Policy for Recruitment of People with Criminal Records

Suitable applicants will not be rejected because of offences that are not relevant to the role applied for. We judge each case on its own merits and do not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of criminal record information disclosed to us.

For those positions where a criminal record check is identified as necessary, all application forms, job adverts and recruitment briefs will make clear what level of check will be submitted on the individual being offered the position.

We only ask applicants to provide details of convictions and cautions that we are legally entitled to know about. For roles covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, we ask applicants to disclose unspent convictions only. Spent convictions do not need to be disclosed.

For positions exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, we will ask applicants to disclose any convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings that would not be currently filtered by the Disclosure and Barring Service. For guidance in answering this question, visit the Unlock site which has useful information on filtering.

For motoring offences, only drink-driving and dishonesty offences need to be disclosed.

For any information disclosed, cases will be looked on an individual basis, taking into account details such as;

• Whether it’s information we are legally allowed to consider
• Whether the offence is relevant to the position applied for
• The age at the time of the offence(s)
• The length of time since
• The circumstances surrounding the offence(s), and what has changed since.

Any information disclosed will be treated in the strictest confidence. We will consider any information disclosed before confirming an offer of employment. If necessary, we may arrange a face-to-face discussion with the applicant to obtain further details. Failure to disclose relevant information when requested could result in disciplinary proceedings or dismissal.

Any matters revealed in a DBS check will be discussed with the individual before making a final decision regarding the conditional offer of deployment

We ensure that all those involved in the recruitment process have received appropriate guidance and training in the legislation and practice of recruiting people with criminal records. We ensure that all those who are involved in making suitability decisions based on an applicants’ criminal record have been trained to do so.

A criminal record or other disclosed information will not automatically disqualify an individual from employment or deployment unless the panel deems the conviction renders the individual unsuitable for the role.

We welcome applicants with criminal records and encourage them to discuss in confidence how a conviction might affect their employment application by emailing a HR representative at [email protected].