Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

Scottish Prison Service

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Upheld Reference 201501217 Sector Prisons Category earnings Decided 01 May 2016

View Scottish Prison Service scorecard

Full decision

Summary

Mr C complained to us that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) had failed to pay him at the correct rate for his attendance at work and education sessions in prison. The amount a prisoner is paid for work in prison depends on the activity level their job falls into. Although this is a discretionary decision for the SPS to take, we found that the SPS had provided Mr C with conflicting information about the activity level of his job. We also found that they had given Mr C inaccurate information about the level of payment for attending education sessions. In view of these failings, we upheld Mr C's complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that SPS: issue a written apology to Mr C for the inaccurate information they provided to him; ensure that relevant staff in the prison are aware of the correct rate of payment that prisoners are paid for attending education sessions; and review the payments made to Mr C in the prison to ensure that he received all the payments he was entitled to.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201501217 as a PDF (12.73 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018

View original on SPSO (Scottish Publ… website

Other decisions involving Scottish Prison Service

Reference Date Summary Outcome
202412046 01 Feb 2026 C complained that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) failed to follow the appropriate procedure after they removed C from association … Upheld
202401074 01 Nov 2025 C complained that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that they had prompt access … Upheld
202303295 01 Mar 2025 C complained that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) failed to appropriately investigate their lost property claim. C submitted a claim … Upheld
202006807 01 Sep 2022 C complained about the handing of their Internal Case Management (ICM) case conference. C was unhappy that the Scottish Prison … Partly Upheld
202001300 01 Sep 2022 Ms C provided her express consent for her pronouns to be used for this publication. Ms C complained about matters … Partly Upheld
View all decisions for this organisation