Job Applicants Need Not Disclose Childhood or Minor Convictions

Job applicants are no longer required to disclose childhood or minor convictions after the Supreme court ruled the requirement to do so, violates human rights law.

Theresa May, Home secretary and together with Chris Grayling, Justice Secretary, had jointly appealed against a Court of Appeal decision that potential employees do not need to advise their prospective employers about convictions and cautions, spent under the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

The Court of Appeal's ruling, resulted in amending regulations being made to protect certain cautions and convictions from disclosure, whilst exempting a few specified types of employment.

The matter before the court stemmed from two cases: one involved a man who was forced to disclose his receipt of two cautions - relating to the theft of two bicycles - at the age of eleven. In the second case, a woman who was cautioned some eight years earlier for stealing false nails, was refused employment within the care sector.

In rejecting the joint appeal and upholding the Court of Appeal Decision, the Supreme Court judges said, in both cases, the need to disclose cautions to prospective employers was a breach of the right to a private life (Art. 8) and would prejudice the  individuals right to seek employment.

Commenting on the ruling, Rebecca Hilsenrath, Chief Legal Officer, Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

"This judgment sensibly recognises, as did the Court of Appeal, that people should not be haunted forever by minor childhood offences, in a way which might prevent them from becoming productive members of society and from engaging in their chosen field of employment. A warning given for a relatively trivial offence committed many years ago by a child, who has not re-offended, has no relevance to how that person could be safely employed to work as an adult.”

Ms Hilsenrath continued:  “The government has already acted to rectify problems identified in the 1997 Police Act. We will be monitoring the operation of the new ‘filtering’ mechanism to assess whether any particular individuals are disadvantaged."

Criminal Record and Employment Advice Glasgow

Whether you are an employer, or an individual seeking employment, who is not sure about what this case means for you, please call 0141 811 0224. Alternatively, fill out our online enquiry form.