MERTHYR TYDFIL COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL
EMPLOYMENT OF EX-OFFENDERS POLICY
Policy Statement

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council recognises that in order to comply with good employment practices it should not discount the potential employment of ex-offenders for any of the positions advertised by the Authority.

The Authority is aware that a significant proportion of the working population will have been convicted of a criminal offence at some point in their lives. Equally the Authority recognises that the need to obtain a job, can be an essential part of successful rehabilitation. In some cases, failure to obtain paid employment is a major reason for re-offending.

The Authority, where justified, will seek to obtain a disclosure of criminal records for certain positions of employment.

Legislation

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 makes it unlawful for existing / potential employers, to take into account offences to which the individual concerned is deemed to be rehabilitated. This means an individual who has had a conviction for an offence, may with certain exceptions, be allowed to treat the conviction as if it never occurred. Under the terms of this Act information on “spent” convictions can only be requested if the post is exempt under the Act and employers can ask for full disclosure of all convictions.

The Police Act 1997 makes provision for three different levels of criminal record checks.

The Data Protection Act 1998

The Protection of Children Act 1999 and the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 make it an offence to offer employment that involves regular contact with young people to a person who has been convicted of certain types of offences or included on lists of people considered unsuitable for such work held by the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Health.

Disclosure Practice

The Authority will seek disclosure of criminal records from the Criminal Records Bureau for potential employees who will be working with young people or other vulnerable people. The Authority may also reserve the right to seek disclosure where employees will have substantial access to public funds.

There are three levels of disclosure:

Basic Disclosure, can be obtained for any post and will show all convictions which are not spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, but will not show spent convictions or cautions.

Standard Disclosure, can be obtained for a potential employee whose duties include:

-Regular contact with children

-Working with the elderly, sick or disabled

-Working in sensitive areas or professional positions

A standard disclosure will reveal any spent or unspent convictions, as well as cautions, warnings and reprimands held at a national level, plus, those applying for child care positions, whether the person is included on the list of those considered unfit to work with children held by the Department of Education and Employment.

Enhanced Disclosure can be obtained for potential employees whose duties involve regular caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of persons under 18, or in a position which involves working with vulnerable adults. The Police Act 1997 defines vulnerable people as:

  • Those who receive accommodation and nursing or personal care in a care home.
  • Those who receive personal care in their own home.
  • Those receiving health care via the NHS or an independent health agency.
  • Those receiving services in an establishment catering for those with learning difficulties.
  • Anyone who has substantial learning, mental or physical disabilities.

Enhanced disclosure involves an extra level of checking with the local police force records as well as national records.

Enhanced disclosures are confined to those exercising care, training or supervision functions. For employees who have contact with children or other vulnerable individuals, but do not perform these functions, standard disclosure will be sought.

Basic disclosures will be issued only to individuals who may choose whether to show it to potential employers.

A standard or enhanced disclosure will need to be counter signed by the appropriate counter signatories within the Authority, dependant upon the nature and purpose of the disclosure. The individual will need to agree to the disclosure being obtained and will receive a copy of the written disclosure.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council’s lead signatory is the Corporate Chief Officer – Social Services. The names of all the counter signatories can be obtained by contacting the Corporate Chief Officer – Social Services.

When a position becomes vacant the Head of Service should evaluate the need for disclosure and at what level. If a disclosure is required then this needs to be transparent:

  • The successful applicant will be asked to apply for disclosure
  • The level of disclosure required

Once the Head of Service has selected their preferred applicant then a disclosure must be sought whilst a conditional offer of employment is made subject to satisfactory receipt of disclosure information. A Job offer may only be made or confirmed once satisfactory references have been received and disclosure information obtained (where appropriate) in addition to satisfactory medical clearance.

As permission from the candidate is required for the disclosure, in addition to the physical completion of the disclosure form, it is hoped that the request for this information should encourage honesty.

As with all other relevant employment related legislation staff responsible for recruitment and selection should have an understanding of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and what is meant by a ‘spent’ conviction. Under the terms of the Act, information on ‘spent’ convictions can only be requested if the post is exempt under the Act.

Assessing the Offence

The suitability of a person with a criminal record to do the job will vary depending upon the circumstances and the details of their conviction. The information that is likely to help assess the suitability of a person with a criminal record for a position is:

  • the circumstances that led up to the offence
  • the context in which the offence took place
  • the outcome of the court appearance
  • the actions of the individual to declare or conceal the offence
  • the action taken by the individual to demonstrate a change in the circumstances which would make re-offending less likely

Assessing the relevance of convictions cannot be taken in isolation – it should be done in relation to particular tasks within the post. It is important to balance the ‘risk’ of the job against the ‘risk’ of re-offending i.e. would the duties and responsibilities relating to the job create an opportunity for the individual to re-offend.

Subsequent use of information

As indicated a Disclosure will be required for any successful candidate where relevant.

Any matters arising from a Disclosure that will affect a recruitment decision will be discussed with the individual

All reasonable steps should be taken to verify the identity of candidates for whom Disclosures are sought. Records of checks and relevant documents should be kept.

Information gained through a Disclosure will be held confidentially in line with the Data Protection Act and the storage and disposal of this information will be in line with guidance issued by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Summary

The request and handling of criminal records will be based on confidentiality and discretion. Applicants will be encouraged to be honest by stating that candidates will be considered on merit.

H R Department

July 2002