Details of the latest updates that we’ve made to the information on this site
Our Disclosure Calculator is a web tool that makes it simple to calculate when convictions become ‘spent’ and no longer need to be disclosed to employers and insurers. Feedback from users highlighted that our calculator user guide could be improved with the use of images to help individuals navigate their way through the Disclosure Calculator […]
“Do I need to tell them about my criminal record?”. That’s one of the most common questions that our helpline receives when people are applying for work or volunteering roles. But it’s not a question that has a straightforward answer. The starting point is: You only have to disclose if you’re asked.” But then it […]
Welcome to our monthly summary for November 2019. This provides a summary of: the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions recent posts to our online magazine, theRecord discussions on our online forum other news and developments that might be of interest to people with a criminal record. Have you stumbled […]
Despite the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, some employers try to seek a higher level of criminal record check than they’re entitled to. Sadly, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) don’t have any process in place to flag up potentially ineligible checks; they assume that any application submitted is eligible for the level of check applied […]
TheBan the Box campaign launched in October 2013 at which time, 24 employers had committed to support the campaign. Nearly 6 years on and over 130 employers have now removed the ‘tick box’ from application forms which ask about criminal convictions. We’ve developed the list of Ban the Box employers (which Business in the Community […]
You’d think that employers looking to recruit the best people for their vacant roles would want to advertise their roles in as many places as possible to ensure that they had cast their nets as wide as they could. So you may be surprised to learn that about half of all jobs are not advertised […]
‘Moral turpitude’ is a legal concept in the US and is important when trying to work out whether you can travel under the Visa Waiver Scheme (ESTA) or whether you need to apply for a visa from the US Embassy. The information that’s available from the US Embassy can make it difficult to match your […]
Think back to the last time you applied for a job. Did the application include a tick box question on criminal convictions? Last year Unlock published research showing that three quarters of national employers still ask about criminal records on application forms. This can be off-putting to applicants with convictions and we don’t think it’s […]
On the 25th May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force and the Data Protection Act 1998 was replaced by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18) to incorporate the GDPR provisions which are specific to the UK. We’ve produced some new guidance which deals specifically with the use of GDPR and DPA18 […]
Our helpline is regularly contacted by individuals who’ve lost their job after their employer found out about their criminal record. This can be extremely distressing, especially if the conviction is spent (under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) and, due to the type of job they applied for, didn’t need to be disclosed. If this […]
We're developing our plans for Unlock's work in the next few years and want to make sure that they reflect what people with criminal records want and need from us.
Let us know your views by completing our short survey.