Dan thought he had a good understanding of criminal records. He also felt that more and more employers had started to ask about criminal records which had made it harder for him to secure a job.
Although his conviction was very old, Dan was also registered disabled. His disability didn’t prevent him from working, but he felt that combined with his criminal record, it made him a lot less attractive to employers.
Searching the internet one evening looking for organisations that support people with convictions to get back into work, Dan came across Unlock’s InformationHub. Reading through some of the pages, he was surprised to learn that although his conviction remained on the Police National Computer (PNC), he didn’t need to disclose it for the majority of jobs as it was spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
Dan was delighted to read this and although he wasn’t sure what difference it would make to him, he felt confident that it would help him to determine whether it was his criminal record or his disability that was stopping him from getting a job.
Dan said:
“The informationhub site is invaluable to people like me who are disabled. Although I’m able to get around, many people rely on online information. Considering the site is self-financed it is very well run, and the information easy to understand. I like the fact that there are downloadable versions of a lot of the pages”.
Lessons
Work done by organisations like Unlock means that legislation does change (for example changes to the ROA in 2014) and the rules around disclosure are different now to what they were when Dan was originally convicted. As a consequence, Dan had been disclosing his convictions for a lot longer than was necessary.
Whilst people with disabilities are protected under the Equalities Act, people with a criminal record are not. Understanding the reason why he’s been refused a job may assist Dan in taking legal action if it’s found that the reason for the refusal is due to his disability.
Links
Notes about this case study
This case study relates to our information site.
Names and details have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.
