LRD guides and handbook November 2014

Unfair dismissal - a legal guide for union reps

Chapter 5

Spent convictions

[ch 5: page 62]

It is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee because of a spent conviction. Two years’ service is needed to bring a claim.

The rules on when convictions are “spent” changed in 2014, substantially shortening the “live” period for many offences (section 139 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 2012).