FAQs

You’ll provide a visible security presence at Heathrow – helping to keep our passengers and colleagues safe while dealing decisively with any incidents that occur. This requires a good eye for detail, great people skills and a reasonable level of physical fitness as you will spend most of the day on your feet.

Much of your time will be spent effectively screening passengers through security, conducting searches, using x-ray machines to identify any dangerous items and patrolling the airport to identify any potential threats.

Due to the nature of the role, we can only hire candidates who are aged 18 or above.

You will be allocated a roster based on the preference you made on your application.

Security Officers at Heathrow earn £12.13 per hour, giving an annual full-time salary of £25,231, rising to £27,040 after two years. You’ll also enjoy an excellent range of benefits, including access to a market leading pension scheme, and health and wellbeing support.

What’s more, there’s plenty of scope for overtime, which pays time-and-a-half during the week, time-and-three-quarters at weekends and double time on bank holidays, meaning you could earn up to £24.26 an hour.

Some rosters also attract shift allowances, which are made as additional monthly payments on top of your salary.

Yes. Whether you join us on a full-time or part-time basis, you will benefit from six weeks’ full-time training when you start. This training is mandatory and you must attend every day for the full six weeks. If you already have plans taking place during those six weeks then you may need to cancel or reschedule them as sadly our training programme isn’t flexible.

After your training programme is complete, you’ll complete the National X-Ray Competency Test (NXCT) before formally being signed off as a Security Officer. This will be followed by on-the-job training under the supervision and support of highly experienced colleagues to give you all the skills you need to succeed.

You will need to request your 5-year employment history directly from HMRC during this process.

If you’ve not already done so, we would advise that you request this immediately.

If your application is successful, this document will be needed as part of the referencing process post offer and will also assist you in completing the online Referencing form..

Instructions of how to download the HMRC 5 Year History letter:

1. Click on the link – Personal tax account: sign in or set up. This link is at the bottom of the page under the “More on GOV.UK”- GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services) – and either sign in/create an account for Government Gateway. For this, you will need your National Insurance number.
2. Upon completing the necessary steps and verification, your name should appear in the “Account home” box, if so click Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
3. Next click on PAYE Income Tax History and you will then be able to save the page as a PDF by selecting “Print” and then change the printer name to “Save as PDF”.

Once you’ve saved this you will be able to print the copy and bring this along to your Security Interview.

This form will need to be seen by the Security team and also by the Reference and Vetting team so you may be asked to email a copy to the referencing team at a later date.

We’re aware that for some candidates will not be able to download their 5 year history. If this is the case, please email us at [email protected] to make us aware.

Watch the video below for guidance on how to create a Government Gateway Account.

If you already have your Government Gateway Account watch the below video for guidance on how to download your 5-year HMRC document.

There are a number of travel options to get to Heathrow. The airport is well served by the Tube, buses and the new Elizabeth line trains too. We also offer free travel on the Heathrow Express and discounts on some bus and coach routes.

We’re committed to sustainability, so we always encourage our colleagues to use public transport where possible. However, we understand that some shift patterns don’t fit in with public transport schedules, so we have a free staff car park available for colleagues who need to drive to work. We encourage car sharing where possible and have a great car sharing scheme that will guarantee you a lift home from work if you have an emergency.

We also have a dedicated cycle hub offering free bike servicing, discounts on purchases, and a cycle loan scheme should you chose to cycle to work.

Plenty! If you have the talent, commitment and determination, we have the opportunities. A career with Heathrow could take you almost anywhere, both within security and beyond. Many of our Security Officers have progressed to leadership roles in the operation, as well as to roles in other parts of the business such as IT, Communications and HR. And, because we want our people to thrive, we’ll support you every step of the way, no matter your aspirations.

Please contact our support team on 0203 9486 859 or email us at [email protected], immediately where we would welcome a discussion with you to talk through available options.

Security Officers have a vital role to play here at Heathrow, so it’s essential we recruit people with the right skills and approach, as well as the talent and personality we look for. There are also very strict rules on who can work in airport security, so we’ll need to make sure that you’re eligible and that we complete all the necessary checks to ensure that we keep our airport, colleagues and passengers safe.

Referencing and vetting can be a long process, and can take up to 15 weeks. But you can help us speed it up by making sure we have all the information we need as soon as you apply. If we have asked for information, it’s because we need it so please do take time to understand and provide everything that is requested. We’ll keep you informed and updated at every stage of the process. And thank you for your patience – this is an important process that all our Security Officers experience and we look forward to welcoming you to the team soon.

You’ll be in training for the first 6 weeks of your employment and receive on-going training and development throughout your role as a Security Officer.