202512: Prison Officer - HMP Morton Hall

Ministry of Justice; Lincoln; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

A government department in the UK seeks a Prison Officer for HMP Morton Hall, Lincoln. This role offers an exceptional opportunity to work in a dynamic environment where you'll act as both a peacekeeper and a counselor. Successful candidates will be at least 18 years old, meet specific health and legal criteria, and will undergo extensive training. The role includes a competitive salary starting at £35,875 and various benefits including annual leave and a civil service pension.

Benefits

25 days’ annual holiday

Paid time off for public holidays

Civil Service pension up to 20%

Cycle-to-work scheme

Qualifications

• Must be at least 18 years old at commencement of employment.
• Meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements.
• Pass a medical and fitness assessment.
• Meet eyesight and hearing standards.
• Visible tattoos must not be offensive.

Responsibilities

• Act as a peacekeeper and counselor for prisoners.
• Help protect the public and facilitate prisoner rehabilitation.

Skills

communicating and influencing

managing a quality service

making effective decisions

caring

Job description

Prison officer – HMP Morton Hall

HMP Morton Hall, Swinderby, Lincoln LN6 9PT

Starting salary: £35,875 (for a 39 hour week inc 20% unsocial)

City/Town: Lincoln | Region: East Midlands | Vacancy type: Merit

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.

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
• making effective decisions
• caring

To become a prison officer, you will need to:

• be at least 18 years old at the commencement of employment
• meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements
• pass a medical and fitness assessment
• meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes
• meet a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids) for safety reasons
• have visible tattoos that are not offensive, discriminatory, violent or intimidating; facial tattoos are generally not acceptable except for cultural, religious or medical reasons

For safety reasons, everyone training to be a prison officer needs a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids).

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

How to apply

Once you have completed your initial application form you will be invited to complete Stage 1 of the online test to assess basic judgement and numerical skills. If you pass, we will invite you to complete Stage 2 of the online tests, which is a task‑based assessment.

If you pass the online tests, we will invite you to an online assessment centre (OAC). Once you’ve successfully completed the OAC and you are allocated to a vacancy, we will invite you to complete a medical and fitness test. This will cover an eyesight test, hearing test and basic health screening, including a blood‑pressure check.

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 – £33,746 a year
• 39 hours a week – £35,875 a year
• 41 hours a week – £38,003 a year

All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances.

The standard working week of a prison officer is based on a 39‑hour per week shift pattern.

Benefits

• 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 of up to 20% of your salary
• Cycle‑to‑work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

Read more about prison officer benefits.

Job offers: Merit vacancy

This is a merit job vacancy. If you are successful at the online assessment centre, you will be added to a merit list based on your score. When all applicants have completed the assessment centre, the prison will make job offers to individuals with the highest scores first when positions become available. You can stay on the merit list for 12 months; after this you’ll need to re‑apply.

Operational Support Grade Role

Our Online Assessment Centre (OAC) will not only assess you against the key criteria to become a prison officer but will also determine your suitability for appointment as an operational support grade (OSG). If following attendance at your OAC you are unsuccessful in your application to become a prison officer, we may instead offer you an alternative role as an OSG.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of Civil Servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles. If you feel the recruitment process has breached the principles, you can raise a formal complaint by contacting Shared Services Connected Ltd: call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8 am – 6 pm) or email Moj‑recruitment‑vetting‑[e-mail].

Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attracting, retaining and investing in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

Reasonable adjustment support

As a Disability Confident employer, the MoJ is committed to ensuring that everyone can demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities. Offering reasonable adjustment support to candidates when they apply for one of our jobs is one of the ways we do this. Applying for reasonable adjustment support has been made simple – just tick ‘yes’ when it asks if you think you might need it.