Advance Into Justice | HM Prison & Probation Service

Join the Prison Service Catering Team

This is not your average catering job. It is a great chance to put your catering skills into practice while gaining a qualification; working with the team to prepare meals for the entire prison. Make an impact far beyond the kitchen by managing offenders and helping them learn new skills which can increase their chances of future employment and their likelihood of reoffending.

The quality of food has a real impact on prison morale and you will use your skills to create quality, nutritional meals every day. Join a professional environment and get flexibility, a good salary, pension and Civil Service benefits.

Working as a prison caterer/chef

As a prison caterer/chef, you will work with offenders to prepare, cook and serve food under the supervision of a chef/kitchen supervisor. You will also help to select and train offenders for kitchen duties. Your responsibilities can involve keeping training records up to date, monitoring work, and helping to maintain safety and security of the prison.

Responsibilities include:

preparing and cooking food using ingredients with minimal waste
supporting offenders to work safely and efficiently
co-ordinating supplies of food and ingredients
catering for diets on grounds of religious beliefs and medical issues
serving food from the kitchen or hotplate, and deliver food by trolley
checking hygiene and contribute to the review of catering standards

Find out more about prison categories

Eligibility

For Band 3 catering roles there are no entry requirements other than a requirement to complete a catering vocational Qualification at Level 3 within an agreed timescale and have completed a food hygiene qualification ahead of your first day of employment. If you’re a service leaver this can be provided through the CTP, if a Veteran or Spouse we can direct you to suitable providers to help you undertake this ahead of your first day.

For Band 4 Catering roles you require:

a level 2 certificate in food production within hospitality and catering or equivalent
food hygiene certificate level 3 (intermediate level)
working towards a relevant Vocational Qualification at Level 3 or already hold formal qualifications in catering e.g. City and Guilds 7061/7062 or NVQ Level 3

Pay

You will work a 37 hour week. Pay depends on where you work in England and Wales. Shift patterns are in place which will include:

hours outside of 07:00 -19:00 Monday to Friday
Weekends
Bank holidays

You will therefore receive a 20% unsocial hours payment in addition to your basic pay, subject to working these hours. All roles can be open to part-time and job share arrangements subject to the business need/operational requirement, however you will still be required to undertake the full range of shifts. New recruits joining HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) will be brought in on the minimum of the band pay range.

Region	Prisons	Band 3 Salary Minimum inclusive of 20% unsocial hours allowance	Band 3 Salary Maximum inclusive of 20% unsocial hours allowance	Band 4 Salary Minimum inclusive of 20% unsocial hours allowance	Band 4 Salary Maximum inclusive of 20% unsocial hours allowance
Inner London	Brixton, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs	£33,799	£35,587	£39,349	£39,349
Outer London	Belmarsh, Downview, Feltham, High Down, Isis	£32,114	£33,814	£37,576	£37,576
National	All other prisons	£28,880	£30,410	£34,172	£34,172

Benefits

As a prison officer, you will get:

25 days annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service)
Civil service pension with employer contributions of over 27%
paid time off for public holidays and 1 extra privilege day*
generous maternity leave cover
cycle to work scheme and travel loans
property rental deposit loans
access to local keyworker housing schemes
employee assistance programmes
paid special leave for Reservists to participate in the continuous mandatory period of training.

*Operational grades within prisons operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and you will be expected to work on some public and bank holidays. Any that you do work will be added to your annual leave entitlement.

Application process (Top Tips)

Real-life examples/behavioural questions – We will ask you to give some real-life examples of how you would react in a particular situation. Remember to be specific and write about actions and activities you have done in the past. Use this handy guide to help you think about what to include, and how to shape your answers.

Anonymised CV – You will also need to provide an anonymised (also known as ‘name-blind’) CV which includes your employment history, relevant experience, skills and key achievements. It’s important you don’t include the following information which could identify you:

name and title
names of educational institutions
age and gender
email address
postal address and telephone number
nationality and immigration status

This will ensure we make decisions based on your knowledge and skills rather than your background, gender or ethnicity.

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