Probation officer salary 2026/27

Band 4 pay points

Qualified probation officer vacancies in July and August 2026 advertise £37,238 to £44,520 for a full-time post. That is the Band 4 scale after the 6% award for 2025/26, which was paid in May 2026 and backdated to April 2025. Some adverts still show the older range of £35,130 to £42,000, which is the same scale before the award. New joiners from outside the civil service start at the bottom of the band.

Figures assume 37 hours, membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, tax code 1257L and a post outside London. The offer column is the conditional 5% that HMPPS put to the unions for 2026/27. It is not agreed.

What a probation officer takes home

On the bottom point a probation officer takes home about £2,366 a month after income tax, National Insurance and pension. On the top point it is about £2,772 a month. A probation officer on the top point is £7,282 a year ahead of someone who has just qualified, so the five-point scale is worth reaching.

Your own number will depend on your hours, tax code, student loan and any extra pension you pay. The probation pay calculator works it out for your exact situation.

London Allowance, prison supplement and standby

• London Allowance. £4,505 a year for posts in London Probation Delivery Units within the M25. A London probation officer on the bottom point is on about £41,743 before deductions, and on the top point about £49,025. Adverts say the allowance for a London post is discussed at interview. It would rise to £4,730 under the 2026/27 offer.
• Prison Supplement. Staff based in prisons can receive a Prison Supplement, which the calculator sets at £781 a year. Check the advert for the exact amount in your post.
• Standby. Paid per standby, at £48.83 now. Two a month adds roughly £65 to monthly take-home on the bottom point.

Trainees: what you earn before you qualify

Most probation officers qualify through the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP), which is paid, work-based and fully funded. Trainees on the current intake are advertised at £28,064, with a London allowance of £4,505 for posts inside the M25. On qualifying you move to Band 4 on £37,238, a rise of £9,174. The minimum entry requirement is a Level 3 qualification in any subject, though graduates with a Level 5 award or above can complete a shorter 15-month programme and others take 21 months. See PQiP trainee pay for the full route.

The Ministry of Justice announced extra funding in March 2026 to recruit another 1,300 trainee probation officers this financial year, on top of 2,300 pledged since 2024. That means there are likely to be more openings than usual while the campaign runs.

Moving up

Within Band 4 you move up the five points under the Competency Based Framework. Beyond Band 4, senior probation officers are on Band 5, which starts at £46,746, £2,226 more than the top of Band 4. Probation officers also move into specialist posts, such as offender personality disorder teams, the intensive supervision court pilot, victim liaison and practice tutor roles, which often keep the same Band 4 scale.

Where the 2026/27 pay offer stands

HMPPS has offered a conditional 5% for 2026/27. Napo’s negotiators rejected it, saying it excludes progression payments under the framework, and a ballot of members on industrial action over pay and workloads runs from 19 October to 13 November 2026. If a deal is reached it would normally be backdated to 1 April 2026. Our probation pay rise 2026 page tracks what happens next.