Today we delivered a webinar in partnership with Business in the Community, titled ‘Ban the Ban – the legal stuff’ where we briefly covered the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Read more about the webinar and download a copy of the slides.
Tag: news&media
Changes to motor insurance disclosure
Today we took part in a Radio 4 Money Box discussion about changes to motor insurance disclosure, as well as what people need to disclose under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
You can listen to the interview below.
Unlock reception at the House of Lords
“I’ve got to run soon,” says Lord Ramsbotham, life peer in the House of Lords and president of Unlock. Speaking at Unlock’s reception, he adds: “But before I do I have to say, this is one of the nicest rooms in the House of Lords. It was a drawing room for the Lords Chancellor and now it’s the Lord Speakers room. He stipulated that the only people who could use it would be do-ers organisations. Organisations like Unlock. This charity represents to me something very remarkable because the people have been there and are coming and doing it for other people.”
We’re gathered in this plush room in the House of Lords tonight to learn about the new direction of Unlock. Now known as Unlock – for people with convictions, the new name has a double meaning. It’s not just criminal records that the new title eludes to. It’s also people’s convictions to reach their full potential.
Political freedom fighter and playwright, Charlie Ryder says: “I welcome Unlock’s name change to ‘people with convictions’. Ex-offender is so offensive. I feel it’s a permanent label based on the worst thing you’ve ever done. It focuses on the past rather than the future. None of us would like to be judged at the lowest point in our lives.”
Unlock trustee Carlotta Allum can relate: “I am someone with a conviction from 16 years ago and the ignorance and prejudice I have faced shocked me. Immediately after my crime I kept my head down. I trained to be an art teacher. But lots of people started judging me on my conviction even though I was doing well at my placement in school.”
But charities like Unlock can help with this. They’re currently responding to social and political climate. It isn’t enough to make a difference, they say, and so they prove it day in, day out.
“We hold true to the ethos that our charity should be led by people with convictions. This makes all the difference.” says Julie Harmsworth Director of Operations at the charity.
Unlock are looking forward. They have their new terminology. They’re launching a new website at the end of the year. And they’ve launched their new information hub – the most comprehensive source of self-help information, reaching a quarter of a million people every year, and growing.
One such person Unlock has reached out to is Steve Smith, a former Unlock volunteer. Steve discovered Unlock at the end of a custodial sentence. He soon became the charity’s first volunteer.
Steve says: “When I arrived at Unlock, I wanted to get back into the construction industry. But my mind was open to take on what I could and resettle back into the community. After volunteering with Unlock an opportunity came up for an Office Manage post at Changing Paths, helping people with convictions back into employment. I went to the interview and they gave me the job. I soon started in the role. Today I am the Project Manager at Changing Paths.”
Pictured above: Judge John Samuels QC (Unlock Vice President), Stephen Smith (Project Manager at Changing Paths) and Linda PIzani-Williams (Chair of Trustees at Unlock)
Thanks to Unlock, many people, like Steve, have succeeded in finding work or fulfilling goals. “I’m thrilled to be an Unlock trustee today” says Carlotta, “As I’m sure you’ll understand, it’s a cause close to my heart.”
Then, before tonight’s ensemble of trustees, supporters, peers and legal eagles, Julie concludes: “You’ve just heard some of the reasons I work for Unlock.”
Written by Erica Crompton, published in theRecord
Unlock endorses ‘Ban the box’
Unlock has today lent its support and endorsement to the ‘ban the box’ campaign, which is being led by Business in the Community. The aim of the campaign is to increase the opportunity for people with convictions to compete for jobs.
Christopher Stacey, Co-Director at Unlock, said “We believe that that, by banning the box, employers are better able to consider convictions at a more appropriate stage in the recruitment process, and at the same time are able to give people with convictions a better opportunity to compete for jobs. Far too often we hear from people who are unable to get past the application part of a recruitment process simply because they have to tick ‘yes’ to the questions about convictions. For employers, the end goal has to be to try and find the best person for the job, and with over 9 million people in the UK with a criminal record, banning the box about convictions is one simple step towards this goal.”
“Critically, we believe that it’s important for this campaign to be led by the business community itself, and that’s why we are wholeheartedly behind BITC in their efforts to take this campaign forward. Behind the scenes, we are able to provide confidential advice, support and training to employers on how they can best put the principles of this campaign into practice in their company, using our knowledge and experience of working with both individuals who have convictions as well as employers who are actively looking to improve their recruitment policies and practices.”
“In so far as our own recruitment process, Unlock has banned the box for both paid and voluntary opportunities. We have a specific policy on the disclosure of convictions, where we explain to applicants that we do not ask about convictions at application stage. We provide individuals who are invited to interview with a self-disclosure form, which we ask them to complete and bring with them to their interview. At the end of the interview, we have a separate discussion where we ask questions about the information they have disclosed on this form, and we make it clear that this will only be considered once we have made a decision about whether they are the right person for the job.”
More information about Ban the Box from BITC is available from bitc.org.uk/banthebox and #BantheBoxUK
Ban the Box Interactive Video
Did you skip? Watch the film again to see the story a different way.
Support for the Ban the Box campaign
As part of our support for Ban the Box, we spoke on Radio 5 Live about the campaign.
You can listen to the interview below.
New guide published – Unlocking Criminal Record Checks
On a daily basis, our helpline gets calls from people who are applying for work and don’t know where they stand because of criminal record checks that (increasingly) employers are carrying out.
A couple of years ago, we approached the DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service – known as the CRB at that time) and raised this as a matter of concern. They agreed to support the production of a guide, specifically for people with a criminal record, designed to explain in detail the criminal record checking process, with particular focus on the specific issues that people with a criminal record might face.
The result is a detailed guide which was written by Unlock and which was circulated by the DBS (it was announced in DBS News September 2013). Download the guide here or click the image below.
For Unlock, this guide represents a number of things:
- The DBS has recognised people with a criminal record as being a particular audience, and have responded by supporting the production and circulation of this guide
- During the writing of the guide, Unlock asked a number of questions of the DBS about their processes, and in a number of respects, the DBS have responded by working to improve aspects of their process
- In particular, the guide shines a light on the process of ‘eligibility’. The Establish Eligibility Process Flow-chart (page 19) sets out a clear and detailed process for individuals to follow if they believe that an employer might be asking for the wrong level of criminal record check. It also documents the specific ‘Eligibility query’ process that the DBS has in place to respond to concerns around eligibility from individuals
- It provides a starting point by which evidence can be collected about how employers and the DBS are dealing with eligibility issues
Since the guide was published, we’ve already started getting feedback from people. A couple of examples include:
People asking questions of employers: “I went into Human Resources and asked why they were asking for enhanced checks. They wasn’t sure, and once I pointed out that a basis disclosure could be used, they were happy to accept this, and changed their policy as a result. Given my criminal record is spent, it means I don’t have to resign, which I feel I would have had to do otherwise”
People using the DBS’s ‘Eligibility query’ process: “My employer was insisting on an enhanced level check for a job working as a door-to-door salesman. I tried to talk to them, but they wouldn’t listen, so I didn’t have any other option but to consent to the check. Following Unlock’s guidance, I raised a query with the DBS, and they looked into it. The outcome of this was that the DBS wrote to my employer saying that they didn’t think that the position was eligible, and that they should do a basic level check. Result!”
This guide is an important first step, but there is still a long way to go to ensure that employers are carrying out the correct level of checks and at the right time.
We’re keen to get your feedback on this guide, and in particular if you’ve tried to make use of the advice contained it in, either in your dealings with an employer or in raising an eligibility query with the DBS.
Scottish Government consult on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
This week, the Scottish Government has (finally) launched its consultation on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
England & Wales has passed its own reforms on this (although they’re still waiting to come into force), but these will not change the situation in Scotland.
The Scottish Government hasn’t put forward a specific proposal at this stage, which suggests a genuine openness to look at different ways of improving it.
Not only is this is a great opportunity to influence potential changes in Scotland, but it’s also a way of setting out arguments for why broader changes in approach may be needed, and how this may relate in the future to changes in England and Wales.
For information, when the UK Government published a consultation on amendments to England & Wales, Unlock submitted a response, which can be downloaded here.
We want to encourage anybody who has a view on the ROA in Scotland to respond to the consultation. All the details can be found on the Scottish Government website.
For anybody who wishes to their share contributions more broadly, we’re happy to circulate responses via this site – just send them through to therecord@outlook.com.
What can’t you do with a criminal record? A life sentence?
We’ve contributed to an article in Prospect Magazine, which used the recent cases of Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce as a way of looking at some of the longer-term effects of a criminal record.
You can read the article here. There is also a list of interesting comments at the bottom of the article.
Discrimination of young offenders from poor backgrounds
A new study published by the University of Portsmouth looks at the discrimination faced by young offenders from poor backgrounds.
We discuss this in an interview on BBC London, which you can listen to below.
Should former offenders be employed to mentor ex-prisoners?
We’ve given an interview on BBC Radio Wales to discuss Government plans to have former offenders as mentors.
You can listen to the interview below.
