Pay rise information

[Admin]

Prison officers

All prison staff on bands 2-11 will get a a 4% base pay rise backdated to 1 April 2022, before it is wiped out by inflation.

On top of this, Band 2 operational support grades on modernised terms and conditions will get a rise of £1,500. And Band 3 prison officers will get a base pay rise of £2,500 or £3,000 including social hours. However, these will eat into or wipe out existing ‘market supplement’ payments.

A review body’s plea for a 5% rise for prison directors was rejected. Instead they will get 3%.

Was initially skeptical about this with the money being absorbed in to the base wage however, after looking at it in depth and seeing Pay Scale 1 being removed this could equate to a good rise for people just starting out but a kick in the nuts for others.

PSPRB 2022

[Admin]

PR 236: PAY CUT TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FOR PRISON OFFICER GRADES

Prison Officers who protected the general public during the pandemic and put their own lives at risk on average are getting a 4 per cent pay rise which is not even half of the rate of inflation.

The Prison Service Pay Review Body quite rightly identified “uncompetitive pay levels and serious long-running recruitment and retention problems which are putting the Prison Service in an unsustainable position that risks the stability of prisons due to inadequate staffing levels and experience”. They go on further to say that the “Prison Service is facing a crisis which will only worsen unless there is significant and immediate investment in pay to improve the competitiveness of the Prison Service’s employment package”.

Inflation is predicted to rise above 10% later in the year and this Report does nothing to address the problems that our members will face. This Pay Review Body Report amounts to real terms pay cut which will do nothing to alleviate the problems faced due to recruitment and retention. During the pandemic, those working in the Criminal Justice System were lauded as hidden heroes. These hidden heroes are being paid as paupers. There are some exceptions where the low paid receive larger increases but the PSPRB like other pay review bodies haven’t recommended rises that keep pace with inflation.

Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the POA stated:

“Once again, the Government treat our members with disdain. Our members work in the most hostile environment in Western Europe, and this is how they are recognised. We were correct to give evidence to the Pay Review Body and at least they rejected HMPPS/ Government evidence, but the recommendations are not nearly enough to make up for the last 12 years of constant cuts to pay by this Government. We are already aware of Foodbanks in Prisons for the benefit of staff. I can see the demand for these increasing. The POA know this pay rise will do little to arrest people leaving the service simply because they are having to choose between putting food on the table or fuel in the car to get to work. A crisis of the Government’s own making”

Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the POA stated:

“Victoria Atkins, the previous Prisons Minister and Phil Copple, the Director General of Prisons, addressed our Annual Conference in May this year and both promised a significant pay rise for Prison Officers. This is not a significant pay rise and will push our members further into financial difficulty. They are either sadly out of touch or they do not care about our members, their employees. This Report just does not touch the edges of the cost-of-living crisis and once again our members are facing real terms pay cut. The Executive will be considering the POA response in the next couple of days.”

Ends

[JUSTANOTHERPOELT.]

I’ve just started in the job and I’m not very good with digesting information like this. Is this a good thing?

[pkwrjokerz]

I start in 10 days time so not sure how this will affect me.

I am at a prison that is Paying a supplement so will i lose the supplement but start on the newer rate?

I cant seem to work out how it affects me.

[Admin]

From my understanding the base rate from April has increased by 4% and the unsocial working hours has increased from 17% to 20% as well as pay scale 1 and 3 being removed, so this should be a good thing for people who are on payscale one or 3.

From Sept another £3000 added to all band 3 wages, this will eliminate the amber sites £3000 but those at Red or the 3 Red plus sites will still get £2000 red site money or £3500 plus site money instead of the £5000 or £6500 they get now.

In real terms it looks like the minimum wage for all band 3 officers (on fair & sustainable wages) will now be what the amber sites were receiving so initially it looks like those at Amber sites will only be getting the 4% raise and the change from 17% to 20% for USWH but the supplement will now be included in the wage rather than a supplement and therefore is pensionable so in the long term its better than it look initially.

Base rate last year: £23,144 with 17% USWH where base rate is 37hrs
Base rate Apr 2022: £25,880 with 20% USWH
Base rate Sept 2022: £28,880 with 20% USWH (Amber site money no longer exists, Red sites will be £30,880, Red Plus will be £32,380) then London jails have there rates too which are more again.)