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The government recently published a new Employment Rights Bill, which presents an opportunity to make the existing rights of people with criminal records in recruitment and employment easier to understand and therefore more accessible. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) sets limits on what information potential or current employers can collect and hold about someone’s […]
We recently worked with a large construction company who wanted to stop asking applicants about criminal records. The HR team and the department managers agreed on a new application form. However, they found that historic application forms containing criminal records questions kept being used for new vacancies. This left them with sensitive criminal records data […]
It is perhaps understandable why some employers are tempted to check applicants on social media. It can sometimes seem like the more information available, the better. However, this is rarely actually the case. Often employers will end up with information they don’t want or, even worse, that legally they shouldn’t have. An example is for […]
Today Unlock publishes a new briefing, exploring the data we received in a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The data highlights some of the ways in which our outdated criminal records system can disproportionately impact women. Read the briefing What does the data tell us? Women are […]
Since 2018 when UCAS removed questions about criminal records from their application, universities have had to make their own decisions about whether to ask for most courses. For courses leading to regulated professions, UCAS continue to ask. Universities collect further information about spent and unspent criminal records and conduct their own assessments – often called […]
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. […]
Our helpline was recently contacted by an individual who was concerned about the statement and question being asked on a charity’s volunteer application form about criminal records. Their policy stated: Recruitment of ex-offenders – Because of the type of volunteering role, involving contact with vulnerable people, you are required by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act […]
We were contacted recently by an individual who was concerned about a question being asked about criminal records on a builder’s merchant’s application form, which stated: “As part of our standard procedure we require a police check for every employee. Are you prepared to undergo a police check? ☐ Yes ☐ No Have you ever […]