London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

If prisoners are to help with the UK’s labour shortages, they must not be exploited

If prisoners are to help with the UK’s labour shortages, they must not be exploited

Let firms set up shop inside prisons, as I have done, but inmates get the same wages and employment rights as anyone else, says Frances Crook, of the Howard League for Penal Reform
Food manufacturers have called on ministers to alleviate labour shortages by allowing them to employ prisoners. This comes as other firms, from hauliers to supermarkets, are also finding themselves short of workers for reasons relating to Brexit and the pandemic. Prisoners could indeed help out, if they are given the opportunity to do real work for a real wage – but a lot would need to change to make this happen, not least the prisons.

Very few prisoners have the opportunity to do real work, and many would jump at the chance to get out of their cells and do something useful and social that would give them money to support their families and buy little luxuries like soap, some extra food and even enrol in education programmes.

There are two groups of prisoners who can come to the aid of business. The first and easiest to get working are the 3,000 men and women in England and Wales held in open prisons who have been assessed as low-risk and who are coming to the end of their sentence. Some are already employed outside through the “release on temporary licence” (ROTL) system. The second group are the 40,000 men, and a handful of women, serving long sentences, many of whom will simply idle for years and years unless progress is made.

If prisoners are to be employed to work for private companies, then they should have workers’ rights, be paid the same rate for the job as anyone else, and pay tax and national insurance. They must not be exploited as cheap labour to take on the roles for which companies do not want to raise wages. Public acceptance of such endeavours will depend on prisoners competing fairly with people in the community and not being used to undercut or undermine working conditions.

The barrier to expanding opportunities also lies with the extremely risk-averse attitude in the Prison Service. Currently, prisons are restricted as to how many people may apply for work in the community, but this could easily be expanded. Prisons would need to focus on getting people work-ready, which means providing practical things such as showers, breakfast, transport and encouragement. Companies would prosper, but so would the wider community, as we all know that having a job – along with having somewhere to live and someone to care for you – provides the best hope for successful reintegration after release.

The British Meat Processors Association apparently approached prisons but was told the quota of ROTLs had been filled. Newspapers are full of stories about empty supermarket shelves and the lack of lorry drivers. People in prison might be able to fill these jobs, given the opportunity. There are other roles calling out for help, including in farms, hotels and restaurants. All are great opportunities to earn a proper wage and get experience.

For those serving long sentences, the work available in prisons is dull, demeaning and poorly remunerated. There is perhaps the chance to do a bit of cleaning prison wings for pocket money, but little else. It leads nowhere and, compared with crime, lacks excitement. If we offer the opportunity to long-termers to be gainfully employed during their sentence, they can save for release, pay tax and national insurance and contribute to a pension scheme. They would be citizens, but behind bars.

This can only be done if prisons allow businesses to run independently inside. There are lots of low-security prisons with huge, barely used workshops that could be turned over to manufacturing, packing and processing companies to employ prisoners inside the jail directly. Prisons cannot run businesses, so outside firms must move in. The state should be responsible for security and safety, but there is no reason that private enterprise could not do exactly as it does in the community.

I know this can work, because I have done it myself. The Howard League set up a commercial graphic design studio inside Coldingley prison in Surrey and trained men from scratch. We made sure they were escorted to our workshop ready for work and they stayed for packed lunches. A full week of work meant we could fulfil contracts to design leaflets and booklets for outside clients. However, we never managed to negotiate overtime.

The prisoners were paid the rate for the job and it ran successfully for years until the prison authorities realised that, because they paid income tax, the prisoners had employment rights. Civil rights for prisoners are always hard fought against, but I do not see that employment rights would in any way undermine the security and safety of a prison; the opposite is the case, as men would be keen to keep their jobs.

The success of companies such as Timpson has shown that the public supports the employment of people who have transgressed. It is the best way to make sure they live a law-abiding life and contribute to the common good. Bringing businesses into prisons would benefit prisoners, their families, and the prisons themselves. It would help prevent people becoming victims in the future.

Now is the time for the prison authorities to act. Radical change is possible. They just have to do it, and I am willing to help.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×