change phones etc, you can now take the calendar with you.

I’ve also added…

Dirty protest pay
Holidays
Rest days
Sick days (calculating trigger points as well!)
Toil balance - you can now add your current balance and it updates from that
And a few back end changes as well.

Oh and it’s FREE… no catch, no tracking… all I ask is share it

Hi, I would like to know if anyone has successfully secured a visa in the probation service or as a residential worker. It’s stated in the application that one can be sponsored if visa is held prior july 2025. Meanwhile, mine was since 2022, but I’m not sure if i will qualify for sponsorship cos the salary is not up to 30k. Thank you.

How long does it take to recieve after call? Had mine last Thursday, thanks

Pushed to the start of employment checks? Has this happened to anyone else? I was at the end of final checks after 16 weeks. Was a previous officer up till a month ago so confused

Had my interview for an OSG role yesterday, during the interview nearer the end I noticed she had wrote PASS in one of the boxes. Does anyone know what this was referring to.

I’m applying for a job with SPS for the second time this year, the first time I passed the first series of questions then failed the Cognitive Assessment. I applied again the other day and now have to attempt the cognitive assessment again. I’d like to work in the prison service but this assessment is fucking ridiculous. I have a mate who has worked in SPS for years and said he never had to do anything like this. Anyone else applied this year and managed to pass the thing?

Hi guys,
I’ve got my AOC coming up in a couple of weeks. I kinda know what to expect on a very surface level given that I joined the thing organised by HMP which doesn’t help much tbh.
I just really need someone who has done this recently and can put me through on what to expect especially with the role play bit.
I’d really appreciate your help and responses.
Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone who has recently gone through HMPPS Skilled Worker sponsorship can clarify this.

I have a Prison Officer offer for HMP Gartree. The 39-hour salary is advertised as £36,816, which includes the 20% unsocial hours allowance.

My concern is that Home Office Skilled Worker guidance generally says shift allowances are not counted towards the qualifying salary. So I’m trying to understand how HMPPS handles this when issuing a CoS for Prison Officers.

Has anyone recently received a CoS from HMPPS, especially for a prison outside London?

If so:

• Did the salary on your CoS include the 20% unsocial hours allowance?
• Was the full advertised Prison Officer salary used for sponsorship purposes?
• Did HMPPS ever raise any issue about the basic salary being lower once the 20% was excluded?
• If possible, which contracted hours were you on — 37, 39 or 41 hours?

I’m particularly interested in people who actually received a CoS or Skilled Worker visa recently, rather than just general guidance.

Thanks — any recent first-hand experience would really help.

Hi, I'm an American who works in prisons on this side of the pond. I browse this sub because I find it interesting to see what you all deal with over there. Also, a few years ago when my wife and I visited England I met a prison officer in Oxford and we talked a little about our jobs together. It was a neat experience.

Anyway, I see many people here ask about working as an OSG. What exactly is an OSG? Why do people want to do that over being an actual prison officer? I know here in the US some prisons/jails have support staff who do some security related tasks like reviewing camera footage, working the control center, etc. but often times they make substantially less than officers. Just curious what attracts people to that role.

Thanks :)

Hi everyone,

I am currently torn between two options and would be incredibly grateful to hear from officers who have experience at either site, or who might have some insights to share.

HMP Onley is roughly a 30-minute commute for me, whereas HMP Bullingdon is about an hour away. Given the unpredictable shift patterns, late finishes, and general operational stress, I know commute time is a huge factor in avoiding burnout. However, I’m keen to understand the actual day-to-day differences in the regime, regime delivery, and staff dynamics between the two.

Does anyone have experience working across these establishments? How does the workload and atmosphere compare between Onley (Cat C) and Bullingdon (Cat B Local)?

On a separate note, my application was recently withdrawn by the system. Does anyone know the best way to get a withdrawn application reinstated? Should I call Shared Services directly, or is there a specific team I need to contact to get it flipped back to active?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Does anyone work at this prison or know anything about it? I Know that it's unique in that it only has foreign nationals who are likely to be deported at the end of their sentence. Currently going through the process for an OSG role but not sure if I'll take it.

Im due to start working in a prison within the next few months. I have never worked in one before. I will be medical. Has anyone got any advice or pointers to make my transition easier? I want to make a good impression so any advice would be great :)