Darpak contacted our helpline very concerned about the impact of a motoring offence on his future employment and also his ability to become a trustee of a local charity group attended by his daughter.
Darpak explained that although he currently held a senior management position which had not been affected by his conviction, he was in the process of moving jobs and it was likely that any new role would involve some overseas travel.
Also, he had been invited to become a trustee of a local club attended by his daughter and was worried that his conviction would prevent him from doing so. Darpak explained that he would rather withdraw his application to the club rather than go through the embarrassment of being rejected.
We explained to Darpak that as his conviction would not be spent until 2019, he would need to disclose it to any future employer if he was asked. However, as this was his one and only conviction for a relatively minor offence and he had a lot of knowledge and experience, we would hope that his criminal record would not cause him too many problems. We advised that a far as travel is concerned, his ability to travel would depend on the country that he was travelling to and the length of time that he would be visiting for.
As far as becoming a trustee, we confirmed to Darpak that as his conviction did not relate to an offence relating to dishonesty or deception then he would not be disqualified from being a trustee. We gave Darpak some further advice around the disclosure of his conviction to the charity’s board of trustees.
Darpak contacted us some weeks later to confirm that although he’d not changed his job he’d been successful with his application as a trustee.
Darpak said:
“Although I knew that my conviction was for a relatively minor offence, I was so ashamed about it which then caused me a lot of stress and anxiety. The guy I spoke to at Unlock made me realise that I wasn’t the only one with a criminal record and that a motoring conviction wasn’t the end of the world. The information I’d read online about becoming a trustee made me think that I wouldn’t be able to do it and it was great to get some clear, concise advice”
Lessons
This case demonstrates that irrespective of the nature or seriousness of your offence any type of conviction can cause stress and anxiety. There is a lot of conflicting information online about who may be disqualified from being a trustee and it was good to be able to confirm to Darpak that he would be able to become involved in his daughter’s club.
Links
Notes about this case study
This case study relates to Unlock’s helpline.
Names and details have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.
