Prison Officer - HMP Wormwood Scrubs London Visa Sponsorship Available

HMP Wormwood Scrubs in London is hiring dedicated and resilient individuals to join its team as Prison Officers. This is a unique opportunity to take on a rewarding role where no two days are the same, making a meaningful difference in the lives of others and the wider community.

Ideal candidates will demonstrate strong decision-making abilities, care, and understanding-qualities essential for managing challenging situations with professionalism and compassion. Prison Officers play a crucial role in maintaining safety, supporting rehabilitation, and encouraging positive behaviour among inmates.

This full-time position offers visa sponsorship for eligible candidates, making it an excellent option for individuals already in the UK looking to build a career in public service. Join HMP Wormwood Scrubs and be part of a supportive, structured, and purpose-driven environment where your actions contribute to long-term societal impact.

Position: Prison Officer

Salary: £37,973 – £42,762 per year

Job Type: Full-Time

Location: London

About the Role

Someone like you

There\’s no such thing as a typical prison officer. Our officers come from different walks of life, just like the offenders they work with. Whether you\’re a parent, a teacher, have worked in retail, the armed forces, or just feel like you\’re a natural people person, you\’ll have the empathy, self-confidence, great communication skills and resilience we want. No matter the challenge, you\’ll take the time to build constructive, positive and professional relationships with prisoners who could be at the lowest point in their lives.

Teamwork plays a vital role in this environment, so you\’ll need to be fully committed to supporting your colleagues and understand the importance of acting as one team to keep the prison, and everyone who works here safe.

You will be required to work various shifts and some weekends.

An extraordinary job

In this unique career, you\’ll have the opportunity to carry out many different roles in any one day. One minute you\’re a peacekeeper, the next you\’re a counsellor or a teacher. You\’ll work directly with prisoners in a unique environment, helping to protect the public and make a positive impact.

To become a prison officer, you will need to:

• Be at least 18 years old at the point you commence employment
• Meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements (see nationality requirements section below)
• As this is a physically active job, you will need to pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process
• Meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes (both with and without corrective lenses)
• For safety reasons, everyone training to be a prison officer needs a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids)
• Whilst tattoos are permitted, including those that are visible, they must not be deemed as offensive, discriminatory, violent, or intimidating in any way. Facial tattoos are generally not acceptable, except where this is for cultural, religious, or medical reasons.

To work in a high security prison (category A) you must have been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years.

Travel to Work

Some prison establishments are situated in rural locations with limited public transport options; therefore, a driving licence and own transport is beneficial but is not an essential requirement of the role (unless specified). Please note that shift start, and finish times are fixed, and it is your responsibility to get to and from your place of work on time for the start of your shift. Please carefully consider the location of this vacancy and your transport options before applying.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

From 4 April 2024, the Government increased the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas. The change means that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot guarantee sponsorship for those seeking sponsorship via the Skilled Worker visa route.

If you are applying to be a prison officer and you do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes.

HMPPS will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service.

Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

Essential skills

You don\’t need qualifications to become a prison officer. Personal qualities are more important. You need to show:

• Communication and influencing skills
• Commitment to quality
• Care and understanding

Pay

The initial training is 37 hours a week. After training, you can choose to work 37, 39 or 41 hours a week. Your annual salary will reflect your weekly hours.

37 hours a week = £37,973 a year

39 hours a week = £40,367 a year

41 hours a week = £42,762 a year

All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances that are applicable to the role/location.

Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means you will have to cover various shift patterns that will include evenings, some nights, weekends and public holidays (these days are added to your holiday allowance). Most prisons work with a changing shift pattern of 39 hours a week.

You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours.

• 25 days\’ annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years\’ service)
• Paid time off for public holidays and 1 extra privilege day
• Civil Service pension with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

Assessment Process

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on the behaviours, strengths and abilities you need to become an effective prison officer. These include:

• Communicating and influencing
• Managing a quality service
• Caring

Your natural strengths are assessed to find out what motivates and energises you. We will also assess your numerical, written English and spoken English abilities.

Online Tests

Once you have completed your initial application form, you will be invited to complete stage 1 of the online test, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer.

If you are successful, we will invite you to the stage 2 online test (task-based assessment) to see if you have the natural behaviours and qualities needed to be an effective prison officer.

The online assessment centre (OAC)

On successful completion of the online tests, we will invite you to an online assessment centre where we test to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a prison officer.

Required Documents

• CV/Resume

Application Process

If you are ready to take on this challenge and build a meaningful career, APPLY NOW