Accredited official statistics

HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: June 2024

Published 15 August 2024

Applies to England and Wales

Main Points

64,779 FTE (full time equivalent) staff in post	This is an increase of 2,268 FTE (3.6%) staff in post compared to 30 June 2023 and a minimal change of 238 FTE (0.4%) since 31 March 2024. The increase seen over the last year is largely because Public Sector Prisons have increased by 1,703 (4.8%), and probation staff have increased by 467 (2.3%). Of the staff in post, there were 37,143 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 20,399 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 2,963 FTE staff in HMPPS HQ, 2,582 FTE staff in Frontline Support, and 1,691 FTE in the Youth Custody Service (YCS).
23,613 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post	This is an increase of 1,254 FTE (5.6%) since 30 June 2023 and no substantial change (2 FTE (0.0%) prison officers) compared to 31 March 2024.
5,556 FTE band 2 operational support staff in post	This is an increase of 194 FTE (3.6%) since 30 June 2023 and no substantial change of FTE operational support staff since 31 March 2024.
5,160 FTE band 4 probation officers in post	This is an increase of 533 FTE (11.5%) since 30 June 2023 and a decrease of 178 FTE (3.3%) compared to 31 March 2024. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 5,908 FTE band 3 probation services officers: a decrease of 844 FTE (12.5%) since 30 June 2023 and a slight increase of 50 FTE (0.9%) since 31 March 2024, caused by lower number of trainee probation officers this year.
Leaving rate of 13.1% amongst band 3-5 prison officers	This is no substantial change (0.1 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS over the past year stood at 11.5%, which is similar (a decrease of 0.1 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024 of 11.5%.
Leaving rate of 8.3% amongst band 4 Probation officers	This is an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. The leaving rate of band 3 probation services officer over the past 12 months was 11.9%, which is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024.

This publication provides details of staffing levels, staff inflows and outflows, sickness absence rates, and protected characteristics for the directly employed workforce of HMPPS. Information presented covers PSP, the Probation Service, the YCS, HMPPS headquarters, and Frontline Support which provides direct operational support. Frontline Support has replaced Area Services in this publication. Technical details and explanatory notes can be found in the accompanying Guide to HM Prison and Probation (HMPPS) Workforce Statistics.

Statistician’s comment

In this publication we are reporting on the HMPPS workforce as at 30 June 2024.

It is worth re-visiting the methodology changes that were made in the March 2024 publication, which have meant that some of the numbers have been revised since previous publications. Any changes are very minor and would not affect main headline points or trends. Please see further details in the Methodological Changes section below.

HMPPS ran an organisational change programme called OneHMPPS, which delivered efficiencies through implementing a new HQ organisational design and also included a voluntary exit program. Further details are included in the organisational change section.

As at June 2024, there were 64,779 FTE staff in post which was an increase of 2,268 FTE compared to June 2023. This increase was mainly due to increases in Public Sector Prisons which saw an increase of 1,703 FTE (4.8%), with a particular increase in the number of Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) of 1,287 FTE (6.8%). The Probation Service also saw an increase of 467 FTE (2.3%) over the same period with an increase across most Probation Service grades, including Other Bands 1-3 (10.1%), Probation Officers (11.5%) and Other Bands 4-6 (16.1%). The exception is probation services officers where there has been a decrease of 844 FTE. Following high recruitment volumes for trainee probation officers in previous years, we have seen a lower number of trainee probation officers who started on a course in the most recent financial year (543 in 2023/24 compared to 1,514 in 2022/23), which has contributed towards this net decrease. Coupled with this, a contributing factor to the net decrease in probation services officers is the qualification of trainee probation officers, with many qualifiers taking up posts at the band 4 qualified probation officer grade. 

Since March 2024, there has been a minimal increase of 238 FTE staff in post (0.4%) across HMPPS. There were 23,613 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post in June 2024, which is no substantial change (2 FTE (0.0%)) compared to March 2024 and a slight increase (14 FTE (0.2%)) in band 2 operational support staff in post. 5,160 FTE band 4 probation officers were in post in June 2024 which is a decrease of 178 FTE (3.3%) compared to March 2024.

The decrease in Probation Officers seen in the quarter is reflective of the cyclical nature with which trainees qualify, with smaller numbers qualifying in this quarter compared to other quarters. In quarters with lower numbers of trainees qualifying we often see attrition exceed the number of individuals joining the Probation Officer grade.

The overall leaving rate across HMPPS was 11.5% in June 2024, representing a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to the year ending March 2024. Leaving rates fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly due to increased uncertainty in the employment market. Although the overall leaving rate of 11.5% in the year to June 2024 is still higher than pre-pandemic levels, it has remained at the same rate compared to the overall leaving rate in the 12 months to 31 March 2024. In the 12 months to 30 June 2024, there was a total of 8,217 staff who left HMPPS, which is an increase of 411 (5.3%) compared to the year ending 30 June 2023. This increase was driven by the Probation Service which saw an increase of 10.6% (225) in the number of leavers compared to the year ending 30 June 2023.   The leaving rate of band 4 probation officers was 8.3% in June 2024, which represents an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the year ending March 2024.

Points to note

HM Prison and Probation Service

HMPPS is focused on supporting operational delivery and the effective running of prison and probation services across the public and private sectors. HMPPS works with a number of partners to carry out the sentences given by the courts, either in custody or the community. This publication covers the reporting period up to 30 June 2024 and therefore considers in detail quarterly staffing levels and staff inflows and outflows, for HMPPS and its predecessors, since 2017.

For ease, the statistics in this publication will be referred to as those of the HMPPS workforce (i.e. staff working in HMPPS and with a contract of employment with HMPPS, excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant date from our staff in post counts, and those on secondment or loan outside of HMPPS but including staff on secondment or loan into HMPPS).

Staff employed by private sector establishments and other contractors are excluded. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were private-sector suppliers of Probation and Prison-based rehabilitative services for offenders in England and Wales. In late June 2021, more than 7,000 staff from the CRCs came together with probation staff already in the public sector to form the new Probation Service. Prior to this movement, staff employed by CRCs were excluded.

Annex on HMPPS recruitment diversity

This annex, with accredited official statistics in development, presents figures on Prison Officer and Operational Support Grade (OSG) recruitment by diversity characteristics. From June 2021, recruitment statistics were introduced for HMPPS overall, HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support, Public Sector Prisons (including the YCS). This annex runs on a six-monthly production cycle and is only included in the June and December editions.

Annex on Prison and Probation Officer Vacancies and Trainees

As of the June 2019 publication, this annex has been added to this bulletin which presents figures on Probation Officers in post, and their required staffing level, in addition it shows the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers. We are now publishing quarterly hours adjusted Staff in Post, Target Staffing and Difference at establishment level for Band 3-5 Prison Officers. This has been published as an addition to the ‘Probation Officer Recruitment Annex’, which has been renamed the ‘Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment Annex’.

Annex on ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ recruitment

This annex was introduced in 2022 and presents figures on staff recruited as part of the ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ recruitment campaign. This campaign started in April 2022. It is a simple one table annex and is expected to be repeated biannually, in the March and September publications. All externally advertised roles, at all grades across MoJ, utilise the Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme. This scheme allows eligible veterans to opt into the scheme, providing the opportunity for a guaranteed interview if they meet the minimum sift standard for that vacancy. Further information can be found at: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/great-place-to-work-for-veterans/

Organisational Changes in last two years

• In the June 2024 publication the prison region Tees & Wear has been renamed to North East. Also, the prison region Long Term & High Security has been split into the following two regions: Long Term & High Security North; Long Term & High Security South.

• Following the introduction of the OneHMPPS programme, Area Services has been renamed as Frontline Support and there has been a review of the business units that are placed in HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support. This is shown in the recent changes in the staffing levels of the two groups. 

• As of June 2024, Cookham Wood has been repurposed as an adult prison for category C males and is now part of HMP Rochester. However, HR systems are yet to be updated and so staff are still allocated to Cookham Wood prison in this publication.

• From the September 2023 publication, following a review of the Senior Civil Servants (SCS) data, HMPPS Prison Group Director (PGD) and Regional Probation Director (RPD) roles have been removed from this cohort. PGDs and RPDs moved from SCS Band 1 to a new Band 12 grade and are now included in operational grades data instead.

• In June 2022 around 1,000 Approved Premises staff were moved out of HQ directorates and back into Probation Service. This reverses a move from November and December 2019, when over 1,200 NPS staff moved to the Community and Interventions directorate, part of HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support. As part of these changes two additional teams were moved in March 2023; AP Professionalisation Project and AP Counter Terrorism and Drug Strategy were moved out the of the HQ directorate of Reducing Reoffending & Accommodation and into Probation directorate of National Approved Premises. Figures for all historical periods have been revised to reflect this change.

• HMP Aylesbury was part of the Long Term & High Security Estate but moved to South Central Region in October 2022.

Methodological Changes

As mentioned in the ‘Future Plans’ section of previous releases, we have been considering ways to improve the bulletin. Some changes have been implemented in this release with further changes scheduled to be implemented for the June 2024 data release in August 2024.

In previous releases, we excluded some unpaid staff, such as those on career breaks, but included others, such as those on long term sick or unpaid maternity/adoption leave. From this release onwards, we are excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant snapshot date from our staff in post counts. This ensures alignment with other published MoJ workforce transparency publications and with other government departments reporting methodologies. The impact is minimal with 299 (-0.5%) fewer FTE staff in post across the whole of HMPPS on 31st March 2024. There is an accompanying annex which has the main breakdowns of staff in post for each quarter from March 2017 through to March 2024 based on the new methodology, so comparisons can be made across the published time series if required. This cohort is used throughout the publication which has led to small changes in figures that are based on the average staff in post for the relevant reporting period.

Whilst investigating the different methodologies in the release, it was noted that not all of those who join HMPPS have been counted in the joiners figures (Tables 6 to 9 in the accompanying spreadsheet). This was caused by some staff who transfer from other government departments not being allocated to the relevant part of the department when their paperwork is first administered. This has now been fixed with an extra 291 (+2.6%) joiners across HMPPS in the 12 months to the end of March 2024. As this only affected staff who have transferred into the department from other government departments, the impact varies across HMPPS with a far bigger impact in HMPPS HQ than in the other parts of HMPPS.

As a result of this update there is a break in the time series between December 2023 and March 2024 in Tables 6 to 9 in the accompanying spreadsheet. It should be noted that this change does not alter the staff in post numbers, just the joiners figures.

Alongside these methodological changes the ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders’ sickness reason label has been updated to ‘Mental Ill Health’ to align with the Civil Service Sickness (www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence) data collection. No change has been made to the sickness absence reasons included within this label.

From the June 2024 data publication, an additional change that will be implemented is refreshing 12 months of joiners, leavers and sickness data every quarter. Currently, these records are fixed for the previous financial year. Refreshing the data will ensure that any records that have been administered or amended after the data has been downloaded will be reflected in the published figures. We are also assessing the reporting structure used in the publication.

1. Total HMPPS staff in post

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64,779 FTE staff in post (as at 30 June 2024)

This is an increase of 2,268 FTE (3.6%) staff in post since 30 June 2023 and a minimal change of 238 FTE (0.4%) since 31 March 2024. Of the staff in post, there were 37,143 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 20,399 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 2,963 FTE staff in HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support, and 1,691 FTE in the Youth Custody Service (YCS).

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As at 30 June 2024, there were 64,779 FTE staff in post in HMPPS on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis (Figure 1). This includes 37,143 FTE staff in PSP (making up 57.3% of all HMPPS staff), 20,399 FTE in the Probation Service (31.5% of all HMPPS staff), 2,963 FTE in HMPPS HQ, (4.6% of all HMPPS staff), 2,582 FTE in Frontline Support, (4.0% of all HMPPS staff), and 1,691 FTE in the YCS (2.6% of all HMPPS staff).

Compared to 30 June 2023, the overall staff numbers increased by 2,268 FTE (3.6%): FTE in PSP increased by 1,703 (4.8%), FTE in the Probation Service increased by 467 (2.3%), FTE in HMPPS HQ decreased by 567 (16.1%), FTE in Frontline Support increased by 553 (27.3%), and FTE in the YCS increased by 112 (7.1%). The HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support changes are a result of structural changes caused by the OneHMPPS programme and the net change in the last year is minimal (-14 FTE).

As at 30 June 2024, there were 30,265 FTE (46.7% of HMPPS staff) operational Prison Service staff (including YCS staff). This is an increase of 1,472 FTE staff (5.1%) compared to 30 June 2023. Non-operational roles across PSP, YCS, and HMPPS HQ accounted for 13,761 FTE staff (21.2% of HMPPS staff), which is an increase of 296 FTE (2.2%) since 30 June 2023. There were 20,753 FTE staff^{[footnote 2]} in the Probation Service (32.0% of all HMPPS staff): an increase of 500 (2.5%) FTE since 30 June 2023.

Figure 1 shows a big increase in Probation Service staff in June 2021, which was due to more than 7,000 staff from private sector CRCs coming together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service. 

Figure 1: Number of HMPPS staff in post on an FTE basis, 31 March 2019 to 30 June 2024 (Source: Table 1)

1.1 Length of Service

Due to high numbers of new joiners the average length of service of HMPPS employees has decreased over the last year. Across HMPPS overall, 35.4% of FTE staff in post had less than 3 years’ service, which was an increase from 33.0% at 30 June 2023 but no substantial change from 35.4% at 31 March 2024. 32.7% of HMPPS FTE staff in post had 10 years or more of experience, representing an increase from 28.7% at 30 June 2023 and an increase from 26.5% at 31 March 2024.

The proportion of band 3-5 prison officers with less than 3 years’ service at 30 June 2024 rose to 41.5% compared to 36.3% as at 30 June 2023. The proportion of band 3-5 prison officers in post with 10 years or more of experience  decreased by 4.9 percentage points from 29.8% at 30 June 2023 to 25.0% at 30 June 2024. This corresponds to 5,896 FTE staff with 10 years or more of experience at 30 June 2024, which is a fall of 777 FTE, or 11.6% since 30 June 2023.

The proportion of band 2 OSG FTE staff with less than 3 years’ service increased from 49.9% at 30 June 2023 to 52.8% at 30 June 2024, and the proportion of those with 10 years or more of experience decreased from 27.9% at 30 June 2023 to 23.9% at 30 June 2024.

It should be noted, that the National Probation Service was created on 1 June 2014 and service prior to this is not captured in our data. Therefore, the figures relating to the length of service of Probation Service staff, which are included in the HMPPS overall figures, do not necessarily represent their full experience but rather the length of service from entry to HMPPS. The situation is different for the over 7,000 staff who transferred from the CRCs in June 2021 and for them their service prior to their date of transfer is included.

Excluding the Probation Service, 35.9% of FTE staff in post across HMPPS had less than 3 years’ service as at 30 June 2024. This is an increase of 3.8 percentage points compared to 30 June 2023.The non-Probation Service staff with 10 years’ experience or more made up 32.5% of the workforce, which is a 3.1 percentage points decrease compared to 30 June 2023.

Length of service information has been calculated for HMPPS staff from the most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another government department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.

2. Band 3-5 prison officers and band 2 operational support staff

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23,613 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post (as at 30 June 2024)

This is an increase of 1,254 FTE (5.6%) in FTE since 30 June 2023 and no substantial change of FTE prison officers (2 FTE (0.0%) prison officers) compared to 31 March 2024.

5,556 FTE band 2 operational support staff in post (as at 30 June 2024)

This corresponds to an increase of 194 FTE (3.6%) since 30 June 2023 and no substantial change of FTE operational support staff since 31 March 2024.

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The key operational grades in public sector prisons are the band 3 to 5 prison officers. They consist of band 3 prison officers, band 4 officer specialists, band 4 supervising officers, and band 5 custodial managers.

Figure 2: Number of band 3-5 prison officers in post on an FTE basis, 31 March 2019 to 30 June 2024 (Source: Table 3)

Figure 3 shows a quarterly trend of band 3 to 5 appointments and leavers since 2018/19. Over the year to 30 June 2024, 5,206 band 3 to 5 officers were appointed (consisting of direct new recruits and existing staff who converted to a band 3 officer grade), an increase of 303 (6.2%) compared to 4,903 in the previous year. Looking at the quarterly figures, the headcount of new band 3 to 5 officer appointments decreased by 402 (28.8%) from 1,397 between January and March 2024 to 995 between April and June 2024 (Table 17).

The headcount of band 3 to 5 prison officers who left HMPPS in the year ending 30 June 2024 was 3,168, which is an increase of 7 (0.2%) compared to the year ending 30 June 2023. Examining reasons for leaving, 65.1% of prison officers who left in the year ending 30 June 2024 resigned from their roles (down from 65.9% in the year ending 30 June 2023). Of the other prison officers who left HMPPS in the year ending 30 June 2024, 17.8% were dismissed and 5.6% retired; the proportion dismissed are up from 15.2% compared to previous year while the number retiring are down from 6.0%.

Figure 3: Newly appointed band 3 to 5 prison officers and band 3 to 5 prison officer leavers, April 2018 to 30 June 2024 (Source: Table 17)

Joiners and leavers are not the only movements into and out of the band 3 to 5 officer grouping. There are also typically differences in the proportion of new joiners and older officers who work part time as well as movements between grades, such as internal movements to non-frontline roles or promotions to operational managers. Changes such as staff switching from full time to part time also have the effect of reducing the FTE of officers available as they progress through their career. For these reasons, the change in FTE does not directly reflect the difference between the number of joiners and leavers.

The number of band 2 OSG staff who joined HMPPS in the year ending 30 June 2024 was 1,660: a decrease of 323 (16.3%) compared to the previous year ending 30 June 2023. There was a decrease of 113 (6.4%) since the year ending 31 March 2024. The headcount number of band 2 OSG staff who left HMPPS was 953, which is a decrease of 48 (4.8%) compared to the year ending 30 June 2023 and an increase of 12 (1.3%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024.

3. Probation practitioners and senior probation officers

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5,160 FTE band 4 probation officers in post (as at 30 June 2024)

This figure is an increase of 533 FTE (11.5%) since 30 June 2023 and a decrease of 178 FTE (3.3%) probation officers compared to 31 March 2024. The decrease in Probation Officers seen in the quarter is reflective of the cyclical nature with which trainees qualify with smaller numbers qualifying in this quarter compared to other quarters. In quarters with lower numbers of trainees qualifying we often see attrition exceed the number of individuals joining the Probation Officer grade.

In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 5,908 FTE band 3 probation services officers: a decrease of 844 FTE (12.5%) since 30 June 2023 and a slight increase of 50 FTE (0.9%) since 31 March 2024.

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Key grades in the Probation Service include band 3 probation services officers, band 4 probation officers (collectively known as probation practitioners), as well as band 5 senior probation officers. Staff who are training to be a probation officer work as a probation services officer during their training, so a proportion of the probation services officers in post will be working towards the professional probation officer qualification.

As of the June 2019 publication, a statistics annex has been added to this bulletin which presents figures on Probation Officers in post, their required staffing level, in addition to the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers.

As at 30 June 2024, there were 5,908 FTE band 3 probation services officers in post, a decrease of 844 FTE (12.5%) over the past year and a slight increase of 50 FTE (0.9%) over the quarter. In 2023/24 compared to 2022/23 we saw a lower number of trainee probation officers starting courses (543 in 2023/24 compared to 1,514 in 2022/23), which has contributed towards this net decrease. A contributing factor to the net decrease in probation services officers is the qualification of trainee probation officers, with many qualifiers taking up posts at the band 4 qualified probation officer grade. There were 5,160 FTE band 4 probation officers, representing an increase of 533 FTE (11.5%) over the past year and a decrease of 178 FTE (3.3%) compared to the previous quarter; and 1,493 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, showing a slight increase of 18 (1.2%) over the previous year and no substantial change since the last quarter (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Number of probation officers, probation services officers and senior probation officers in post on an FTE basis, 31 March 2019 to 30 June 2024 (Source: Table 3)

In the past year, 999 probation services officers were appointed, some of whom will be training to become qualified probation officers. This is a decrease of 1,345 (57.4%) compared to the year ending 30 June 2023 and a decrease of 77 (7.2%) compared to the number appointed in the year ending 31 March 2024. Within the Probation Service, there were 5,136 FTE Probation Officers in post, a shortfall of 2,156 FTE against the required staffing level of 7,292 FTE. There were 1,728 staff, equivalent to 1,702 FTE, undertaking the PQiP training as at 30 June 2024 (please refer to the Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment Annex for more details). 

In the past year, 803 probation services officers left the service. This is a slight decrease of 12 (1.5%) compared to the year ending 30 June 2023 and a decrease of 41 (4.9%) compared to the number who left in the year ending 31 March 2024.

4. Joiners and Leavers

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Leaving rate of 13.1% amongst band 3-5 prison officers (for the 12 months ending 30 June 2024)

This is no substantial change (0.1 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS over the past year stood at 11.5%, which is similar (a decrease of 0.1 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024 of 11.5%

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Over the past year, 10,814 staff joined HMPPS, which is a decrease of 1,389 (11.4%) compared to the year ending 30 June 2023. These joiners consisted of 7,055 across PSP, 456 in the YCS, 2,992 in the Probation Service, 160 in HMPPS HQ, and 151 in Frontline Support. Compared to the year ending 30 June 2023, these numbers of joiners represent a decrease of 2.4% for PSP, an increase of 28.1% for YCS, a decrease of 30.5% for Probation Service, a decrease of 2.4% for HMPPS HQ, and a slight increase of 0.7% for Frontline Support.

A contributing factor to the large increases in the Probation Service staff have been the acceleration of the recruitment of trainee Probation Officers in previous years. This resulted in the onboarding of 1,514 trainee Probation Officers in the 2022/23 financial year. This resource is included in the Band 3 Probation Service Officers grade and therefore influenced the increase in joiners seen at this grade. We continue to run a unified model of recruitment for key operational grades (including Band 3 Probation Service Officers in priority regions). This more concentrated approach has resulted in a lower volume of new joiners at these key grades, with the number of trainee Probation Officers joining in 2023/24 falling to 543.

There were 8,217 leavers in the year ending 30 June 2024, an increase of 411 (5.3%) compared to the year ending 30 June 2023. This includes 4,864 leavers from PSP (a decrease of 2.3%), 305 from YCS (an increase of 15.1%), 2,357 from the Probation Service (an increase of 10.6%), 469 from HMPPS HQ (an increase of 73.1%), and 222 from Frontline Support (an increase of 37.0%).

4.1 Leaving Rates^{[footnote 3]}

The overall HMPPS leaving rate for the year to 30 June 2024 was 11.5% which is broadly the same as for the year to 31 March 2024 (Figure 5); similar (a decrease of 0.1 percentage points). For the year up to 31 March 2021, the increased uncertainty in the employment market following the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the drop in the number of resignations during most of the year, therefore impacting on the overall reduced leaving and resignation rates. Although the latest leaving rates for most grades apart from Senior Probation Officers, are still higher than pre-pandemic levels, most have shown a decrease over the last 12 months.

Figure 5: Annual leaving rates of permanent staff in key operational grades (excluding VEDSR), from the 12 months to 31 March 2019 to the 12 months to 30 June 2024 (Source: Table 11)

4.2 Resignation Rates^{[footnote 4]}

The overall HMPPS resignation rate for the 12 months to 30 June 2024 was 7.2%, which is the same (7.2%) as for the year to 31 March 2024 (Figure 6). For band 3-5 officers, the resignation rate was 8.5% in the year ending 30 June 2024, which is no substantial change (0.0 percentage points) since the year ending 31 March 2024. The resignation rate for OSG staff was 11.0% for the year ending 30 June 2024, which is no substantial change since the year ending 31 March 2024.

For Probation Service overall, the resignation rate was 6.7% for the year ending 30 June 2024. This represents no substantial change (0.1 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. Amongst the operational grades within the Probation Service, probation services officers had the highest resignation rate at 8.3%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2024.

Figure 6: Annual resignation rates of permanent staff in key operational grades, from the 12 months to 31 March 2019 to the 12 months to 30 June 2024 (Source: Table 12)

5. Sickness absence

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HMPPS staff lost an average of 11.4 working days to sickness absence in the 12 months ending 30 June 2024

This represents an increase of 0.2 Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024 (11.2 working days lost).

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In the year ending 30 June 2024, HMPPS staff lost an average of 11.4 working days to sickness absence. This is an increase from 11.2 average working days lost for the year ending 31 March 2024, and an increase of 1.1 days compared to the predominantly COVID-19 free year ending 31 March 2020.

YCS staff had the highest sickness absence rate at 16.9 AWDL, followed by Probation Service (12.9 AWDL), PSP (11.1 AWDL), Frontline Support (6.6 AWDL), and HMPPS HQ (6.4 AWDL) (Figure 7). Compared to the year ending 31 March 2024, these represent a slight increase of 0.2 days for YCS, an increase of 0.3 days for Probation Service, a slight increase of 0.1 days for PSP, an increase of 0.4 days for Frontline Support, and an increase of 0.3 days for HMPPS HQ staff.

Figure 7: Average working days lost to sickness absence, 12 months to 31 March 2019 to 12 months to 30 June 2024 (Source: Table 18)

The most common category of sickness absence in terms of days lost was mental ill health, corresponding to 40.1% of working days lost in the past year. This category was most prevalent for probation officers, where 59.7% of working days lost were attributed to mental ill health.

For HMPPS overall the category that accounted for the second largest proportion of working days lost was musculoskeletal system (17.2%). Together the top two categories accounted for 57.4% of all working days lost.

Further Information

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• A technical guide providing details of the HMPPS workforce structure as well as how the data are collected and processed. Information on the revisions policy and disclosure relevant to HMPPS staffing data is also included.

• An additional annex showing a quarterly time series excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant snapshot date from our staff in post counts for each quarter between March 2017 to March 2024.

• A supplementary annex presenting statistics on Probation Officers in post, their required staffing level, and the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers. in addition it includes published quarterly hours adjusted Staff in Post, Target Staffing and Difference at establishment level for Band 3-5 Prison Officers

• A set of accredited official statistics in development  on the gender, ethnicity and disability status of recruitment campaign applicants for selected HMPPS Grades.

Accredited Official statistics

The statistics in this bulletin are classified as official statistics. The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 defines ‘official statistics’ as all those statistical outputs produced by the UK Statistics Authority’s executive office (the Office for National Statistics), by central Government departments and agencies, by the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and by other Crown bodies (over 200 bodies in total). The statistics in this bulletin comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The Code encourages and supports producers of statistics to maintain their independence and to ensure adequate resourcing for statistical production. It helps producers and users of statistics by setting out the necessary principles and practices to produce statistics that are trustworthy, high quality and of public value.

Accredited Official statistics in development

Official statistics in development are a subset of newly developed or innovative official statistics undergoing evaluation. They are developed under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics (HoP) and published to involve users and stakeholders in the assessment of their suitability and quality at an early stage. Therefore, we would like to receive feedback as to how useful they are, whether a different analysis would be preferable, or any other comments about them. If you wish to send any views you may have about these Accredited Official statistics in development, please use the contact details below.

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/media-enquiries

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:

Rob Hartley 

Workforce Statistics & Analysis

Data and Analysis Directorate Ministry of Justice 

10 South Colonnade 

London 

E14 4PH 

Email: robert.hartley@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 21 November 2024 

URL: www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics

© Crown copyright 

Produced by the Ministry of Justice 

Alternative formats are available on request from robert.hartley@justice.gov.uk 

1. This includes staff in Probation Service grades working in other parts of HMPPS. ↩

2. Percentage of staff with a permanent contract of employment who left HMPPS, including individuals who have retired early, but excluding staff who left due to voluntary early departure schemes and redundancy (VEDSR). ↩

3. Percentage of staff with a permanent contract of employment who resigned from HMPPS. ↩