Prison Officer

Prison Officer
HMP Fosse Way, Wigston, LE18 4WS 

What’s in it for you?
Your starting salary will be £28,187pa. increasing to £29,271 after 12 months and increasing again to £33,337 after 3 years’ service. We're fully committed to supporting you through a nationally-recognised PCO Portfolio or PCO apprenticeship qualification, which would increase your salary to £32,288 as soon as either of these is successfully completed, which can realistically be achieved within 12 to 18 months of joining us. We also offer:

• Opportunity to earn approximately £37,800 including overtime (while we can't guarantee overtime will always be available, this is based on an average of 4 hour per week)


• Clear career development pathways for you to transition quickly into operational management positions with salaries ranging from £37,000 to £42,000


• Free parking on site, free use of the gym and free food while on shift


• Pension scheme


• Health and wellbeing benefits.


• Reward and recognition scheme.


• Discounts including cinema, retail, dining, leisure centre memberships, mobile phone plans and more


• Option to apply for a Blue Light discount card

Discover lots of information about the Prison Officer role here.

Is this the right career for you?
Our Prison Officers come with all different work & life experiences, what you’ve done before doesn’t matter, what matters is that you’re committed to making a difference to the lives of others. We’re focused on transferrable skills and behaviours such as communication, teamwork, resilience, and patience to help people - the rest you’ll learn during your 10-week training course and through our experienced colleagues.

As a Prison Officer, you’ll be at the forefront of ensuring the health, safety, and wellbeing of everyone around you. It’s a job where your contribution really counts as you work to give prisoners structure within their lives, encourage positive choices, and support them on their journey to rehabilitation. Day to day you’ll be involved in:

• Supervising prisoners in all aspects of prison wing activity.


• Overseeing work and education programmes, encouraging prisoners to participate.


• Operational matters such as prisoner headcounts, prison cell searching, security, and administrative processes.


• Managing prisoners who are at risk of self-harm.

We operate 24/7, all year round meaning you’ll cover shifts on days, evenings, weekends, nights, and bank holidays. We value the importance of work-life balance, we operate on a rota basis that allows you the flexibility to enjoy meaningful time off to do the things you enjoy.

Your recruitment journey:

• You’ll be invited to complete an online assessment


• If successful, you’ll attend a virtual competency-based interview, along with an English assessment


• Once passed, you’ll be invited to HMP Fosse Way for a Welcome briefing about the prison and the role, a group session, a mobility assessment, and a guided visit around the prison


• After successfully completing the assessment process, you’ll attend a 10-week Initial Training Course (ITC) at the prison (100% attendance required), which includes 8 weeks of classroom-based training, 2 weeks of on-the-job shadowing to experience the role first-hand, completion of a Diploma in Custodial Care, First Aid training, and Control and Restraint training

Why Serco?

• A place you can make an impact: Prison Officers are key to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of prisoners, staff, and visitors in their prisons. More importantly they play a vital role in reducing reoffending rates amongst prisoners.


• A place you can count on: Our prisons hold a huge amount of variety and opportunity, with Officers being able to progress into Ops Management or specialist services such as Psychology, Education, Health, or the Animal unit.


• A place for you: With significant investment in safeguarding and rehabilitation, our prisons are calmer and often very different from what you might expect. You’ll be fully supported with comprehensive training, guidance and advice from friendly, experienced colleagues.

Please note that this position is based at HMP Fosse Way in Leicester, which has limited public transport options. Due to the nature of our shift patterns, we strongly encourage applicants to consider their commute time and transportation options before applying. Therefore, we recommend that candidates live within a 30 mile radius of the above location to maintain punctuality, work-life balance, and job satisfaction.

What else do I need to know
This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and all offers of employment are subject to security clearance checks, and satisfactory employment references.  You’ll be required to provide 5 years of employment and education history as part of these checks.

This role is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship under current UK Home Office rules, as it does not meet the required salary or skill level criteria. Whilst we encourage applications to other roles, candidates who already have a valid right to work in the UK through other immigration routes or permissions must meet the below minimum eligibility criteria: 

• Have at least two years remaining on your current visa to ensure sufficient time in the role.


• Have lived in the UK for at least one year, as the vetting process requires a counter-signatory from a recognised professional who has known you for that duration.

For general right-to-work guidance, please visit the UK Home Office website.

About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

Ready to help impact a better, safer future?
Please click the apply button to complete your application. At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We are proud to be Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. 

Got a question? Please contact our recruitment team directly on [email protected].