Staff working across probation and family courts have voted in favour of industrial action following disputes over earnings and severe workload pressures.

Members of the Napo trade union supported both walkouts and alternative forms of action, with organisation officials confirming that arrangements are being developed to launch strike action at a later stage.

The union launched the ballot after receiving what it termed an "inadequate" 5% pay offer, alongside the employer's failure to agree on measures to address mounting workloads.

Concerns surrounding staff capacity have worsened following the introduction of the Government scheme to release prisoners early to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

Napo noted that probation salaries have "stagnated" since 2010, leaving reception employees on pay just above the minimum wage – the lowest paid across the civil service.

The union stated: "Workloads are in a chronic state, with Napo members undertaking thousands of hours of unpaid overtime just to stay on top of the demands placed upon them."

In the vote regarding pay, 85% of Napo members supported action short of a strike and 74% backed full strike action. In the separate ballot on workloads, 87% voted for action short of striking, with 75% in favour of strikes.

Napo general secretary Ian Lawrence said: "The high turnout by our members, and the result vindicates the campaign to achieve a pay rise to make up lost ground in comparative pay with other staff employed within HMPPS (Prison and Probation Service).

"The vote also reflects serious anger at the state of probation workloads, which were already in crisis before the latest version of the prisoner early release scheme.

"Our members have tried desperately to do what the previous government, as well as this one, have demanded but have done so against a background of inadequate staffing and a lack of resources within our communities to provide rehabilitation as an alternative to re-offending."