Prison Supervising Officer Salary 2026/27: Band 4
Supervising Officer is Band 4 in the HMPPS Fair and Sustainable structure, the first supervisory rung above a prison officer. Base pay is a spot rate of £34,440 rather than a range, rising to £41,328 with the 20% unsocial hours addition and £43,562 on 39 contracted hours with two committed hours payments. The 3.5% PSPRB award was accepted in full on 26 March 2026 and backdated to 1 April.
Typical pay & take-home
- Base plus 20% unsocial
- £41,328
- Typical range
- £34,440–£43,562
- Take-home at median
- £33,276 England, no pension applied — use the salary calculator for your scheme.
At the median for this profession, you earn about 6% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you in the top 46% of UK earners.
What influences prison supervising officer (band 4) pay
Band 4 is a spot rate, not a scale: every Supervising Officer on 37 contracted hours is on £34,440 regardless of length of service. Progression comes from promotion to Band 5, not from increments.
What actually varies is hours and allowances. The 20% unsocial hours addition takes base to £41,328, and moving to a 39 hour contract with two committed hours payments takes it to £43,562 - a £9,122 spread on the same rank.
London adds a flat differential rather than a percentage: £3,432 outer London and £5,218 inner London, so the proportionate uplift is larger at this band than at governor grades.
The alpha pension contribution is 4.6% at base pay, the tier for pensionable earnings up to £36,199, stepping to 5.45% once unsocial hours take pay above that. It is a net pay arrangement, so Income Tax relief is automatic but National Insurance is charged on the full gross.
Career progression
- Prison Officer (Band 3): £29,107 to £30,648 base.
- Supervising Officer (Band 4): £34,440 spot rate.
- Custodial Manager (Band 5): £37,417 to £39,214 base.
- Head of Function (Band 7) and above: £54,148 upwards.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a Band 4 Supervising Officer take home 2026/27?
- On the £34,440 base rate with the 4.6% alpha contribution, take-home is about £27,049 a year or £2,254 a month. With the 20% unsocial hours addition taking pay to £41,328 it is about £31,474, and on 39 hours with committed hours payments at £43,562 it is about £32,985.
- Why does Band 4 have no pay scale?
- It is published as a spot rate. Unlike Band 3, which has three pay points, and Band 5, which has three, Band 4 pays one figure for the role. Extra earnings come from hours and allowances rather than from years served.