Examples of bad practice by employers
We’ve recently worked on a case where the employer had a confusing question about criminal records. We were contacted by an individual who had just received notification from a local school that his application for a teaching position had not been successful. The individual explained that he hadn’t been surprised by the decision as the school […]
We’ve recently worked on a case where an employer had a blanket exclusion for certain offences. We were contacted by an individual who had applied to a training organisation which specialised in working with people with convictions with the aim of getting them into paid employment. The majority of individuals they work with are either […]
We were contacted by an individual after the decision of a major supermarket to revoke a job offer for a delivery driver job following disclosure of a conviction which had come to light as a result of a basic criminal record check. The individual confirmed that prior to applying for the job he had checked […]
This case relates to a large background screening company that is registered with the DBS to conduct standard and enhanced checks – they’re a large company in this sector, and have been in the top 10 registered bodies (by number of applications to the DBS) in recent years. As part of their ‘offer’, they also […]
This case study involves a university that advertised a teaching fellow post, subject to a standard or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. A teaching position in a university is not on the list of exempted professions in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975. This sets out which jobs (e.g. doctors, nurses, school […]
This case involves a regional voluntary organisation that were advertising a vacancy for a fundraiser. The job advertisement stated that the job was exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and that all convictions, including spent ones, needed to be disclosed. A fundraiser position is not on the list of exempted professions in the Rehabilitation […]
This case study involves an organisation that was recruiting a project officer. We were passed details of the vacancy because, in the job description, it stated that “a clean disclosure and barring check is essential for this post.” Naturally, we were stunned by this statement, as was the person who’d seen it; they had a […]
This case involves a regional voluntary organisation that employs around 40 people and uses over 300 volunteers. They were advertising a vacancy for an office administrator. As an organisation, they are used to recruiting volunteers in roles working with children and the elderly, and so they’re often doing enhanced DBS checks. That meant that with […]
The image below of a BBC article shows how councils were carrying out levels of checks on positions not eligible for them This example is used as part of our guidance on doing the correct level of criminal record check.
Tomorrow, the 10th March 2015, a new criminal offence of ‘enforced subject access’ comes into force, which employers and organisations need to be aware of. This news has implications for the recruitment processes of employers and organisations. In particular, it has an impact on those that ask individuals to obtain a copy of their police […]