Fewer job seekers to be forced to admit spent convictions

Reforms will boost employment among ex-offenders, says minister The timescale during which job applicants must tell employers about past criminal convictions is to be reduced under new legislative reforms, the government has announced.

In what would be the first change to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act for 28 years, the time in which jail sentences and convictions are considered spent – and no longer have to be declared – could be more than halved. The government hopes that the move will boost employment opportunities for those with a criminal history, and cut the risk of re-offending.

Justice minister Lord McNally said: “Criminals must be suitably punished for their crimes. But it is no good for anyone if they go to jail and come out and then can’t get an honest job, and so turn back to crime again. “That is why we are bringing forward reforms which will give offenders who have served their sentence a fair chance of getting back on the straight and narrow, while ensuring safeguards are in place to protect the public.”

Under the new plans, custody periods of up to six months would be considered spent two and a half years after leaving jail, compared with the current timescale of seven years after conviction. Prison terms of six months to two and a half years in length would be spent six and a half years after leaving jail, compared with ten years afterwards now, and sentences of between two and a half and four years would be spent 11 years after release, compared with always being declared at present. Community order sentences – currently live for five years – would be spent after one year, but jail time of more than four years will always have to be declared.

There has been concern from some quarters that criminals with an undiscovered violent past may enter the workplace; but life sentence prisoners, people given extended prison terms for serious crimes, and those seeking to work with children will have to continue to disclose their convictions.

Crime reduction charity Nacro welcomed the reforms, but warned that they did not go far enough. Nacro chief executive Paul McDowell said: “Today’s proposed amendments will mean that more people will be able to secure work, give something back to society and lead productive lives.“But despite the proposed changes, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act will still present barriers to people who have put their offending behind them, particularly those who have served four or more years in prison.”

Legal experts said that in practice, the recruitment process for employers would not alter greatly. “Legally, any employer can request applicants disclose unspent convictions. This has led to many previous offenders failing to get past the first stage of short listing,” explained Guy Guinan, partner at law firm Gateley LLP. “Despite these changes, however, the recruitment process for the average employer is unlikely to alter. The same questions will be invariably be asked, it is just that the same applicants will now be able to legally provide a different answer.”

But Guinan warned that the reforms would not protect applicants who unintentionally revealed a now spent conviction.
“Whilst under the reforms the conviction may be spent and should not therefore be taken into account, once it is revealed there are no provisions that prevent a prospective employer from acting upon it,” he added.
Last year the government abandoned controversial changes to the Vetting and Barring scheme for people working with children and vulnerable adults, which would have seen up to nine million volunteers and workers compelled to register.