Prison service officers (below principal officer) salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for prison service officers (below principal officer) in the UK is £41,287 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £2,771 a month.
Pay range for prison service officers (below principal officer)
This is the ONS occupation group "Prison service officers (below principal officer)" (SOC 2020 code 3314). ONS figures for 2025 show that ONS published only the median, so half earn less than £41,287 and half earn more.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 25th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Median (50th percentile) | £41,287 | £3,441 | £33,246 | £2,771 |
| 75th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 90th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Take-home at England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. Not published means ONS did not publish that figure because the estimate is not reliable enough. ONS rates the median for prison service officers (below principal officer) as acceptable, so use it with caution: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 12%.
Where prison service officers (below principal officer) rank
The median for prison service officers (below principal officer) ranks 119th of 362 occupations on this site, in the upper half, and 13th of 58 in associate professional occupations. It is £2,248 (5.8%) higher than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for prison service officers (below principal officer) rose 6.4%, more than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Environmental health professionals (£41,725), Electrical service and maintenance mechanics and repairers (£41,662), Insurance underwriters (£41,610), Air-conditioning and refrigeration installers and repairers (£41,166), Business and related research professionals (£41,128) and Community nurses (£40,897).
How spread out pay is
ONS did not publish the 25th or 75th percentiles for prison service officers (below principal officer), so we cannot show how spread out their pay is.
The mean for prison service officers (below principal officer) (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £41,305, which is £18 (0.0%) higher than the median. The two are close, so very high or very low salaries are not pulling the average far from the middle. For all UK full-time jobs the mean is 24.3% above the median, so the gap for prison service officers (below principal officer) is smaller.
Prison service officers (below principal officer) and related jobs
Among these 3 jobs in the same ONS minor group, this one has the lowest median. The highest median among them is £44,033 (fire service officers (watch manager and below)) and the lowest £41,287 (prison service officers (below principal officer)).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire service officers (watch manager and below) | 3313 | £44,033 | £2,935 |
| Protective service associate professionals n.e.c. | 3319 | £44,007 | £2,934 |
| Prison service officers (below principal officer) | 3314 | £41,287 | £2,771 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, prison service officers (below principal officer) take home about £2,771 a month, against £2,636 on the UK median for all jobs. Scotland has its own income tax bands, so take-home pay on the same salary is different there.
| Group | Median a year | Take-home a month | Take-home a month in Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prison service officers (below principal officer) | £41,287 | £2,771 | £2,764 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Associate professional occupations table, average salary by area, the take home pay calculator, salary to hourly calculator and pay rise calculator.
How this is worked out
Pay: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2025 provisional, SOC 2020 unit group 3314. Take-home: 2026/27 rates, tax code 1257L, no pension or student loan. How to read these figures.
Sources
- ASHE Table 14: earnings by occupation (4-digit SOC), 2025 provisional (ONS)
- ASHE Table 7: earnings by place of work, local authority, 2025 provisional (ONS)
- SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups (ONS)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK)
Figures checked on 12 October 2026. ONS plans to publish its next ASHE figures on 22 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
On the median full-time salary of £41,287, take-home pay is about £2,771 a month (£33,246 a year) after 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance, with tax code 1257L and no pension or student loan. In Scotland, where income tax is different, it is about £2,764 a month.
Only the median for 2025: half of full-time employees in this group earn less than £41,287 and half earn more. ONS did not publish the other points in the range because those estimates are not reliable enough.
Yes. The median for prison service officers (below principal officer) is £41,287, which is £2,248 (5.8%) higher than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 119th of 362 occupations on this site.