Tag: Disclosure and Barring Service -

Has an employer wrongly checked your official record? – Get in touch

We’re continuing to look for examples of employers who have carried out inappropriate criminal record checks.

We’re gathering this information as part of our Fair Access to Employment project and to feed into our legal strategy which aims to put an end to unlawful criminal record checks.

We’re especially keen to hear from anyone who believes that an employer has carried out a standard or enhanced criminal record check for a role that wasn’t eligible for that level of check and that employer has subsequently taken into account spent convictions or other information from the police that they are not entitled to see (so called “soft intelligence” or “local police information”).

The types of information we’re looking for

We’re interested to hear examples where:

Employers have carried out a standard or enhanced criminal record check which revealed spent convictions or “soft intelligence” or both, AND
The role in question was not eligible for that level of check (i.e. a standard check was carried out when the role was only eligible for a basic check, or an enhanced check was carried out when the role was only eligible for a standard or basic check).

We will review all of the evidence and advise you about your options, including potentially participating in legal action against the employer or umbrella body for submitting an ineligible check or against the DBS for processing an ineligible check.

For further information see the main Unlock website.

I’ve cleared the road for future employees at my company by challenging an ineligible DBS check

Having been in his job for a year, Colin was horrified to learn that his employers were going to be carrying out an ineligible criminal record check which would have disclosed his spent conviction. Read how Colin kept his job and got his employers to change their recruitment practices.

I’d been working for about a year as a driver taking doctors who were working for an ‘out-of-hours’ service to their appointments when, out of the blue, I was asked to go into work early for my next shift as I had to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) application form. My heart sank as I knew that if my employers did an enhanced DBS check it would disclose my spent conviction and I would almost certainly lose my job.

Like a lot of people with a conviction, I was really embarrassed and ashamed about it and my confidence had reached an all-time low. At one point, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to hold down a job such was my anxiety about the past.

I eventually mustered the courage to telephone my employer and asked in a very roundabout way whether the DBS check they were going to complete would be an enhanced one, hoping of course that they’d say ‘No’. Sadly they confirmed my worst fears – it would be enhanced.

The next time I went into work, I was asked whether I’d brought in my ID documents for the DBS check and I pretended that I’d left them at home. I was trying to buy myself more time but the HR Manager told me that if I didn’t bring them along to my next shift then I’d be unable to work.

So, the following week, off I went to complete the online DBS form with the office administrator. When we got to the section about convictions, I really didn’t know what to do but thought that honesty was the best policy and answered ‘Yes’, explaining to the administrator that my conviction was now spent. When we’d finished filling in the form the admin guy told me not to worry, that everything would be okay and to get on with my shift.

However, the next time I went into work, I was summoned to a meeting with my manager and asked to explain the spent conviction which I’d revealed whilst filling in the DBS form. I was asked about the nature of the conviction and when I refused to go into detail I was threatened with suspension. I was confused, embarrassed and unsure how to proceed but eventually I told him everything, whereupon he explained that he’d have to investigate the matter further and that I would be suspended whilst this took place.

I wasn’t a member of any union and I wasn’t sure whether I had any employment rights. Searching the internet, I came across an organisation called Unlock who, I immediately contacted for some advice. They told me that an enhanced DBS check may be ineligible for the job that I’d be doing and they explained that I could challenge this through the DBS. I sent an email off to the DBS straight away and with renewed confidence, also sent an email to my employer setting out why I thought an enhanced check was ineligible.

I heard back from my company very quickly and asked to attend a meeting with a senior manager. Although he was very understanding he maintained that my role would need an enhanced DBS check as it was often necessary for drivers to go into people’s houses to act as a chaperone. I explained that I’d never been asked to act as a chaperone but even if I had, I would always be with the doctor and never alone with the patient.

I’d clearly given the manager a lot to think about as he told me that he’d have to seek further information. When he did eventually get back to me, he told me that having sought independent advice he now appreciated that my job would only require a basic DBS check and that he was happy for me to return to work immediately.

Although I initially found it quite difficult to challenge my employer, the advice and support I was given by Unlock gave me the confidence to do it. If I hadn’t stood up for myself, I’m sure I would have lost my job which would have been yet another knock to my confidence. My employers have now changed their recruiting policy and state that they will only carry out basic checks for my type of job. I’m delighted that as a result of my challenge, future employees with spent convictions won’t have to worry about disclosing and being judged.

By Colin (name changed to protect identity)

A comment from Unlock

We see many examples of employers looking to conduct incorrect levels of criminal record check on their employees. This can lead to individuals having job offers revoked or even losing their job. If you believe that an employer is trying to carry out an ineligible check, we would always recommend that you challenge it through the Disclosure and Barring Service. As Colin’s story shows, successfully challenging these checks will not only benefit the individual but can make a difference to all future employees.

Useful links

Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
Information – We have practical self-help information on challenging an ineligible DBS check
Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to ineligible checks on our online forum
Policy work – Read about the work Unlock is doing on stopping unlawful/ineligible DBS check

Learning to forgive myself!

In the 1990’s I got a conviction for GBH. I hit a guy and he suffered brain damage; he very nearly died. At first I was told I would be facing a charge of murder. Things were so close.

I found it very difficult in prison, beyond any stress level I had encountered before, but as it was my first offence I managed to transfer very quickly to an open prison. That was better, but it wasn’t until my last week inside that I could actually lift my head up and look at other people. I was really depressed and a little paranoid. One thing that I did find in prison was a small book about meditation and Buddhism – I was desperate to find some way to relax. It helped a bit to read the stories in the book. The fact I was reading this meant I didn’t finish myself off.

Despite being so frozen with fear whilst in prison, I still felt nervous when I left half way through my sentence. I found it really difficult to go out, I was just scared and thought that the people at the bus stop might be talking about me. I wasn’t well. Depressed? Lost? Shattered?

Luckily for me, my old employer let me have my job back. I worked in a laboratory at that time. However, they wanted me to be interviewed by a psychologist just to ‘be on the safe side’ before letting me back. I was given the choice of either seeing a psychologist from the probation service, a psychiatrist or I could go and see the psychotherapist that worked at the university where I was employed. I opted to go to see the psychotherapist – thinking I would just go for a one off interview.

Well …. I ended up having weekly psychotherapy for 13 years! But .. they were a really interesting and amazing 13 years!

When I first came out of prison I was in my late 20’s. I’d never had an actual girlfriend, never caught a train by myself and never really been anywhere. I lived at home with my parents as I’d done since I dropped out of university in my first term. I had very low self esteem – always had.

The fact is I needed psychotherapy, but it would never have crossed my mind before prison. I came from a very working class family and things like that were just off the radar for me. While at the open prison I used to go and have a cup of tea and a chat with a nun who used to come and talk to the prisoners. I didn’t believe in God but talking to somebody was a life-line for me.

It was so helpful to have my job. At least I could go back to some of the safety I had been hiding behind before. However, after a couple of years of therapy I was changing. I was able to walk around town without thinking I was going to be beaten up or killed, without feeling ashamed.

By this time I had moved out of my parents home and was amazed to find that I could survive by myself, cope with paying bills and being alone. I had also started catching trains by myself and used to go to Cardiff, Bristol and London and look round the shops. Then I travelled to Tibet and South Korea to explore and to stay in a Zen Buddhist temple for a short while. This interest in voluntary work continued and I started volunteering back home for a mental health project.

I felt life was a really precious thing. I had destroyed one person’s life and part of me felt I didn’t deserve it – but it wouldn’t have helped to destroy my life too. I also realised that I didn’t want to work in the lab anymore. It was a good job with a future but it wasn’t right for me. I wanted to be a psychotherapist. I was worried about how my record would affect that. My conviction would not become spent for many more years and if you work with vulnerable people it never does really.

I found a place that would give me an interview, actually a lot of counsellors and psychotherapists have come through difficult times – some have been to prison.

The course, the therapy and the travel back and forth to London was going to be very expensive and I had no idea how to pay for it. Also my employer, despite having been brilliant were not willing to give me day release to go and do the course. I had to find another job if I was going to do it. I’m sure you all know that it’s not easy with an unspent conviction for violence.

The course was going to start so despite being really scared and wondering if I was a bit crazy, I gave up my job at the Uni and now unemployed, gave all the money I had ever saved up to pay for my first years tuition. I needed a job straight away but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find a decent job and ended up getting a zero hours minimum wage job in a pub. They were nice there, but I still needed something paying a bit more.

After six months and the benefit of references from the Uni, my voluntary work placement and the pub, I got a job working with adults with learning difficulties. They were willing to listen to the circumstances around my conviction and gave me a chance. They were really challenging clients with autism. I was getting beaten up and bitten every week but I was so much happier than at the Uni. The pay was still pretty poor, about a pound an hour better than before – I still have that job!!!

It took eight years of training but I am now a fully qualified psychotherapist registered with the UKCP. I have my own practice and some private clients. I hope one day to get to the point where I can rely on the income from my psychotherapy work.

Even now, I still struggle from time to time with self-esteem issues but ……..I got married recently and had a Buddhist blessing last week.

So hang on in there folks, everything changes, including you.

The man I hit died not long ago. He died young. I’m not sure if this was related to the injury I had caused but I guess it is likely. I can’t make it better, I’m sorry.

Something I can do is use my precious life to help other people to know that their lives are precious too – every single one of you – whatever you have done.

By Terence (name changed to protect identity)

Useful links

Comment – Let us know your thoughts on this post by commenting below
Information – We have practical self-help information on DBS checks and disclosing to employers for people with convictions on our information hub
Discuss this issue – There are some interesting discussions related to this from people with convictions on our online forum

DBS checks ruin lives

Our eldest son texted us this morning with the great news that after a lot of hard searching he had been offered a job, as a dental technician. An hour or so later he followed this up with the devastating news that the offer had had to be withdrawn as his DBS check showed that he had been convicted and given a conditional discharge for carrying a bladed object quite a few years ago now.

This ‘bladed object’ was a tiny penknife at the bottom of his rucksack that he used the dig any stones out of his skateboard wheels. To give you some idea of how innocuous it was; he won it at a children’s seaside arcade a few years before, when we were on a camping holiday. Although the blade was only 2 ½ inches long it locked and this led the police to charge him. Being away I was not able to attend court and to my horror he pleaded guilty. Although the offence is ‘spent’ it remains on his record forever and I am sure that this is not the last life opportunity that will be denied him because of it.

Young people lives are being blighted forever due to the most minor infringement of laws they probably have no idea they are even breaking. My son is very shy, quiet and the last person you ever suspect of being a ‘criminal’. I have just spoken to the man who offered him the job and he was very sad not to be able to take him on as he was ‘ideal’ for the job. Apparently the General Dental Council will not register anyone with a conviction like this, no matter how minor or that it is ‘spent’.

By Mike* (name & details changed to protect identity)

Convictions on your DBS isn’t the end of your employment chances

Some refreshing news for those of us who have convictions that will apparently forever overshadow our possible career ambitions.

The Unlock helpline recently received a call from a person with a very serious conviction (causing death by dangerous driving). The caller had been offered a place at University to study Psychology, and was understandably worried about the DBS check which would be needed as the degree included some work experience placements involving working with vulnerable adult patients.

However, during the course of the conversation the caller revealed that they were already working within the NHS… Upon questioning we learned that their role had indeed required an enhanced DBS check, and that they had got the position anyway, albeit after a stressful and thorough interview process. Basically they had won through by persistence and being both confident and committed enough to give a good, honest and heartfelt account of themselves, and doing everything they could to demonstrate their fundamental decency, integrity, and ultimately – employability.

This is obviously a fantastic and inspirational story. Whilst it may seem to be unusual, perhaps the lesson here is that it is only so unusual because so many people in comparable situations believe that they have literally no remaining chance of their target career, and therefore understandably lack the willpower and sheer audacity to give it a go regardless of their records.

Always remember – the worst that can happen is that you don’t get the job, and you are no worse off than you were before trying. In fact, you could argue that even an unsuccessful outcome can be used as a positive; a learning experience, and a boost of self-esteem and confidence for the fact that you felt able to apply in the first place.

Therefore the message from me is – Go for it, and hold your head up… You have nothing to lose, and plenty to gain.

by Stuart

A DBS check scares me

In the 1980’s, at the age of 16, I was convicted of ABH and given a 12 month conditional discharge. After this happened my solicitor told me that, when I turn 18, the conviction will become cleared. At that time, the offence didn’t play on my mind and, until the early 2000s, I was getting on with my life. I became a parent, went to college and then onto university.

Then, in 2003, I got a job as a Teaching Assistant in a secondary school, and this was when I had to do a CRB check. When asked on the form if I had any criminal records, I answered no because I thought that the conviction was spent.

When my CRB came back, the head teacher asked me about it. I tried to explain the situation, saying what I could remember about the circumstances around the offence, and telling her that I had been told it would be cleared. She was saying that there would have to be a meeting to discuss the matter, and I guess really to see if I would be keeping my job. I was in shock because of whole thing, and I decided to leave because I thought that I was going to lose my job, and also because I felt (and still feel) ashamed.

It is really good that there have been some changes to the ROA, and now how minor offences can be filtered, but I ask myself, what about the people who committed an offence when they were teenagers? Because of the nature of the offence, it will never be cleared or wiped, or filtered. That just doesn’t seem right.

People tell me that I have nothing to worry about, and employers will not even ‘bat an eyelid’ because it happened almost 30 years ago. I was in my teens, and it’s my one and only offence. The thing is, this one offence feels like 30 offences, and 10 years on from when it all came out, I am still trying to come to terms with it. I am angry and I feel ashamed. I look at the jobs which I know I have the skills for, but seeing the words ‘a DBS check will be required’ scares me. Why? Because it means that I will have to explain something that happened decades ago, and I think ‘why?’

On the few occasions that I have disclosed for work purposes, the response has been negative. I know some people can quickly get over things, and get on with things, but I am finding the criminal record and DBS checks difficult to deal with. I just want to apply for a job without this hanging over my head.

Yes, I can say to myself that ‘it happened 30 years ago’, but because it’s an offence that for certain jobs like teaching (an area of work that interests me) it won’t ever be spent. Those 30 years, are like 30months ago. So, I will always be seen as a ‘risk,’ and this doesn’t help my confidence one bit.

I want to thank you Unlock for the work you do, for wanting the government to make further changes, and for giving us a voice.

by Nicola

Applying with conviction

by Richard, editor, unlock.devchd.com/community

I’m writing in response to Nicola Inge’s article Beyond conviction (DDN, June, page 8). The ‘Ban the Box’ campaign is an excellent idea and fully supported by online magazine theRecord and our partners at Unlock. The principle behind the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act was to break the cycle of offending and re-offending by enabling people with convictions to gain employment, and led to the concept of a spent conviction.

Sadly, with the inception of the CRB, now DBS, this principle suffered a massive setback, and asking about previous convictions at the application stage became commonplace, particularly in health, social care and education – the very services that espouse a progressive approach to rehabilitation. This, in turn, led to people with convictions not even applying for jobs that require a disclosure at the application stage.

The US approach based on the equal opps agenda and its accompanying legislation is well worth emulating in the UK, for all the reasons set out in the article. And, following Gandhi’s famous dictum, it would serve people with convictions, the recovery industry and the wider society well if drug and alcohol treatment services were to ‘be the change they want to see in the world.’
If recovery services were truly committed to equal opps, they would never expect candidates to discuss their offences at interview because this never gives people with convictions the opportunity to present themselves as equal to those without convictions. This differentially discriminates against those from minorities, as mentioned above, and male applicants – often under-represented among the recovery workforce – because they are seven times more likely to have a conviction than females.

There are only three reasons employers ask about convictions on application forms: because they think they ought to, because they intend to use that information to discriminate or because they are just plain nosy. The simple fact is that an employer only needs to know about the criminal record of people they will employ, i.e. the person who emerges as the leading candidate, after the interview stage is complete. There is no need for any employer to elicit or, more seriously, retain information about a person’s criminal record if they are not going to employ them. It is only the successful candidate who ever needs to be asked. The other candidates should be able to exit the recruitment process with their privacy intact. Sadly, this is not the case with any of the treatment service recruitment processes that theRecord is aware of.

Often, employers are also labouring under the illusion that screening for convictions at the application stage is a form of risk assessment. It is not. The absence of a conviction tells you nothing about a person’s honesty or safe conduct, it only tells you that they have never been caught and convicted.

A person with a history of, say, violence or fraud, but who was never caught, can sail through the process untested, while the poor sod convicted of possessing a few grams of weed or stealing a car 20 years ago gets grilled by complete strangers in a powerful position in a non-therapeutic setting. Any therapist will tell you that this can be devastating, even relapse-inducing. Both Unlock and theRecord regularly receive mail and calls from people who’ve been treated in this way only to be told that a stronger candidate got the job, so there was never any need to put them through that part of the interview because their record was never actually relevant to the employer. And even when they are successful, they are often then faced with working alongside people to whom they have disclosed their convictions – the people who interviewed them. It might be better if such disclosures are only ever made to HR and passed to senior management, not colleagues, because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

So, if recovery employers want to offer an equal opportunity and run a safe and legal service, there are just three things they need to do. Firstly, ask only the prime candidate about previous convictions. Secondly, follow that up with the appropriate level of DBS check and, thirdly, risk assess that candidate regardless of whether they have a conviction or not. There are several psychometric tests that can be used for this in consultation with a suitably qualified psychologist. If their favourite candidate proves risky, then move on to the next. It would also be very helpful if employers would state at the application stage which level of DBS check is required for that specific post. This would give the candidate an informed choice whether to proceed with an application or not.

This article was originally published in the July 2014 edition of Drink and Drug News.

Rehabilitation, Rejection and Resilience

by Simon

I was very pleased to find out that the reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) will apply from 10th March. I was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in March 2004, and thought that I would have to declare my criminal conviction for life but, given the changes, my conviction will now become ‘spent’ – 7 years after my Sentence Expiry Date.

I’ll outline some of the mixed experiences I’ve had, and reactions I’ve faced, when declaring my conviction. Some will resonate with you and some might help prepare others for the challenges ahead.

Initially, I was lucky and did not encounter many barriers to resettlement. A friend offered me labouring work during the day and my old school, who were aware of my imprisonment, gave me cleaning work in the evenings. Seen together, these opportunities – and that’s how they had to be viewed – helped both financially and by providing a routine that kept me busy. Crucially, though, this meant that I didn’t have to run the gauntlet of potential rejection from employers. I wondered how, with such a fragile self-esteem, and having just left prison, I would have coped with further alienation.

After about 18 months my friend could no longer provide any work and the evening job became too much, so I found myself seeking other employment. I went for a ‘front of house’ position in a local café. As I filled the application form out with the manager sat opposite, I saw the dreaded ‘Do you have a criminal record?’ question. I lied and put ‘no.’ I reasoned that it was just a cafe job, and ‘they wouldn’t even begin to understand, if I told them.’ I needed that job.

This lie did not come back and bite me, but that is not the point. My family brought me up to be open and honest – and those are values that I hold dear in principle – but, in practice, and in the heat of the moment, I couldn’t face what I assumed would be a rejection, so I did not tell the truth.

Whilst I would always advocate honesty about a criminal past, I now have an insight and an understanding into why some people decide not to declare. Is it a dishonest nature, an assumption of a bad outcome or a fear of the hurt caused by yet another rejection that can drive certain behaviours?

I left the cafe with my dark secret undiscovered and, luckily, another friend then provided work in a warehouse in Northamptonshire. As with the previous building and cleaning roles, this bypassed the need for a criminal record check and so, by the time I had finished at the warehouse in August 2008, I had held four jobs since prison and had only faced one criminal record check. I wonder whether most people are as fortunate as this?

The ideal exchange between potential employer and employee did occur, however, when I decided to return to University and I would advocate this approach, rather than the method that I adopted with the cafe. I wrote a personal statement outlining my past, in support of my application. I outlined mitigating factors to the offence, but also emphasised the positives prior to and after my imprisonment. Emphasising the good and making the bad appear smaller worked because every University that I applied to offered a place. It was re-assuring to think that people were prepared to give an ex-prisoner a second chance and that an open, upfront letter had won plaudits. It confirmed my suspicions that many people respond to a positive approach in kind.

Life has run reasonably smoothly over the last few years, but I’ve twice needed to ring UNLOCK for advice over two other CRB related incidents. In the first example, I declared my conviction on an application form for a criminology research role in the East of England. I was offered the job, despite my conviction but, later, the human resources people wanted to know more about the offence. So, I attended a second interview, which was incredibly stressful. Thankfully, the charity continued with their offer of employment but, because of the sensitive location and nature of the project, they attached certain conditions: I must not tell my colleague about my past and, for the first month, I had to sit in a separate part of the building, away from the rest of the team.

My line manager and the senior managers were, on balance, very supportive throughout and even they were not sure whether what they were doing was appropriate. I was treated differently because of my conviction and that not only hurt, it re-enforced the sense of ‘difference’ that many people with convictions feel.

In my mind, I had to take a mature approach: ‘play the game;’ be ‘squeaky clean;’ do a good job and learn from my experience.

Things worked out, but only because I communicated how I was feeling and staff kept supporting me. Not every employer and employee dynamic works like this. I feel for those who are not great communicators, feel unsupported or have poor employers. I wonder what the costs are, in psychological terms, of feeling under scrutiny because of your past, and why some people with convictions still have to go the ‘extra mile’?

The second incident is perhaps more commonplace. I signed up at a local recruitment agency, declared my conviction on the application form and was taken onto the books. However, later that day I received a phone call from the recruitment consultant who apologised stating that, at first glance, she had not noticed the tick in the convictions box. She had phoned head office and was sorry to say that I could not be employed. Company policy would not register anyone with convictions regardless of their offence. The consultant, who admittedly was toeing the party line, even said that ‘it doesn’t matter whether you are a murderer or have stolen a pack of sweets, we treat everyone the same.’ UNLOCK said that they had not broken the law but this misguided attempt at equal opportunity, or lack of it, by ‘treating everyone equally’ is not common sense or logical and is obviously an example of the attitudes that some employers hold.

Now that the reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act are a reality, it feels like all the heartache was worth it. I believe if you do the right things, eventually society will do right by you – even if it hasn’t in the past. It’s important to be upfront and honest – at least you maintain your integrity, even if you don’t get that particular job.

I understand taking the moral high ground is little comfort if you’re unemployed, but definitely focus on the positives and try to make the bad stuff appear smaller and less important. Keep going and believe that someone will give you a break somewhere. Research, seek out and network with user-friendly organisations that support people with convictions and always emphasise that you are far more than an offence on a piece of paper.

Working for the NHS

by Nigel

I have convictions for violence (GBH from 8 years ago and a more recent one in 2010) and have recently applied for an IT Position in one of the NHS trusts.

The post is primarily away from patients and hospitals but may occasionally require going in to sort out IT problems, and it involves a DBS check. I did declare the unspent conviction on the original application as there was a section asking this.

I went for an interview, and nothing was mentioned regarding CRB/DBS checks or anything to do with my record. I received a phone call with an offer of employment, and was nervously waiting the dreaded DBS check in the paperwork.

When it came, I completed this fully and truthfully, and ten days later all checks have come back to HR and I have been given the go-ahead to start. I am just waiting on a start date now. This is an NHS trust and I am not sure if other trusts will have different procedures, but it’s good news for me at least and maybe gives others a bit of hope.

Setting the record straight

by Gail*

I am writing to thank you for the advice l received from you which has effectively given me a new lease of life. I was sentenced to 3 years in prison for a one count conviction of Money Laundering in 2007. I was released on tag after and that was that. In 2010, I successfully got a job as a Support Worker and subsequently a Senior Support Worker with a Housing Organisation. I however was called in by my managers who informed me that following a DBS check, my version of events is questionable because my CRB states that I was involved in drugs. It would appear that the generic term for Money Laundering is now drugs? Irrespective, and due to a major reshuffle in the department anyway, I was made redundant.

I then started applying for other jobs, which l knew l was fully qualified for, and even though l say so myself, l interview well. Anyway, I didn’t get two jobs and l was really cut up about it, so l contacted one of the bodies l applied to. It turns out the fact that l was involved in laundering the proceeds of “drugs” was a real hiccup for them. I then called you. You gave me some advice, and gave me the details of who to contact at the DBS. For future reference, my issue was that my offence was Money Laundering. My CRB read “Laundering the proceeds of drugs for another” The man l spoke to sent me out some forms to fill in. He then wrote me back acknowledging the receipt of the forms and advised that he had sent my complaint to the police and they will advise me of the outcome.

That was two weeks ago. Yesterday, I got a response from them advising that my complaint had been upheld and that they will be reissuing me a new DBS with the amended wording. The wording has been amended to “Assisting another to retain or control the benefit of criminal conduct”.

This is a great result for me because not only does it remove the drugs implication for me but it also doesn’t define or label “Money Laundering”. I can now go out there and work, hold my head up high knowing that my past is not tagged to me. Don’t get me wrong, I am not denying what happened. It did and l held my hands up to it. What isn’t fair is that someone can make an arbitrary decision to use unwarranted colourful language to potentially ruin someone else’s life and hamper their chances of employability and moving on.