The Ministry of Justice is recruiting prison officers for HMP Wymott, the men's prison near Leyland in Lancashire, with applications closing on 12 November 2026.

HMP Wymott is at Leyland PR26 8LW, near Preston in the North West. The starting salary is £36,816 a year for a 39-hour week, including a 20 per cent unsocial hours allowance. Officers who work 37 hours a week start on £34,928, and those who work 41 hours start on £39,334. All figures include the allowances that apply to the role and location.

What the job involves

Prison officers protect the public and work directly with prisoners, helping them at what can be the lowest point in their lives. The Ministry of Justice says the role changes from hour to hour: one minute an officer is a peacekeeper, the next a counsellor or a teacher.

Officers build constructive relationships with prisoners, support colleagues as part of a team, and keep the prison and everyone in it safe. Prisons operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so the role involves shift patterns that include evenings, some nights, weekends and public holidays. A driving licence and own transport are beneficial because some establishments have limited public transport, but they are not essential for this role.

Who can apply

No qualifications are needed to become a prison officer. The Ministry of Justice says personal qualities matter more: communication and influencing skills, commitment to quality, effective decision-making, and care and understanding.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old when they start employment, meet the Civil Service nationality requirements, pass a medical and fitness assessment, and meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes, with and without corrective lenses. A suitable standard of hearing without hearing aids is also required. To work in a high security, category A prison, applicants must have been resident in the UK for the last three years.

Pay, benefits and assessment

The role offers 25 days of annual holiday, rising to 30 days after 10 years' service, paid time off for public holidays and one extra privilege day, a Civil Service pension with employer contributions of 28.97 per cent, a cycle to work scheme and travel loans. There may also be opportunities for additional paid hours.

This is a merit vacancy. Applicants complete online tests, including a values-based assessment, and successful candidates are invited to an online assessment centre. Those who pass are added to a merit list based on their score, and job offers are made to the highest scorers first when positions become available. Candidates can stay on the merit list for 12 months.

Candidates who are not successful at the assessment centre may instead be offered an alternative role as an Operational Support Grade. The recruitment is also part of the initiative to make the Civil Service a great place to work for veterans, with a guaranteed interview scheme for eligible former members of the Armed Forces who meet the minimum criteria.

How to apply

Applications close on 12 November 2026 and must be made through the Ministry of Justice jobs site, quoting job reference 21432. Skilled Worker visa sponsorship may be available for this role, subject to eligibility, but the Ministry of Justice says candidates who require sponsorship are unlikely to be sponsored because of current immigration requirements and recruitment timescales.