All rail travel is completed in line with the Staff Pay and Allowances Handbook, which states that all employees are encouraged to travel at standard class unless there is justification for travelling first class.
Senior employees may travel first class on official journeys by rail in exceptional circumstances.
Other employees should travel at standard class, except when:
necessarily travelling with a colleague entitled to first class travel, or someone not a civil servant travelling first class;
they certify (other than on suburban lines) that a standard class seat could not be found.
Separate guidance is provided for staff working within the NOMS agency, although it is broadly similar, stating:
For staff in the NOMS agency, current guidance states that staff at Prison Service Manager Grade G and below are entitled to travel first class when they certify that they were unable to find a seat in standard class and the journey exceeds 30-minutes in duration.
The MOJ has provided guidance to staff in order to reduce the costs of travel, subsistence and hospitality, for example by using video conferencing where possible and significantly reducing refreshments provided for meetings.