HMP Grampian has the highest staff turnover in Scotland – with more people quitting since it opened two years ago than have left other jails in four.
The superjail only opened in 2014, but already 126 staff members have quit.
In comparison, 71 employees have left HMP Edinburgh since 2013, and only 33 have moved on from HMP Inverness.
Last night, prison chiefs insisted the north-east’s turnover was down to a wider problem with recruitment in the public sector.
But politicians claimed staff were “under pressure” and often put off working in a “remote location” for low pay.
HMP Grampian is the Scottish Prison Service’s (SPS) newest facilities, but has faced several controversies since it launched. Only months after the first prisoners moved in, there was a riot which caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage.
Young offenders were then moved away from Peterhead and have not returned – despite the jail being designed to keep families close.
The Press and Journal has also previously revealed that staff at the South Road site had taken more sick days than at any other SPS facility.
Last night, prison chiefs said the high staff turnover – which included more than 100 employees on the lowest pay band – was symptomatic of broader problems with public sector jobs, rather than problems behind bars.
North-east councils and health boards have struggled to recruit and retain teachers, doctors and nurses in recent years.
SPS spokesman Tom Fox said: “It’s higher than we would like and there is no simple explanation.
“It is a combination of a number of things. Recruitment in the north-east has always been more difficult, often because of the buoyant economy.”
Mr Fox said prison staff are paid on a national rate but are affected by rising and falling living costs in different parts of the country.
New recruits are also hired by the SPS on a national basis, not directly by establishments. As a result employees are not guaranteed to be placed at their first preference establishment although efforts are made to do so, he added.
“It’s difficult, as it is for the rest of the public sector,” Mr Fox continued. “In terms of the recruitment campaigns that we have, they are always oversubscribed. There is no shortage of people who want to work in the prison service.
“There isn’t a problem in recruiting, the retention in particular areas is the challenge.”
However Mr Fox stressed there was not a problem with current staff levels at HMP Grampian.
North-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald has been vocal on problems at the controversial super prison, in particular the return of young offenders from the central belt.
Last night he claimed the figures are not surprising.
“I had a message from a constituent this week – a prison officer – expressing concern about pay and conditions,” Mr Macdonald said. “That’s a general problem.
“The particular issue for HMP Grampian is that it’s the only major prison an hour away from a city. That’s harder for recruitment and retention. Also your local recruitment pool is smaller.
“It’s hard to keep people on a relatively low public sector salary in a remote location.”
Mr Macdonald added that the “modern prison philosophy” which focuses on rehabilitation is challenging to deliver when inmates to not get regular contact with the same staff members.
Last night local independent councillor Alan Buchan, a vocal critic of the new jail, said prison staff are “under pressure”.
“They were understaffed from day one – there is more pressure and the prison service is about as stressful as it can get for a job.”
He claimed the turnover at the former HMP Peterhead was considerably lower and blamed the influx of “turbulent” violent offenders to the establishment for causing staff stress.
