Criminal Convictions & Rehabilitation of Offenders

Criminal Convictions & Rehabilitation of Offenders

All posts involving direct contact with children are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exemptions) Order 1974. However, amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’. These are not subject to disclosure to employers, and cannot be taken into account. Guidance and criteria on the filtering of these cautions and convictions is given below.

It is a legal requirement that all registered bodies and prospective employers must treat DBS applicants who have a criminal record fairly and not discriminate because of a conviction or other information revealed. Registered Bodies and employers who are Regulated Activity Providers (including schools) are obliged to have a written policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders, which is available to DBS applicants at the outset of the recruitment process. 

1. As an organisation using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checking service to assess applicants’ suitability for positions of trust, The Trust complies fully with the Code of Practice and undertakes to treat all applicants for positions fairly. We undertake not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a DBS check on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed. 

2. The Trust is committed to the fair treatment of its staff, potential staff or users of its services, regardless of gender, pregnancy and maternity, ethnicity, culture, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief, marital and civil partnership status, education, learning styles, caring responsibilities or offending background. 

3. A summary of this policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders is available to all DBS applicants on request. 

4. We actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential and welcome applications from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal records. We select all candidates for interview based on their skills, knowledge and experience. 

5. As a Regulated Activity Provider (RAP) most paid employees of the Trust are in regulated activity with children and therefore subject to checks of the DBS children’s barred list in addition to enhanced DBS certificate. 

6. In relation to volunteers and contractors, we only request a DBS check after a risk assessment had indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned. 

7. For those positions where a DBS check is required, all application forms, job adverts and recruitment briefs will contain a statement that a DBS check will be requested in the event of the individual being offered the position. 

8. We expect shortlisted applicants to provide details of any criminal record history that is not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975 (as amended in 2013) prior to interview. This is done using the disclosure via the Rehabilitation of Offenders Form. Applicants should disclose details of any unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, bind-overs and final warnings you may have in addition to any criminal proceedings pending against you. You should not disclose any criminal history that would be protected or filtered. If the completed disclosure is not returned prior to interview, the Trust reserves the right to withdraw the offer of interview. 

9. We guarantee that this information will only be seen by those who need to see it as part of the recruitment process. Disclosed information will only be considered for shortlisted applicants. Disclosures for applicants that are not shortlisted will be confidentially destroyed and will not be considered during the recruitment process. 

10. We ensure that everyone within the Academy who is involved in the recruitment process has been suitably briefed to identify and assess the relevance and circumstances of offences. We also ensure that they have received appropriate guidance on the relevant legislation relating to the employment of ex-offenders, e.g. the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and its amendments and know how to access advice and support. 

11. At interview, or on a separate occasion, we ensure that an open and measured discussion takes place on the subject of any relevant offences or other matter that may be relevant to the position. Failure to reveal information that is directly relevant to the position sought could lead to withdrawal of an offer of employment. 

12. We undertake to discuss any matter revealed in a DBS check with the person seeking the position before considering withdrawing a conditional offer of employment. This discussion and any subsequent risk assessment may be undertaken by our HR team or another trained member of our Senior Leadership Team. What will be filtered by the DBS? Since May 2013, standard and enhanced checks no longer disclose ALL cautions and convictions. Following a Court of Appeal ruling, the Government introduced a process of ‘filtering’.

How it Works

‘Filtering’ is similar in its concept to the rehabilitation periods under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. However, instead of establishing what is ‘spent’ and so what doesn’t get disclosed on a basic check, ‘filtering’ establishes what doesn’t get disclosed on a standard or enhanced DBS check. Information that is filtered will be removed from a DBS check automatically the next time you apply for one. But it doesn’t get ‘removed’ or ‘wiped’ from police records. In practice, it means that if you’re applying for a job or role that involves a DBS check, you are legally entitled to withhold the details of anything that would now be filtered.

What it applies to 

• Cautions – Multiple cautions can be filtered, so long as the offences are eligible, and the relevant time period has passed for each. Each caution is dealt with separately in terms of when it’s filtered. 
• Convictions – Only single convictions that didn’t lead to a suspended or custodial sentence can be filtered, so long as the offence is eligible, and the relevant time period has passed.

Types of offences 

Filtering Periods