Youth justice worker jobs

Youth justice workers supervise and support children who have been arrested, charged or sentenced, and work to stop them offending again. Almost all of them work in youth offending teams (YOTs), which councils in England and Wales must set up under section 39 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and which many areas now call youth justice services. Because the team belongs to the council, most posts are paid on a council grade using the NJC pay spine, with the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Who is in a youth offending team

A YOT is multi-agency by law. Councils run it with the police, probation and health services, and it works closely with children’s social care, schools and housing. So a team may include council-employed youth justice officers, a seconded police officer, a seconded probation officer, a nurse or mental health worker, an education worker and a victim liaison officer.

Jobs are advertised under many titles: youth justice officer, youth justice practitioner, case manager, YOT officer, referral order coordinator, prevention worker, bail and remand officer. The titles differ between councils more than the work does.

What the work involves

The core of the job is casework with a small number of children, often with complicated lives. Typical tasks include:

• assessing a child’s offending, needs and risks, and writing plans that the child and family agree to
• writing reports for the youth court, including pre-sentence reports that suggest a sentence
• supervising community sentences such as referral orders and youth rehabilitation orders
• running one-to-one and group sessions on offending behaviour, victims, weapons, drugs or relationships
• supporting children at the police station or in court
• keeping in touch with children in custody and planning their release
• restorative work with victims, from letters of apology to face-to-face meetings
• prevention and diversion work with children at risk who have not been charged

Safeguarding comes into every case. Many children in the system have been exploited, excluded from school or are known to children’s social care, and you will work with risks to the child as well as risks to others. Some evenings are needed for home visits and groups, and court work is on weekdays. Caseloads and emotional strain can be heavy.

Backgrounds and qualifications

There is no single required qualification. Councils recruit from youth work, social work, probation, teaching, residential care, the police, substance misuse services and the voluntary sector. Adverts typically ask for experience of working with young people who are hard to engage, an understanding of safeguarding, and good report writing.

Senior or specialist posts may ask for a professional qualification, such as a social work, youth work or probation qualification, or a youth justice qualification. Councils often fund youth justice training for staff once they are in post. How to become a youth worker and how to become a probation officer cover two common feeder routes.

Pay: council grades on the NJC spine

Youth justice workers employed by councils in England and Wales are mostly on Green Book terms. Each council grades the job through job evaluation and attaches it to a range of spinal column points (SCPs) on the NJC pay spine, so the same role can pay differently in neighbouring councils. The 2026/27 NJC award is 3.3% on SCPs 3 to 43 from 1 April 2026.

As an illustration only, here are some points from the 2026/27 spine, calculated from the April 2025 values plus 3.3%:

SCP	Annual full-time pay
17	£32,046
20	£33,673
23	£35,570
26	£38,510
29	£41,177

A practitioner post might be graded across a few of these points, with seniors and team managers higher, but the advert is the only reliable source for a specific job. You move up a point each year within the grade. The NJC pay spine lists every point, and spine points explained covers how grades map onto it.

Seconded staff stay on their home employer’s terms. A seconded police officer is paid as a constable, for example, and a seconded probation officer on probation pay.

Pension, leave and checks

Council-employed staff join the LGPS. On pay from £29,001 to £47,300 the member contribution for 2026/27 is 6.5% in the main section, or 3.25% in the 50/50 section. Green Book annual leave is at least 23 days basic, rising to 26 after five years’ continuous service, plus 8 public holidays and 2 extra-statutory days. Many councils give more.

Before you start you need an enhanced DBS check with the children’s barred list. Because you share information with the police, most teams also require police vetting. A criminal record does not automatically bar you, especially if it is old and not relevant, and applying with a criminal record explains how employers assess it.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

There are no youth offending teams in Scotland. Children who offend are mainly dealt with through the Children’s Hearings System and council social work services, so youth justice jobs there are usually social work posts. In Northern Ireland, youth justice services are run by the Youth Justice Agency, which recruits on its own terms.

Finding vacancies

YOT jobs are advertised on council websites and the regional council job boards used in your area. Where councils advertise jobs lists them. Search under “youth justice” as well as “youth offending”, because many councils have renamed their service. Sessional and part-time posts, such as referral order panel coordination or reparation supervision, can be a way in if you lack direct experience.