Criminal convictions 


Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA74), certain convictions can become “spent” after a set period of rehabilitation (a fixed number of years depending on the type of offence). Individuals whose convictions are “spent” need not declare them when applying for a job, even if asked about them, unless they work in certain specified areas of work listed in a piece of legislation known as the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. The areas of work covered by the Order include nursing, teaching and working with young, old and vulnerable people. 


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). 


The statutory rehabilitation periods were changed in March 2014 (section 139, Legal Aid, Sentencing and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 2012). Rehabilitation periods for community orders and custodial sentences are now made up of the sentence plus an extra specified period (called a “buffer period”). In most cases, buffer periods are halved for someone who was under 18 when convicted. 


In practice, these changes have significantly cut the length of time during which convictions must be declared in response to a question about spent convictions. For example, a 12-month prison sentence is now “spent” four years after the end of the sentence, instead of ten 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 or been found guilty of a criminal offence. The following are not criminal convictions so need not be disclosed on an application form that asks 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; or


• 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 when applying for a job. If the employer does ask about unspent convictions, they must be disclosed. For the position when applying for a job that requires a DBS check, see below.