Earning rates for inmates in English prisons are set at a pocket money level on the basis that food, shelter, and clothes are provided by the government. There are three main earning schemes. The flat rate scheme covers employment tasks that cannot be accurately or economically measured, such as kitchen or cleaning work. The standard piecework scheme is intended for work that can be readily timed and assessed. The modified piecework scheme is primarily aimed at prisoners employed in individual workshops where the designated work week is not less than 23 hours. Issues associated with paying prisoners include the number of prisoners who remain idle during the day due to a lack of work opportunities, adequate incentives to encourage prison administrators to pay adequate wages for work performed, pay for prisoners in full-time education programs, pay rates for remand versus convicted prisoners, the availablility of privileges for different prisoner categories, whether prisoners should be allowed to use their private cash to purchase items, and whether prisoners should be paid in real money or credited with their earnings. England's prison wage system is compared with systems in the United States, Canada, and other West European countries. Recommendations to improve England's system are offered, and supplemental data on inmate pay is appended.