Burnham urged to intervene over ‘zero-hours’ custody officers in private prison

Exclusive: Prison officers’ union strongly opposes HMP Millsike offering flexible work escorting prisoners amid staff shortages Andy Burnham is under pressure to intervene in a privately run prison that is seeking to recruit custody officers on zero-hours contracts for the first time across England and Wales’ prison estate. Managers at HMP Millsike, a category C prison for 1,500 prisoners near York operated by the outsourcing company Mitie, have signed off online adverts for £25-an-hour prisoner escort roles “on a flexible, task-based basis”. Mitie has submitted a proposal to the Prison Service to employ people on a zero-hours contract which is “under consideration”, a government official confirmed on Monday night. The £400m prison has about 350 empty cells because of a shortfall of staff, prison sources have confirmed. The POA, the prison officers’ union, has called on the prime minister to intervene in keeping with the government’s pledge to curb zero-hours contracts that undermine workers’ rights, security and stability. Burnham has faced mounting pressure over the government’s early prisoner release scheme aimed at freeing up capacity, after it was reveale

Aug 18, 2026 → Aug 18, 2026