Ministry of Justice

Someone like you

The Youth Custody Service is transforming its workforce, and we invite you to be part of this journey. The youth justice worker role is similar to that of a prison officer but specifically focused on supporting children and young people in custody. This role is vital in reshaping how young people are cared for in custodial environments.

We are seeking individuals with a special ability to support and guide young people. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring the security and safety of children while providing day-to-day support in a custodial setting. Comprehensive training and development will equip you with the knowledge to understand the diverse backgrounds and individual circumstances of young people in custody, and how your responses in complex or dynamic situations can help these individuals build better futures.

You will need a DBS check.

An extraordinary job

This role will be dealing with the practical side of life for children in custody which includes, but is not limited to, interventions when required, overseeing, and facilitating safe movement around the site, and providing supervision to ensure safety.

You will be working with children and young people who may have committed serious offenses, come from challenging backgrounds, and/or have mental health needs. These young individuals may test boundaries, but they also have significant potential for positive change. You will play a significant part in providing them with opportunities to better their future.

Job details

Essential Skills

No formal qualifications are required to become a youth justice worker; personal qualities are what matter most. You should demonstrate:

• Strong communication and influencing skills
• Commitment to high standards of care and service
• Effective decision-making abilities
• Empathy and understanding

As a practitioner, you will work with children, young people, and their families or carers to help achieve meaningful and lasting changes in their lives. You will:

• Show a passion for supporting children, young people, and families
• be skilled in identifying and assessing the complex needs of the children and young people you work with
• collaborate with young people, their families, or carers to agree on interventions or referrals that support their needs
• handle interventions when necessary, including de-escalating situations, managing behavioural issues, and applying conflict resolution techniques
• approach your work with respectful curiosity, balancing challenge and support to help young people reach their potential and stay safe
• work closely with other professionals and organisations to collectively improve outcomes

Each case will be unique, and you will need to exercise sound judgment, using evidence-based approaches to inform your practice. You will continuously evaluate the effectiveness of your actions and methods. Regular supervision with an experienced practitioner will help you reflect on and improve your practice. By the end of your apprenticeship, the high standard of your work will be making a genuine difference to the lives of those you support.

 Find out more about being a youth justice worker.

Eligibility

To be a youth justice worker you must:

·         be at least 18 years old at the point you commence employment

• meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements (see nationality requirements section below)

·         as this is a physically active job, you will need to pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process

• meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes (both with and without corrective lenses)

• ·         For safety reasons, everyone training to be a prison officer needs a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids)
• ·         Whilst tattoos are permitted, including those that are visible, they must not be deemed as offensive, discriminatory, violent, or intimidating in any way. Facial tattoos are generally not acceptable, except where this is for cultural, religious, or medical reasons.

Travel to Work

Some prison establishments are situated in rural locations with limited public transport options; therefore, a driving licence and own transport is beneficial but is not an essential requirement of the role (unless specified).  Please note that shift start, and finish times are fixed, and it is your responsibility to get to and from your place of work on time for the start of your shift. Please carefully consider the location of this vacancy and your transport options before applying.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

·         UK nationals

·         nationals of the Republic of Ireland

·         nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

·         nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

·         nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

·         individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

·         Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules.

From 4 April 2024, the Government increased the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas. The change means that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot guarantee sponsorship for those seeking sponsorship via the Skilled Worker visa route.

If you are applying to be a prison officer and you do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes.

HMPPS will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service.

You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.

Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

Pay

The initial training is 37 hours a week. After training, you can choose to work 37, 39 or 41 hours a week. Your annual salary will reflect your weekly hours.

• 37 hours a week =   £32,448 a year
• 39 hours a week =   £34,494 a year
• 41 hours a week =   £36,541 a year

Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means you will have to cover various shift patterns that will include evenings, some nights, weekends and public holidays (these days are added to your holiday allowance).  The standard working week of a youth justice worker is based on a 39 hours per week shift pattern.

You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours.

Benefits

• 25 days’ annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service)
• paid time off for public holidays and 1 extra privilege day
• Civil Service pension of up to 20% of your salary
• Cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

Read more about youth justice worker benefits.

Assessment Process

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on the behaviours, strengths and abilities you need to become an effective youth justice worker. These include:

·         communicating and influencing

·         managing a quality service

·         making effective decisions

·         caring

Your natural strengths are assessed to find out what motivates and energises you. We will also assess your numerical, written English and spoken English abilities.

Online Tests

Once you have completed your initial application form, you will be invited to complete stage 1 of the online test, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer.

If you are successful, we will invite you to complete stage 2 of the online tests, where you will be invited to complete a task-based assessment.

The online assessment centre (OAC)

On successful completion of the online tests, we will invite you to an online assessment centre where we test to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a youth justice worker.

Read more about the application process.

Merit campaign:

This is a merit job vacancy. If you are successful at the online assessment centre, you will be added to a merit list based on your score.

When all applicants have completed the online assessment centre, job offers will be made to individuals with the highest scores first when positions become available.

You can stay on the merit list for 12 months. After this, you’ll need to apply again.

Your successful pass from assessment centre will be valid for 12 months if you want to apply for vacancies at other prisons.

If your application is unsuccessful at the sift/assessment stage, a six-month waiting period will be applied during which time you will not be allowed to submit any further applications for youth justice worker positions.

Operational Support Grade Role

Our Online Assessment Centre (OAC), will not only assess you against the key criteria to become a youth justice worker but will also determine your suitability for appointment as an operational support grade  OSG   If following attendance at your OAC, you are unsuccessful in your application to become a youth justice worker, we may instead offer you an alternative role as an OSG.

Medical and Fitness

Once we identify a vacancy for you, we will invite you to complete a medical and fitness test. This will cover an eyesight test, hearing test and basic health screening, including a blood pressure check.

Find out more about the medical assessment and fitness test on the application information centre

Training and career progression

Working within youth custody, you’ll have a clear progression pathway. Following successful completion of your 12-month probationary period, you will be offered the opportunity to undertake a Level 4 Qualification focussed on working with children and young people in custody.  Full details regarding this course will be made available prior to the time of enrolment.

Once you have successfully completed your qualification you have the opportunity to progress to a band 4 Youth Justice Worker Specialist role

Ongoing training and development for specialist skills such as child protection and safeguarding will be provided.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of Civil Servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. If you feel the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles, you can raise a formal complaint in the following order:

1.    Shared Services Connected Ltd: call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com

2.    Ministry of Justice Resourcing

3.      The Civil Service Commission.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

Reasonable Adjustment Support

As a Disability Confident employer, the MoJ is committed to ensuring that everyone can demonstrate their skills, talent, and abilities. Offering reasonable adjustment support to candidates when they apply for one of our jobs is just one way, we do this.

Before completing online tests or attending an online assessment centre, it is essential to arrange reasonable adjustment support. Due to practical and logistical constraints, our assessors cannot accommodate requests on the day of the assessment centre. Therefore, we kindly request that you let us know in plenty of time if adjustments are required. This will help ensure the right support is in place for you when you need it. 

Applying for reasonable adjustment support has been made simple. Just select ‘yes’ in the application form when it asks if you think you might need it.

Please note the successful applicant will need to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Security Check for this post.

The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (when specified in Wales) Welsh.

Allowance Details  

Please refer to additional job description attachment

Additional Information  

If you require any assistance, please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com. Please quote the job reference 5803.

The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (when specified in Wales) Welsh.

Closing date: 28th May 2025

Supporting document 1  

Band-3-PO-Youth-Justice-Worker-JD2448-v4.0.pdf

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

What’s it really like to work as a prison officer?

Our interactive online activity will give you an insight into some of the situations prison officers may experience day-to-day in their work.

This is to help you decide whether the prison officer role is right for you, and your responses in the activity will not form part of your application.

You can access the activity using the Interactive Activity button