Criminal convictions

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA74), individuals whose convictions are regarded as “spent” after a period of rehabilitation need not declare those convictions when applying for a job even if asked, unless they work in certain specified areas of work such as nursing or teaching.

It is automatically unfair to dismiss, prejudice or exclude someone because of a spent conviction, or for failing to disclose that conviction. However, two years’ service is needed for a claim for unfair dismissal relating to a spent conviction (see Chapter 10).

In March 2014, important changes to rehabilitation periods were made (section 139, Legal Aid, Sentencing and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 2012 (LASRPA)). Rehabilitation periods for community orders and custodial sentences are now made up of the sentence itself plus an additional specified period (called a “buffer” period). In most cases, buffer periods are halved for someone who is under 18 when convicted.

These changes significantly cut the length of time during which convictions must be declared when an employer asks for information about spent convictions. For example, a 12-month prison sentence is now “spent” four years after the end of the sentence instead of 10 years after conviction, as was the case under the old system.

A custodial sentence of over four years can never be spent, so people with convictions for more serious offences do not benefit from these changes. The Home Office has issued updated guidance, available from its website.

Someone will have a conviction if they have either pleaded guilty to a criminal offence or been found guilty of the offence. The following are not criminal convictions and so do not have to be revealed on any application form asking for details of unspent convictions, no matter how recent they are:

• a caution;

• a final warning;

• a police reprimand;

• a fixed penalty notice, such as a speed camera fine;

• driving licence points.

If a conviction is not spent but the employer has not asked for details of convictions, there is no legal duty to volunteer information about it.