NCJ Number
222019
Journal
The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 47 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2008 Pages: 18-30
Date Published
February 2008
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study explored the concerns of employers when considering applicants who have a criminal record.
Abstract
The study found that the majority of employers wanted to have information about a job applicant’s past. Two-thirds of the employers who were surveyed had requested information on an applicant’s criminal record at the application stage, the majority of them (60 percent) for all posts, and a small proportion (7 percent) for some posts only. It appeared that some sectors of the employment market still existed where a proportion of the employers considered information on criminal records to be less crucial. In 2001, the Home Office commissioned a review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROC) 1974. The legislation sets out the rules regarding the disclosure of past criminal convictions. The government’s plan “Reducing Reoffending” (Home Office 2004) identified employment, training, and education as one of the main pathways forward, and as part of this, development of the demand side of the employment market was also put in the policy agenda. Knowledge on spent convictions, on the professions exempt from the rules, and on associated matters was sporadic among employers and only half stated that their recruitment staff was made aware of the provisions of the ROA 1974. The study found that the central policy approach has room for improvement in respect to effective ways of providing relevant information, guidance, and support to employers on subjects such as the disclosure of criminal convictions, risk assessment, and risk management, in order to make sure that employers are better able to make informed choices, and reduce the concerns and prejudices that stop the employment of people with a criminal conviction. Tables, notes, references