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Posted on: 16/05/2012 11:05.
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Criminal Convictions

Many people with criminal records feel that employers will discriminate against them because of their convictions. They are also unsure about how to market themselves effectively, what they need to tell prospective employers, and how to tell them.

The law regarding offences is complicated. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) generally allows people to start with a clean slate after they have paid their debt to society, but this is subject to a number of important exceptions. This section outlines when and in what circumstances convictions become ‘spent’, in which case they do not necessarily have to be disclosed to a potential employer, and which convictions never become spent in which case they must always be disclosed to potential employers.

It is important to remember that, whatever convictions you may have, to give yourself the best chance of success in job-hunting, you will need to get individual advice on how to market yourself effectively. You will need to know what you need to disclose and what you want to disclose, and how to make sure that this information is presented in the most positive way. Even if your conviction is spent, you might still have time 'gaps' in your CV and you should get advice on how to present this information both on paper and at interview. An appointment with a Career Development Adviser could give you the individual help you need.

Understanding the law:

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 enables criminal convictions to become ‘spent’ or ignored after a period of rehabilitation. The principles apply to to convictions in a criminal court, findings in a juvenile court, certain offences in service disciplinary proceedings and hospital orders under the Mental Health Act (1983).

Rehabilitation periods

The tables following provide an overview of rehabilitation periods but, as the law is complicated, it is always best to seek advice. The length of the rehabilitation period depends on the sentence given, not the offence committed. For a custodial sentence, the rehabilitation period is decided by the original sentence, not the actual time served. A sentence counts in the same way whether you are actually sent to prison or the sentence is suspended. Custodial sentences of more than two and a half years can never become spent.

The following sentences become spent after fixed periods from the date of conviction. The numbers in brackets refer to the numbered footnotes below the table.

Sentence	Rehabilitation period People aged 17 or under when convicted	Rehabilitation period People aged 18 or over when convicted
Prison sentences(2) of 6 months or less	3.5 years	7 years
Prison sentences(2) of more than 6 months but less than two and a half years	5 years	10 years
Borstal (abolished in 1983)	7 years	7 years
Detention centres (abolished in 1988)	3 years	3 years
Fines(3), compensation, probation(4), community service(5), combination(6), action plan, drug treatment and testing, and reparation advice	2.5 years	5 years
Absolute discharge	6 months	6 months

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 introduced a new custodial sentence for young people with different rehabilitation periods:

Sentence	Rehabilitation period People aged 12, 13 or 14 when convicted	Rehabilitation period People aged 15, 16 or 17 when convicted
Detention and training order of 6 months or less	1 year after the order expires	3.5 years
Detention and training order of more than 6 months	1 year after the order expires	5 years

With some sentences, the rehabilitation period varies:

Sentence	Rehabilitation period
Probation(7), supervision, care order(8), conditional discharge and bind-over	1 year or until the order expires (whichever is longer)
Secure training (abolished in 2000) and attendance centre orders	1 year after the order expires
Hospital order (with or without a restriction order)	5 years or 2 years after the order expires (whichever is longer)
Referral order	Once the order expires

Footnotes:

1. Cautions, reprimands and final warnings are not sentences with rehabilitation periods. However, the government is intending to include them within the act and give them a rehabilitation period of nil, which means that they will become spent instantly. In the meantime, those people with only a caution on their criminal record can answer 'no' if asked whether they have a criminal record because this is usually understood to mean convictions.
2. Including suspended sentences, youth custody (abolished in 1988) and detention in a young offender institution (abolished for those under 18 years old in 2000 and for those aged 18-20 in 2001).
3. Even if subsequently imprisoned for fine default.
4. For people convicted on or after 3 February 1995. Probation orders are now called community rehabilitation orders.
5. Community service orders are now called community punishment orders.
6. Combination orders are now called community punishment and rehabilitation orders.
7. For people convicted before 3 February 1995.
8. Care orders in criminal proceedings were abolished by The Children Act 1989 and effectively replaced by a supervision order with residence requirement.

Exceptions to the act

Just as all offences carrying a sentence of over two and a half years in prison are never spent, some occupations require all convictions to be declared, even if they are spent under the terms of the Act. This should be made clear on application forms for such posts. People with convictions can still apply for jobs within these areas of work, although some areas will not be available to those with certain convictions. The list of exceptions broadly covers:

• Certain professions, eg doctors, dentists, nurses, solicitors, pharmacists and teachers;
• Work in the health service where there is access to patients;
• Work in social services where there is access to people with disabilities, the young, the elderly, the sick or other vulnerable adults;
• Work where there is access to people under the age of 18;
• Work involving the administration of justice, eg court officials, the police, probation officers, prison staff;
• Any occupations requiring a licence, certificate or registration from the gaming board;
• Any occupation concerned with the management of a private hospital or nursing home;
• Certain occupations where national security may be at risk.

Other principles affecting the Rehabilitation Periods

If you are convicted during the rehabilitation period of an offence which can only be tried in a Magistrates Court, the new sentence will carry its own rehabilitation period and will not affect the earlier one. If the new offence is more serious and you receive a sentence which is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, the earlier conviction will become spent only when the later one becomes spent. If you are given a sentence which can never become spent, this also prevents an earlier unspent conviction from becoming spent.

Disclosure:

When disclosing a conviction the aim is to present yourself in the most positive way. You should provide an explanation of the particular circumstances that influenced the offence (eg, financial problems, domestic circumstances) and explain that they no longer apply. Outline factors that minimise the impact of the offence (eg, it was a long time ago). You should also:

• Convince the employer that it is not a risk to employ you;
• Focus on your positive attitude and how you have learnt from past experiences;
• Present your achievements since the conviction.

It is important that you do not make excuses or allow the offence to dominate the application form. There is also the issue of timing to consider – at what stage of the application process should you disclose your conviction? This is a personal decision and will depend on the type of conviction, application procedure and the job you are applying for.

Employers Access to Disclosure of Criminal Records

The Police Act (1997) gives organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors access to criminal record information of individuals through the Criminal Records Bureau, an executive agency of the Home Office. There are two levels of CRB checks currently available, Standard and Enhanced Disclosures.

If you are going to work as a paid employee or as a volunteer for an organisation (not for a self-employed individual) then an employer can ask for either:

Standard Disclosure - available for posts which involve regular contact with children, young people, the elderly, sick or handicapped, involvment in the administration of the law and other sensitive areas. Standard Disclosure will include details of convictions, including 'spent' convictions, and nationally held cautions.

Enhanced Disclosure - available for those applying for positions involving regular care for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of young people, for certain statutory licensing purposes and judicial appointments. Enhanced Disclosure will contain similar information to the Standard Disclosure and will include local police records, such as relevant non-conviction information.

The Criminal Records Bureau website has more information on both the rights of employers and of individuals regarding disclosure.

How can Career Development Services help?

Our services are open to any student or graduate of the University of Bradford, and you may be eligible to use us even if you're a graduate of another university - see our advice page for more information. We can arrange for you to speak confidentially to a Career Development Adviser about your own individual circumstances and the best way to positively market yourself to employers, as well as anything else careers-related that you need guidance with.

You can also use our Information Room, to access information on specific occupations and employers, travelling and working abroad, labour market information, volunteering, placements, jobseeking skills - anything 'careers-related' really! We also have a state of the art computer cluster (if you are a graduate you will need to bring photo ID in order for us to make you a password). There will always be a member of staff on hand to help you find the information you want.

In term-time we're open 9-5 Monday to Thursday and 9-4 on Fridays, and we're open 9-4 Monday to Friday during vacations. Our contact details are:

• Telephone: 01274 234991
• Email: careers@bradford.ac.uk
• Textphone: 01274 235560

Top tips:

• Make sure you understand the law and how it affects your criminal record and the types of work you are interested in. Remember - you do not have to disclose a conviction if it is spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and the job is not in an exempt area of work.
• Explain all the mitigating circumstances and what you have learnt and achieved since the offence.
• Don't make excuses or allow the offence to dominate your applications.
• Get individual help and support from the Careers Service.

Sources of further information:

Contacts:

• Apex Charitable Trust
• Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
• NACRO
• The Home Office
• A Guide to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (NACRO, 2003)

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