Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy & Guidance - April 2024

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Introduction

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 ensures that ex-offenders who have not re-offended for a period of time since their conviction are not discriminated against when applying for jobs. Unless a position is exempted from the Act, employers are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of spent convictions.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 enables some criminal convictions to become 'spent', or ignored, after a 'rehabilitation period'.

A rehabilitation period is a set length of time from the date of conviction. After this period, with certain exceptions, an ex-offender is not normally obliged to mention their conviction when applying for a job.

All employees, casual workers, volunteers, contractors, agency workers will undergo some form of pre-employment vetting checks. The type and level of checks will vary dependent upon the role and the access to children or adults at risk.

Many positions within the Council qualify for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks which provide access to sensitive criminal record information about candidates.

Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with the Council. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of the offences.

A disclosure is only requested after a thorough risk assessment has indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned. For those positions where a Disclosure is required, job adverts, job profiles and any other recruitment information provided about the post must contain a statement that a Disclosure will be requested in the event of the individual being offered the position.

The Authority will only require applicants to disclose 'unspent' criminal convictions as part of their application form if the post involves working with children or vulnerable adults, or is based within a school, pupil referral unit, children’s home or care home, or for certain financial and legal professional roles, or civil enforcement officer roles.