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For people with criminal records
For people with criminal records

Category: News & Media

Are you disqualified from acting as a charity trustee or senior manager?

The Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 means people with unspent convictions for specific offences, as well as those on the sex offenders register are automatically disqualified from acting as trustees or senior managers.

As a charity that exists to support the efforts of people with convictions in moving on positively with their lives, and as an organisation which itself seeks to recruit trustees and leaders who themselves have convictions, we are concerned about the impact of this. Ultimately, we think that the changes brought in by the 2016 Act are disproportionate and an ineffective way of protecting charities.

You are likely to be affected if you:

  • have unspent convictions for dishonesty-related offences, deception-related offences, money laundering or terrorism-related offences

or

  • are on the sex offenders register.

We’re gathering evidence from people who are impacted by the disqualification rules.

What we need from you

If you have are automatically disqualified from acting as a trustee or senior manager because of your criminal record and have been (or will be) affected by the rules in some way, contact us at policy@unlock.org.uk using the subject header ‘Call for evidence: CC disqualification’.

Please include:

  • Your name
  • Contact details (email and telephone) and how you’d like us to contact you
  • Details of your criminal record
  • Information on how the disqualification rules have affected you – did you have to give up a position you were already in? Have you applied for a position but been turned down by the charity?
  • Have you applied to the Charity Commission for a waiver – and were you successful?
  • What you think should change
  • Whetther you would be willing to take part in publicising this issue (this is for our reference, we won’t share your details with others)

Any information you provide will be kept in line with our confidentiality policy. Any personal information provided to us will not be shared externally without your consent.

Find out more about how we handle your data.

New briefing on the Charities Act 2016 – disqualification of senior managers and trustees with convictions

In 2017 we expect the new disqualification powers under the 2016 Charities Act to start.

These powers allow the Charity Commission to disqualify people (i.e. prevent them) from holding senior management positions, or from being a trustee of a charity, if they have certain criminal convictions – and a new waiver application process.

Unlock, Clinks and the Prison Reform Trust pushed for changes to the legislation, and we continue to work with Charity Commission and government on how these new powers might impact people with convictions, the charity sector, their current and future employees and trustees.

Both voluntary organisations and people with convictions need to understand the impact of this legislation; that’s why we will be producing guidance in early 2017. This new briefing, published jointly with Clinks, summarises what the disqualification is, some of the issues we have with it, and what we’re doing to support both people with convictions and the charity sector.

We’re keen to hear from people who will be personally affected by the changes when they come into force. Take a look at our questions to help understand if you’re affected, and how to get in touch with us.

You can find out more details about the work that we’re doing on this issue on our dedicated policy page.

Two national awards for our peer-run helpline

We’re delighted to announce that our helpline picked up two awards at the national ‘Helpline Awards 2016’ held in London last Friday (4th November).

We came 2nd in the ‘Helpline Impact’ award category, and Debbie Sadler, our advice manager, came 3rd in the ‘Employee of the Year’ category.

two-awards
Debbie Sadler (Advice Manager) and Christopher Stacey (Co-director) collecting the awards

Commenting on her award, Debbie said:

“There’s such a strong field of amazing helplines and employees, so I’m incredibly proud to be awarded 3rd place as helpline employee of the year. It’s great to be involved in Unlock – it’s such a fantastic organisation. To be recognised in this way for doing a job that I feel so passionate about is the icing on the cake.”

The award for impact recognises the significant increase in numbers of people contacting us directly and using our websites for information/advice. It also reinforces the efforts the team have gone to in the last couple of years to underpin the helpline by following up with people and tracking outcomes that follow from our support, so that we can demonstrate the impact the helpline has.

These awards show the unique role that our helpline plays in providing information, advice and support to people with convictions. The awards build on findings of an independent evaluation that we published earlier this year. We wouldn’t have won either of these awards without the small but fantastic team of staff and volunteers that we have.

Finally, we’re grateful to the charitable trusts and individual donations that help us to run the helpline as an independent, non-government source of support to people who are looking for confidential advice in overcoming the effects of their criminal convictions.

More information

Monthly update – October 2016

We’ve just published our update for October 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This months update includes:

  1. Some updated information on spent and unspent convictions and employment law
  2. Details of some legal remedies which may be available to anybody affected as a result of having their spent convictions published online
  3. A personal view of becoming a teacher with a criminal record
  4. Details of a trial we’ll be running during November to extend the opening hours of the helpline each Wednesday until 7pm.

 

The full update provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. other news and developments that might be of interest to individuals with a criminal record

 

Read the October 2016 update in full

 

Best wishes,

Unlock

 

Notes

  • All previous updates can be found in full in the ‘Latest updates‘ section of our Information Hub
  • For more self-help information, please visit unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/
  • If you have any questions about this information, please contact our helpline
  • If you’ve been forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive these updates directly by clicking here and selecting to receive ‘News/updates for people with convictions’
  • If you have found this information useful, please leave us your feedback and/or consider making a donation.

 

Justice Committee inquiry into youth criminal records – have your say!

We’re pleased that, after joint efforts by Unlock and the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ), the Justice Committee has launched a short inquiry into the system governing the disclosure of criminal records in relation to offences committed by people when under 18 years old. Given the Committee’s recent inquiry into young adults in the criminal justice system, the Committee also welcomes views on whether the regime governing disclosure of such criminal records should be extended to apply to records of offences committed by older people, for example up to the ages of 21 or 25.

The inquiry is an opportunity to build on the work we’ve been doing with the SCYJ as part of the ‘Growing up, moving on’ campaign, which was launched in April 2016.

It’s also a good opportunity to explain the disproportionate impact that criminal records have on people that obtain them in early adulthood, and to make the case for this to be reflected in the way disclosure laws operate.

In particular, the Committee welcomes written submissions on:

  • The appropriateness and effectiveness of the statutory framework applying to the disclosure to employers and others of criminal records relating to offences committed by people when under 18 years old
  • whether that framework and the way in which it is operated in practice strike an appropriate balance between protection of employers and the public, on the one hand, and the rehabilitation of people committing offences when young, on the other hand
  • the effects in respect of the disclosure of such records of changes made in 2013 to the filtering of offences from criminal records checks and in 2014 to rehabilitation periods.

The deadline is Friday 11th November 2016.

What can you do?

It’s important that as many individuals and organisations put forward their evidence, comments and experiences on the disclosure of youth criminal records. This is the best way to help the Committee to understand the extent of the issue.

In particular, we think it’s extremely important that the inquiry receives evidence from those people with personal experience of having a criminal record from when they were young. For those who find that it continues to hold them back, or created a significant barrier to them moving on, these personal stories can help MP’s on the Committee to understand the problem and identify what needs to change.

We’re in the process of putting together a response, so if you’re planning to submit evidence to the Committee, please let us know and send us copies of the evidence you submit. Email policy@unlock.org.uk.

 

Further information

Details about the Justice Committee inquiry are on the Parliament website.

Details about our policy work on rehabilitation periods.

Details about our policy work on filtering.

Some examples of people we’ve helped

Looking back over the last couple of months, we’ve written up a few examples of the people we’ve helped.

We hope they give a good idea of how we help people.

However, more importantly than our role, we think that these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers that have been put in their way due to their criminal record.

We’ve posted the examples below as case studies in the support section of our website:

 

Evan – If you’re finding it difficult to get paid employment, think about becoming self-employed

Jeremy – Make sure you’re clear about what type of conviction you’ve received and whether you legally need to disclose it before you do

Kevin – It’s always worth applying to Google to have search links removed even if source sites refuse to remove the story

 

Monthly update – September 2016

We’ve just published our update for September 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This months update includes:

  1. Some new information on applying for work through a recruitment agency
  2. Updated information on the long list of sentences/disposals and how long it takes for them to become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
  3. A personal view on starting a relationship with somebody with a conviction for a sexual offence
  4. A link to Recruit, our new website which supports employers to recruit people with convictions.

 

The full update provides a summary of:

  1. the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions
  2. recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord
  3. other news and developments that might be of interest to individuals with a criminal record

 

Read the September 2016 update in full

 

Best wishes,

Unlock

 

Notes

  • All previous updates can be found in full in the ‘Latest updates‘ section of our Information Hub
  • For more self-help information, please visit unlock.devchd.com/information-and-advice/
  • If you have any questions about this information, please contact our helpline
  • If you’ve been forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive these updates directly by clicking here and selecting to receive ‘News/updates for people with convictions’
  • If you have found this information useful, please leave us your feedback and/or consider making a donation.

 

Criminal records charity launches website to help employers recruit people with convictions

Unlock, the country’s leading charity for people with convictions, today launches a unique website to encourage and support companies to recruit people with criminal records.

Over 10.5 million people in the UK have a criminal record and many face stigma and discrimination when applying for work, despite having put the past behind them. Unlock’s work with employers over many years has highlighted the significant business benefits of employing people with convictions. Yet recruiters often struggle to understand complex criminal record disclosure legislation and don’t know what they can and can’t do, with policies and processes that often discourage applicants. Although nine out of ten employers have said that they’re open to the idea of recruiting people with convictions, in practice less than 20% say they have knowingly done so.

The new website aims to deal with this by:

  1. Supporting employers in recruiting people with convictions
  2. Helping companies to deal with criminal records fairly
  3. Sharing good practice (such as Ban the Box)
  4. Providing free guidance and tools
  5. Showing what other employers are doing

Read the full press release.

Blog – Why we’ve launched a website for employers

There’s a talent pool of over 10.5 million people that many companies are overlooking. People with criminal records make good employees. This new website that we’re launching today helps employers to make sure they’re not missing out on the diverse skills and experience of people with criminal records.

With over 750,000 unfilled job vacancies in the UK, it makes business sense to recruit people with convictions. There are many examples of companies that take a positive approach, such as Timpson, Greggs and Virgin Trains. Campaigns like Ban the Box, which calls on employers to remove the tick-box question about criminal records, are having a real impact too. The announcement by David Cameron in February of the civil service banning the box in their recruitment process shows the tide is beginning to turn. There is still stigma surrounding “ex-offenders” that prevents many companies from getting involved, yet two-thirds of employers say that recruiting people with convictions has had a positive impact on their corporate reputation. One aim of this new website is to share good practice and show what positive steps employers are taking to help inspire other companies.

Although nine out of ten employers have said that they’re open to the idea of recruiting people with convictions, in practice less than 20% say they have knowingly done so.  We also know that there is lots of bad practice, and there are legal implications for employers if they get it wrong. For example, taking into account spent convictions can be illegal, and carrying out the wrong level of criminal record check is a criminal offence. That’s why we’ve published a number of examples where we’ve worked with companies to improve their recruitment process, so that other employers can learn from their mistakes.

It’s easy to overlook how complex recruitment processes can be. Criminal record disclosure processes are confusing for applicants and companies alike. Most employers are not experts in rehabilitation legislation, which has had significant changes in recent years – there are many myths out there. We regularly get enquiries from companies that are trying to get their heads around what they can and can’t do. That’s why we’ve produced a range of free, accurate and reliable guidance and tools to help companies develop, adopt and follow inclusive, fair and lawful policies and practices in the recruitment and retention of people with criminal records. We’re basing this work on ten principles of fair chance recruitment that encourage employers to recruit people with convictions and deal with criminal records fairly.

We’re excited about the months ahead. We’re planning to share more examples of good and bad practice, feature more employers, and produce more guidance based on the questions and issues that come to us.

There’s a lot of stigma and discrimination by employers towards people coming out of prison and those with a criminal record, and we know this gets in the way of the so-called ‘rehabilitation revolution’ that the government wants to see. It’s important that people are given education, training and skills, but if there are no employment opportunities at the end of it, it undermines the whole model. This new website comes at this issue from an employers’ perspective, starting from the basis that it’s important to recognise the huge talent pool that they might be overlooking and supporting them to make sure they’re not missing out.

 

This article covers today’s launch of this site and links back to the press release, also published today. Find out more about the launch.

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