Pros
* 10 week training course is quite fun * Free cooked lunch every day you are on shift * Free uniform and boots provided * Almost endless overtime - can almost work 24 hours a day if you really want - overtime paid at 1.5 x hourly rate (at the time of writing hourly rate is £10.90) * Some good hard working people * A good environment if you're young and want decent money
Cons
* 40 hour a week shift patterns with 0630 starts and 2015 finishes can be tiring * Longest shift is 13 hours, shortest is 6 hours * You have to work every other weekend, both days of the weekend * You get an unpaid hours break if you are working both sides of lunchtime otherwise you get no breaks at all in your shift * Some positions have to do a week of night shifts every 6-8 weeks with a following week off - you get no choice if this applies to you or not * Very difficult to get annual leave - no leave granted Christmas or New Year week * Number of weeks you can take in the summer and either side of Easter is limited to 2 weeks per year * Short staffed and sickness can make some shifts a challenge because there aren't enough officers * High turnover of officers - they are constantly recruiting because they are constantly losing staff * Some management decisions are questionable * High risk of being assaulted. I was punched, spat at and verbally abused on a number of occasions * A growing number of inexperienced officers can make some days more challenging * You are based in an area but can get put anywhere in the prison - you never know where you are working that shift until you walk through the door and you have no choice in the matter