The law gives ex-offenders some protection from being discriminated against because of their criminal record. This protection is much less extensive than that provided by the discrimination legislation.
Spent convictions
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 set up a system whereby people who have been sentenced for criminal offences are entitled to have those convictions disregarded, or treated as ‘spent’, after a certain period of time. The length of that period, known as the ‘rehabilitation period’, differs according to the type of sentence imposed and the age of the person when convicted of the offence. For example, the rehabilitation period for an offence for which the sentence was a fine is five years for a person who was 18 or over when convicted, and two and a half years for someone who was under 18 at the time of conviction. Convictions resulting in prison sentences of over 30 months never become spent.
The significance of this for employers is that, when applying for a job, an ex-offender need not disclose in most circumstances any conviction that is spent, even if directly questioned about his or her criminal record.
There may be legal consequences if an employer chooses to dismiss an existing employee because of his or her criminal record. If the conviction on which the employer’s decision is based is ‘spent’ and the employee has at least one year’s service, he or she will have a very strong argument that the employer had acted unreasonably in deciding to dismiss, and that the dismissal was therefore unfair.
Exemptions
Certain employment is exempt from the application of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, such as jobs concerned with the administration of justice or involving work with children, older people or other vulnerable groups.
Further legal and practical advice on the employment of ex-offenders is available from your Association or the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (useful information).