As part of this project, we’re promoting ‘Fair Chance Hiring’ policies in our approach to employers. ‘Fair Chance Hiring’ originates from the United States and has ‘Ban the Box’ at the heart of changes in the recruitment practice of employers.
One of the first steps is to develop a set of high-level principles for putting ‘Fair Chance Hiring’ into practice, and this document shows our current thinking. The principles have been developed in consultation with a range of stakeholders including employers, recruitment professionals and data protection experts, and people with a criminal record. The principles are designed to be used as a benchmark for employers in ensuring the fair treatment of people with criminal records.
The principles are currently in DRAFT format. We know there’s more to do in adding references and providing more detail, but we have made them publically available at this stage so that we can consult and receive feedback, before publishing the finalised version later in 2015.
Download: Principles of Fair Chance Hiring – DRAFT
Let us know what you think
We’re keen for thoughts, comments and suggestions on these principles. In particular, we’re keen for answers to the following questions:
- Do you agree/disagree with any of the principles?
- Do any of the principles need editing or improving?
- Would you add any other principles to reflect other important considerations?
- How else do you think the principles could be improved?
Please email your comments to policy@unlock.org.uk by Friday 25th September 2015. Responses will be treated in confidence.
Next steps
We are working on helping employers to put these principles into practice by developing a resource centre for employers and recruitment professionals, and working closely with a small number of larger employers. As part of this work, we will be looking to add more detail to each of the principles, and we hope that the feedback we receive from this draft will help us in this process.
If you’re interested in receiving updates about this work, sign up to our mailing list and tick to receive “News/updates for employers and recruiters”
