What does ‘work’ look like in prison?
Written by Lucy Hart.
If you’re an employer who’s keen to open your doors to prisoners, you might want to better understand the work experience you can see on their CV. But how should you compare it to jobs on the outside?
In some ways, it clearly isn’t like for like. Very few prisoners will be working the hours we’d expect from a full-time role, because of lockdowns and other restrictions. Unless they’re released on temporary licence, they won’t be exposed to the public. But work for prisoners can also be far more of a challenge than on the outside, and as a result prison leavers have often acquired huge resilience and adaptability.
We’re here to walk you through what ‘work’ looks like when it’s inside prison walls (or on day release) and what signals it might give you about your prospective employee – and we’ll introduce you to some of our associates Dario, Tristan and Ahmed along the way.
Which prisoners get to work?
Securing a new job is rarely a walk in the park, but never more so than in prison. For our associate Tristan, the thing he’s most proud of is getting a role in the kitchen in the first place, because “it really took some time”.
Not every prisoner gets the chance to work. Offenders can move between ‘incentive levels’ that are awarded according to behaviour and commitment to rehabilitation, and have implications for the incentives available, like family visits and TV use. Those without a sufficiently high incentive level, or a sufficiently low security categorisation, might miss out on job opportunities. Others might choose full-time education options, although given that prison education is often paid at a lower rate than unskilled work, prisoners can be disincentivised to make this choice.
And then there’s the fact that there are only so many jobs available for those that want them, and that has reduced even further with ongoing lockdown restrictions – currently only about 15% of the prison population are in employment. So anyone that has secured a job has distinguished themselves not only through ‘good behaviour’ but also through perseverance.
What jobs might prisoners have?
A lot of the jobs in the prison itself are pretty much what you’d imagine – cleaner for your wing, orderly for the library, work in the prison kitchen or laundry – although there are some outliers such as needlework specialist or coffee roaster, thanks to outside companies coming in. Dario, Tristan & Ahmed explain some of the roles:
Dario – works in the prison laundry
“I wake up pretty early to get the bags of washing from the wings and into the laundry room, before sorting and splitting the clothes. I have to use the right products, not mix anything and not mix up any bags with another wing’s. We’re doing this twice a week, and have to get it all done within a 2-day period – no easy feat when another person might move your loads, or clothes might not dry properly.”
Tristan – works in the prison kitchen
“I get called at 8am to put on my protective clothing. When I arrive in the kitchen, I’ll be assigned a task such as making breakfast, or preparing meat. After lunch, we normally sort stock, clean or wash up. You’re not sure what will happen each day – they might have too many people in the kitchen, or too few – and there are things you need to be aware of, from wet floors to hot water to knives.”
Ahmed – worked delivering canteen (canteen refers to items that prisoners can buy, from a basic watch to tinned mackerel, that are delivered weekly to their cells)
“A typical day for me when sharing out canteen can be quite delicate. You want to be careful not to mix up canteens, or give someone the wrong person’s canteen. It’s particularly difficult when you have to explain to someone why their stuff didn’t arrive, or if there’s something missing – normally it’s because it’s not in stock, or someone thought they ordered it and didn’t. If it’s not available, they’ll get a refund, and we’re escorted by prison officers not only to unlock doors, but also to make sure people know their items aren’t being tampered with.”
Another option for some prisoners is ‘ROTL’ (release on temporary licence), where prisoners in the last two years of their sentence are allowed to leave the prison for a day’s work, before returning each evening. This is only available to low risk offenders, and breaking the terms of ROTL results in a major reduction in opportunities. Prisoners will work full time or part time and can take part in work experience or training. Some quite large employers are engaged in this scheme – notably Timpson, who hire prisoners on ROTL to work in their high street stores. In a government case study, Chief Executive James Timpson says: “When I first started employing people from prison my biggest concern was what people would think – and that’s not just colleagues I work with, but also our customers. Far more people come to our shops because of what we do and see it as a really positive thing.”
How do jobs shape prisoners?
Working any role in prison has its challenges. There’s no internet, no mobiles and whether or not you’re able to go to your job that day is fairly out of your hands.
Your customers are likely to be challenging, too. As Ahmed puts it, “I’ve really learnt to deal with difficult customers. To work in that environment, you need plenty of patience and the ability to diffuse difficult situations. I’m proud to have done that as part of a team that delivered great service to my peers.”
Tristan and Dario point out that it also requires a shift in routine from the prison norm. “Punctuality, waking up on time, getting ready in a rush, showing up being prepared – that’s what I’ve learnt from this job, to bring to my next one”, says Tristan. Dario adds that for him it’s been about “being consistent, being persistent and being organised. I’ve learnt a new skill, but it’s also about the routine and staying motivated.”
In terms of reward, pay in prison is meagre. While the system isn’t particularly transparent, we do know that the minimum weekly wage for an employed prisoner is £4. Prisoners can also be paid for piecework (i.e. for each product they complete), receive bonuses, and be paid to attend training sessions. Some employers also provide additional payment by adding money to a pot that is given to the prisoner upon their release.
There isn’t good evidence on how work during prison time impacts on employment prospects after release. Yet any prison leaver who applies to your organisation with work experience from their time inside will have overcome obstacles that those without prison experience will likely never have faced. And we do know from government research that employers find prison leaver employees to be more loyal and good at their job.
If you are looking for qualities like resilience, adaptability and perseverance, a prison leaver might make for a good fit. Should you want to take the conversation further, we’d love to talk to you about our candidates – their work experience at prison and how they’ve demonstrated those skills in our programme. Reach out to us for training or support hiring here.