About us
Founded in 1994 and initially the provider of self service kiosks which allowed prisoners to order items from the Prison shop and apply for education and jobs we have grown and now provide digital services in most UK prisons, linking prisoners to Probation to their families and – for those in stress – to the Samaritans. Building on that and working closely with the excellent Norwegian Correctional Services we are on the brink of delivering a unique national case management system for prison and probation. By the end of this year we expect to be operating in seven countries and will have grown into a company with a turnover of £20m.
We are growing quickly, expect that growth to accelerate and are looking for good people to join us. We offer all staff flexibility in hours, in working from home and balancing work with childcare and other responsibilities. Our salaries and leave offers are competitive and later this year we shall offer all staff part future ownership of their company through a share option scheme (where no personal investment is required).
For our vacancies go to www.unilink.com/vacancies/
If you want to join a gifted staff group, and be part of a company recognised by a Queen’s Award for Industry, one which pays its taxes, dedicates a fixed percentage of profits to charities, seeks to support public servants in the delivery of challenging and important work and only operates in countries which treats offenders decently then please contact us.
We have offices in London, Southampton and Newcastle but our staff are located throughout the UK, in Europe and Australia and we are looking for new colleagues.
Unilink holds ISO27001:2013 certification, the international standard for Information Security Management Systems, and is Alcumus SafeContractor accredited.
"I've worked in IT for 34 years and, notwithstanding all the unavoidable delays, this is the smoothest project I have worked on. Staff are happy, in-mates are happy, It’s been very successful"
Project Manager, NIPS ICT Services, Department of Justice NI
The Unilink Group - How we are organized
The Unilink Group consists of three companies:
provides solutions for a number of stakeholders in the criminal justice sector from probation and community corrections, to prisons, to offenders. From integrated offender case management systems which offer a more holistic view of an offender’s rehabilitation journey, to Prisoner Self-Service which gives them the dignity and responsibility for their own tasks and communication services to connect offenders to loved ones. Unilink Software has subsidiaries in Australia, The Netherlands, Norway, and North America.
specializes in the design and manufacturing of touchscreen technology, including self-service devices for use in the criminal justice sector.
specializes in professional IT strategic consultancy, cloud services, telephony, and connectivity.
Our most valuable asset is our team of over 200 experienced, talented, curious and dedicated people around the world. With over 1000 years of experience in the industry between us, miles of code, and fundamental domain knowledge, we share a common goal to be the helpful, innovative leaders in the creation of digital solutions for the justice sector.
History
1994
Unilink founded by Francis Toye
2001
- Unilink developed the Detainee Management System for UKDS
- Biometric Visits Management System first deployed
2002
Offender Management solution developed for UKDS (now Sodexo) prisons
2005
Unilink’s Biometric Visits Management System implemented in all UK High Security prisons
2006
Unilink won the IFSEC award: ‘Most Innovative New Security Product’ for Biometric visits management system
2007
- Unilink developed the First Prisoner Self-Service system in the UK
- CMS self-service implemented at Serco operated prisons and Immigration Centres in the UK, Australia and New Zealand
- Introduction of first, custom built, biometric prisoner self-service kiosk
2010
First Public sector prison deployment of self-service in HMP ISIS
2011
‘Software Innovation Award (Tech UK)’ winner for Prisoner self-service
2012
- First In-Cell installation of Unilink’s prisoner self-service application at HMP Thameside
- ‘Email a Prisoner’ becomes a subsidiary of Unilink Software and ‘secure payment services’ introduced the same year
- All privately operated prisons (Serco, Sodexo and G4S) in the UK, are using Unilink’s Custodial Management Software and Prisoner Self-Service
2014
- Unilink Group was founded
- Unilink Software Australia was formed
- Acante Solutions becomes part of The Unilink Group
2015
- Sir Martin Narey, the first Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service, was appointed as a non-executive Board Member of Unilink Group
- Unilink opened the first branch office in Melbourne, Australia
- ‘Overall UK Digital Leader’ award winner and ‘Best Citizens Services App’ award winner for “Email a Prisoner”
2016
- Unilink won the ‘Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation’
- First state-wide implementation of Unilink’s centralised CMS and Prisoner Self-Service in South Australia prisons
2017
Unilink’s Prisoner self-service rolled out as part of the UK Digital Prisons program, deployed in the Cloud
2019
- Beaumont Coulson, probation software specialist, becomes part of Unilink Software
- Norwegian Correctional Service awards Unilink the contract for supply of an Integrated Offender Case Management System (U-Case) for prisons and probation
- Northern Ireland Prison Service begins the implementation of Unilink’s Prisoner Self-Service Portal
2020
- Video Visits introduced in all Scottish prisons
- Unilink’s “Justice Cloud” launch and CMS self-service cloud deployment
- Prisoner Self-Service deployed in Norway’s new built Agder prison
2021
- Further Digital Prisons HMPPS
- Visits in the cloud deployment
- Self-service Pilot in Scotland
- CMS modernisation project start
2022
- Belgium awards Unilink a contract to supply U-Case Offender Management System
- Holland awards Unilink a contract to supply Retail/Shop Management System
- MTC AU: Immigration
2023
Unilink wins the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade
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Achievements
Unilink wins the King's Award for International Trade in 2023
Unilink wins two PENNA awards in Patient Experience Network Best Practice National Awards 2021
Unilink's CEO Francis Toye selected as ‘One to Watch in 2020’ Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders LDC
The Unilink Group named finalist for the ‘Santander Growing Business of the Year: Smaller Company (Turnover £10m-£25m)’ Award 2020
Winner of the Innovation Award for Prisoner Self-Service Technology 2018 at CV Magazine's 2018 Corporate Excellence Awards
Winner of the AI 2017 Global Excellence Award in ‘Best for Software’ category
Winner of the International Software & Cloud Services Award 2017 for the ‘Best Specialist Software Provider’ 2017 & ‘Best Custodial Management System’
Winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation 2016
Overall winner of the Digital Leaders 100 awards in 2015
Prison Technology Services, part of the Unilink Group, awarded ‘Best Citizen App’ 2015
Winner of the Best New security product award – IFSEC – for biometric visits
Winner of the UK 2011 Intellect/SSA Award for Innovation
What is important to us
Our Vision
To be the leading global supplier of innovative software solutions for the criminal justice market.
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower governments and businesses around the world to effectively secure their operating environments, intuitively manage their data, become more efficient, and foster a culture of rehabilitation. We do this by providing our clients market-leading, award-winning solutions built within a culture of excellence and innovation.
Our commitments
We have a strong focus on corporate responsibility, and we expect all staff to carry out their duties to the highest ethical standards.
We have an unwavering commitment to integrity.
We commit to building great teams as they make a great company and breed excellence.
We commit to maintaining a culture of innovation.
We commit to building long term and effective partnerships with our clients.
We commit to client-focus ensuring we maintain the highest level of knowledge of our clients’ business and proactively respond to their needs.
Our stance on the treatment of offenders, particularly the incarcerated, should, at all times be humane. Unilink will not work in environments where offenders are treated indecently.
Unilink commits to developing innovative solutions for prisons and probation that assist the process of rehabilitation.
We commit to and understand the importance of making things easy.
We have been carbon neutral since early 2020 and commit to continue.
Our commitments to...
Working for us...
Are you interested in making a real impact on society, helping people have control of their lives, regain dignity and reintegrate into society? Are you a believer in the power of technology to support digital transformation?
If you want to make a difference, join us!
We can offer a place in a rapidly growing international company that trains you in trending technology, offers you flexible career paths and growth opportunities. We have transparent procedures, a management team that really cares and a great working environment.
Click below to view our current vacancies. We love talking to talented people.
