When and how to disclose to employers

• Aim of this information
• Why is this important?
• Before you start disclosing
• When to disclose
• Preparing to disclose
• Explaining your conviction
• How to disclose
• Disclosing in person – Top 10 tips
• More information
• Get involved

It’s important that you understand your criminal record. Although convictions and cautions stay on the Police National Computer until you reach 100 years old (they are not deleted before then), they don’t always have to be disclosed. Many people don’t know the details of their record and it’s important to get this right before disclosing to employers. Usually, this means applying for a copy of your police record (it costs £10 and is known as a Subject Access Request).

For most jobs you don’t need to disclose your criminal record once it’s ‘spent’. This is because of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Most convictions will become spent at some point. We have a tool that can help work this out, our disclosurecalculator or visit Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Some jobs involve standard or enhanced DBS checks. For these, you’ll normally need to disclose spent convictions and cautions as well, unless they are now filtered by the DBS. Visit filtering of spent cautions/convictions .

You only have to disclose your record to an employer if they ask you. Many employers ask at some point and if your convictions are unspent, you legally need to disclose them. If they ask you and you don’t disclose, they could later revoke the job offer or you could be dismissed. You could even face a further conviction. Visit disclosing to employers.

There are 3 main levels of criminal record check and which one is done by the employer depends on the job role. Make sure you know what level of check an employer is doing and only disclose what you legally need to. Spent convictions are not disclosed on basic checks. Filtered cautions/convictions are not disclosed on standard or enhanced checks. Visit type of criminal record checks .

If an employer indicates that they’ll be carrying out a formal criminal record check, they should ask you to disclose before they do the check, but not all do. In this situation, we’d always advise that you disclose before the formal disclosure is carried out.

Many employers have a ‘tick-box’ on their application form. We encourage employers to ‘ban the box’ but many still ask in this way. Some people prefer to ‘tick no’ and disclose at a later stage when they believe they’ll get a chance to explain. This has the downside of effectively ‘lying’ to the employer on the application form. It’s also unlikely to be a sensible step for people on licence, on probation or who are barred.

It should be no more than one side of A4.

It needs to be tailored to the specific vacancy. Your criminal record may be more relevant to some jobs than it is to others. Don’t copy ‘templates’. The best and most effective disclosures are those that are written by you personally and are genuine. Visit self-disclosure statement/letters for some examples of self-disclosure statements.

Write it so that people with no experience of criminal records can understand it.

This will depend on what you think works best for you, but generally:

a) Start with something positive, like why you’re applying for the job and what skills and experience you bring to the role
b) Next, explain your convictions (see below)
c) Finally, finish with a strong and positive closing statement. You should offer the names and contact details of people who can vouch for you and your suitability.

If you struggle, get help. Probation staff, employment advisor’s and family members can help. Get somebody you trust to check it over, but make sure you write it in your own words.

If the offence happened a long time ago (even if the convictions were quite recent) then highlight this.

If the offence was a one-off and out of character, this is important to point out. If you committed a number of offences over a period of time, try to group them. For example; “between 2004 and 2007, I was convicted four times for theft-related offences”.

If the offences are not particularly relevant to the role in question, explain this. Offence categories can include a wide range of behaviour which can make it difficult for employers to judge whether the offence is relevant to the job. For example, “theft” could be stealing a 50p chocolate bar, or £20,000 from a bank. Tackle any issues with your record which you think might be relevant to the role. For example, if your offence was violence-related and you’re applying to work with children, refer to any recent experience you have.

Some offences sound more serious than the circumstances were. This is usually shown in the sentence that was received, so if this is the case, highlight that.

If there were specific circumstances which led to your offending, explain these. For example, you may have been homeless at the time that you stole from a supermarket. This kind of information can help the employer to better understand.

When explaining the circumstances, be careful not to let these reasons come across as excuses. Employers generally look for people who are taking responsibility. If you took responsibility for the offence – for example, by admitting it to the police when they arrested you – then you should make this clear to the employer.

Whatever the reasons that led to your offences, you should explain how you’ve addressed these, to reassure the employer that you won’t be repeating them again in the future.

The employer may have concerns, or think they are taking a risk. You need to explain yourself and reassure the employer.

This will help you to reduce the chances of being caught off-guard by a question about your criminal record, or gaps in your employment history for when you were in prison. Make sure you know the details of your criminal record inside out. Hesitation or vagueness may make you look dishonest. Take your self-disclosure statement with you so that you have the facts written down. You might want to have a simple summary of factual information that you can offer to leave with the employer. Think like an employer – prepare for questions that they might ask.

Do some role-plays or a trial-run beforehand with someone you trust.

If you were asked at application, we suggest you proactively mention at interview what you put in your application. This shows initiative and helps to avoid problems later down the line. For example, you might say: “As you saw on my application form, I have a criminal record. If you have any questions for me, I would be happy to discuss them, as I’m keen to address any questions or concerns that you may have”. Even if it doesn’t come up at interview and you weren’t asked at application, you might choose to bring it up if you think it’s your best chance to explain.

Make sure you keep your explanation simple and focused – don’t babble. Watch the interviewers’ body language to judge the right level of detail. There’s always a risk that you let your criminal record dominate the interview.

It’s difficult to be relaxed in any interview. Try not to come across as being defensive.

Almost one in four people of working age have a criminal record. Employers are likely to have experienced criminal record disclosures before.

Answer questions directly and honestly. Make sure you disclose all that you need to.

Try not to focus entirely on the negative results of your record. Talk about what you’ve learnt and how you have become a better person as a result. Show that you have the right skills and experience for the role.

If you’re able to, back up things that you say with details from others. For example, you can often get confirmation that you’ve completed your community service, a letter from your probation officer and sometimes get copies of pre-sentence reports and sentencing remarks. We normally advise against providing a copy of your formal criminal record – if the employer needs one, they will usually apply for it (with your consent) after they’ve offered you the job.

Provide the employer with a written record of what you’ve disclosed. This can be your self-disclosure statement or it might just be brief factual records. It might not necessarily be the people interviewing you that will make the ultimate decision, so having something in writing to hand over might come in useful.