Ministry of Justice

Salary: £33,583-£42,218

City / Town: Feltham, Werrington, Wetherby

Region: Feltham, Werrington, Wetherby

Vacancy Type: Merit

If you are a former youth justice worker with less than 5 years gap in service and completed foundation training and probation before leaving HMPPS, we would like you to consider re-joining us to support your former colleagues to keep prisons and the public safe. If you are not yet ready to return, join our Prison Service Alumni Network to receive regular updates so you can apply when the time is right for you.

We can offer you a simplified return with no need to repeat the online assessment centre or foundation training. You can be allocated straight to an available vacancy and then invited to the medical and fitness assessment, and pre-employment checks will be initiated. If there are no immediate vacancies where you would like to return, you will be placed on a merit list and be prioritised over candidates applying via the external route when vacancies arise.

You will need a DBS check.

Eligibility

You can apply to return as a youth justice worker if you:

• left HMPPS within the last 5 years
• previously worked as a youth justice worker at HMPPS at band 3 or 4
• completed your foundation training and full probation period as a youth justice worker

If you worked in another HMPPS role before becoming a youth justice worker, you need to have:

• completed your full probation period in that role and have worked as a youth justice worker for more than 12 months before leaving

The scheme is also open to former youth justice workers who are currently working within the MoJ (excluding HMPPS) or other government departments.

HMPPS reserves the right to refuse reappointment to former youth justice workers on grounds of previous poor attendance or performance.

To be a youth justice worker you must:

You will be asked to provide up to two YOIs where you would be willing to return to the youth justice worker role.

When your eligibility for the scheme has been confirmed, you will be allocated straight to a vacancy as one becomes available and invited to the medical and fitness assessment. You will be required to undergo full pre-employment checks (which includes occupational health) prior to returning. If vacancies are not immediately available at the YOI(s) of your preference, you will be placed on a merit list and be priority consideration for vacancies as they arise.

You will return to full-time hours unless you request other hours when you apply. The availability of part-time and flexible minimum hours contracts or work-life balance arrangements depends on local staffing needs therefore cannot be guaranteed. Your request will need to be agreed with the YOI you will be returning to once you have been allocated and before being given a provisional offer.

Travel to Work

Some YOIs 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. 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. You need to carefully consider your transport options and travelling times before accepting the provisional offer.

Pay

Successful Band 3 applicants will be re-appointed on the Band 3, pay point 2 salary. Successful Band 4 applicants will be re-appointed on the Band 4 salary.

If returning full-time, you will be given a contract for 37 hours a week. Once in post you can choose to increase to 39 or 41 hours a week as a Band 3. You can only work 37 hours as a Band 4. Your annual salary will reflect your weekly hours.

All starting salary figures quoted are for 2024/25 and include the 20% unsocial hours allowance. Some prisons also receive a market supplement of £2,000 or £3,500 per year. You can find out more about this when your eligibility for the scheme has been confirmed and also ask about the 2025/26 pay award which is expected imminently. 

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.

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.

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 with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

Read more about youth justice worker benefits.

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

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

Additional Information  

Please refer to the frequently asked questions relating to the scheme and the youth justice worker role.

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 7380.

Closing date: This campaign is due close on 31 July 2025 and re-open on 1 August 2025 with the 2025/26 pay award included.

Supporting document 1: Band 3 job description

Supporting document 2: Band 4 job description

Supporting document 2: Frequently asked questions relating to the scheme and the youth justice worker role

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.

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 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 youth justice worker 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.