Prison and reintegration staff are getting a pay bump — a 225-euro risk supplement and two new careers
The Government approved two decree-laws creating two special careers in Portugal's prison and social reintegration services, with new salary tables and a 225-euro monthly risk supplement.
People who spend their working days inside a prison are finally getting some recognition in their pay packet. The Council of Ministers approved two decree-laws that reorganise the careers of the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP), create two special social reintegration careers, and change what these workers take home at the end of the month.
The centrepiece is a risk supplement of 225 euros a month. Added to the salary increases already scheduled, the Government promises total monthly gains reaching 417.98 euros for those entering the career — a notable jump in a sector that has complained for years about being left behind. The supplement will now be updated annually, in line with the reference increase applied to the wider public administration.
What changes for prison workers?
Beyond the money, the career structure changes. Two special social reintegration careers are created and the old post of prison administrator is scrapped, while the status of deputy prison director is reinforced. In practice, it’s a long-overdue tidy-up.
Where does this decision come from?
It didn’t fall from the sky. The decrees put into law an agreement reached in December 2025 between the Government and the unions to overhaul reintegration and prison-service careers — a drawn-out negotiation that now takes legal shape. It fits the broader push to update public-sector pay that has shaped the year. The official details are published by the Government.
Image: GualdimG / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
