Job description
Job Title: Operational Support Officer (AO) - Court Usher
📍 Location: Royal Courts of Justice
💷 Pay: £15.59 per hour (inclusive of holiday pay)
🕘 Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm (37 hours per week)
📄 Contract: Ongoing temporary assignment - currently until May 2027
🏢 Agency: Brook Street Recruitment (on behalf of HM Courts & Tribunals Service)
Role Overview
We are recruiting Operational Support Officers (AO), commonly known as Court Ushers, to support the efficient running of hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice.
This is a frontline, customer-facing role within a specialist civil court environment, supporting the smooth delivery of hearings, judicial processes, and case progression.
You will be working within a busy and structured court setting where professionalism, accuracy, and attention to detail are essential.
Key Responsibilities
- Prepare and maintain courtrooms before and during hearings
- Support judges, legal professionals, and court users throughout proceedings
- Assist with case progression by calling cases, managing attendance, and swearing in witnesses
- Provide in-court and remote support (including Microsoft Teams hearings where required)
- Manage and process court documents, including scanning, filing, and uploading
- Liaise with Listings and judicial teams to ensure hearings run smoothly
- Handle general administrative duties to support daily court operations
- Maintain strict confidentiality and professionalism at all times
Requirements & Skills
- Strong communication and customer service skills (essential)
- Confident and professional in a public-facing environment
- Ability to remain calm and organised under pressure
- Comfortable working with sensitive and complex case material
- Previous administrative or customer-facing experience
- Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Teams)
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Important Information
- This role is based at the Royal Courts of Justice
- The position sits within a specialist civil court function handling complex appellate casework
- Court Ushers are now classified as Operational Support Officers (AO grade) under HMCTS
- This role requires the ability to work with sensitive and confidential material
Compliance & Clearance
Successful candidates must meet security clearance requirements, including:
Must be eligible for a Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) - residency in the UK for the past 3 years is required.
- Enhanced DBS clearance
- Employment and reference checks (last 3 years)
- Evidence to cover any gaps in employment
Brook Street is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all candidates who are veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel, and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.
As a Disability Confident Leader, and holder of the Gold Award status from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, Brook Street, as a supplier to the Public Sector Resourcing Framework (PSR), will offer you a guaranteed interview with a PSR Sourcer.
Should you identify as a candidate with a disability and/or as a veteran or spouse/partner of military personnel and meet all the essential criteria for the role, we encourage you to reach out to us via the Brook Street website. Here you will find a link to register your interest and state the role that you are interested in. We are committed to engaging with you.
In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses/partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, Brook Street will interview the best candidates from within that group.
