Earlier this year Alex registered with Transport for London’s National Apprenticeship Fair, hoping for the chance to meet with 15 employers offering vacancies across London. She was surprised to be asked about unspent convictions for a recruitment fair, but ticked the box and looked for the privacy policy to understand how it would be used. […]
More employers remove questions about criminal records from application forms
In 2018 research by Unlock found that 70% of well-known national employers asked about criminal records on application. Three years on, with increased understanding of data protection, the GDPR and inclusive recruitment, we reviewed those employers to see what, if anything had changed. Key findings in 2018 The 2018 findings were disappointing, though perhaps not […]
HMPPS confirms prison and probation roles are covered by filtering rules
Samantha contacted Unlock’s helpline for advice on applying for a ‘Through the Gate’ role with Sodexo. The job involved helping women prepare for leaving prison and would be subject to prison vetting. Sodexo has banned the box, so Samantha was surprised to see the application form ask: Have you ever been convicted of any offences […]
Using a spent conviction to revoke an employment offer breaches data subject rights
RQT, an IT company based in Wales, required all potential employees to consent to a basic criminal record check being carried out by a DBS Responsible Organisation (RO). As the job was in Wales, the RO should have requested a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Instead the RO wrongly requested a check […]
Asking applicants to self-disclose can be deemed excessive, says ICO
Last month we published research that showed almost three-quarters of employers ask about criminal records at application stage. Being asked to self-disclose puts off applicants. Unlock encourages employers to consider whether they need to ask about criminal records at all. If you need to ask, questions should be targeted – for example, only asking at […]