An applicant has disclosed a criminal record – what’s my first step?
Your first step should be to establish whether or not the role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA).
- If the role is covered by the ROA, you should ignore spent criminal records.
- More information: Ignoring spent criminal records [Detailed guidance]
- If the role is exempt from the ROA, you should ignore filtered criminal records.
- More information: Understanding filtered criminal records and DBS checks [Detailed guidance]
An applicant has disclosed unspent criminal convictions – what should I do?
There is a lot of confusion about criminal records. Confusion can create anxiety. Anxiety can lead to risk-aversion. It’s easy to make assumptions about someone with a criminal record. However, when you have a clear process in place for assessing criminal records, you are better able to assess information and make confident recruitment decisions.
- More information: Assessing criminal records [Detailed guidance]
- If an applicant has disclosed a criminal record, there are several factors to consider to better understand the relevance of this to the role in question.
- For a consistent approach to assessments, download our criminal record assessment template
- More information: Factors to consider when assessing criminal records [Detailed guidance]
How do I assess a criminal records
A clear process means you can be fair to applicants and make confident, evidence based recruitment decisions. It is also a requirement of data protection law and the DBS code of practice
- More information: Assessing criminal records [Detailed guidance]
- More information: Asking the question: Guidance for employers on the GDPR, data protection and the processing of criminal records in recruitment
- DBS code of practice
