Criminal convictions

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 says individuals whose convictions are regarded as “spent” after a period of rehabilitation do not have to declare those convictions when applying for a job, unless they work in certain specified areas of work such as nursing or teaching. Section 4(3)(b) of the Act makes it unfair to dismiss someone because of a spent conviction, or to prejudice their employment in any way.

In March 2014, important changes to rehabilitation periods were made under section 139 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 2012. The changes significantly reduce the length of rehabilitation periods for many offences. Under the new system, instead of all rehabilitation periods starting from the date of conviction, rehabilitation periods for community orders and custodial sentences are made up of the sentence itself plus an additional specified period (called a “buffer” period). In most cases, the buffer periods are halved where the person is under 18 when convicted. The practical effect of the changes is substantially to reduce the length of time during which convictions must be declared. For example, a 12-month prison sentence will now be “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. The Home Office has issued updated guidance, available from its website.

In Wood v Coverage Care [1996] IRLR 264, an employee with past convictions was made redundant. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that her employer was entitled to refuse to consider her for alternative employment in a residential home for the elderly, an area of employment where convictions were never spent. The fact that her duties were only administrative was not relevant.

In most cases it is unfair to dismiss someone because of a spent conviction, but two years’ service is needed to bring a claim (see Chapter 10).

If a conviction is not spent but the employer has not asked for details of convictions, there is no obligation to disclose it.