Details of the latest updates that we’ve made to the information on this site
If you want to find the best way of disclosing your criminal record to an employer, then a quick internet search will give you pages of results. With your career and financial security potentially dependent on getting it right, it’s good that there’s so much information and advice available. But if you’re trying to find […]
In 2015 the Ministry of Justice introduced the Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) to speed up the processing of less serious offences such as rail fare avoidance and minor driving offences. We’ve produced some new information on the SJPN process. While the process streamlines the court process at an administrative level there are some concerns […]
On the 30 January 2019, the Supreme Court directed the government to fix the broken Disclosure and Barring Service system. The Supreme Court ruled that two aspects of the filtering regime – as it applied to multiple convictions and childhood cautions – was disproportionate and in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on […]
As the UK went into lock-down in March 2020, Unlock came to the end of another financial year. In the year April 2019 to March 2020, our helpline was contacted by 7,803 people, 87% of whom had a criminal record. Our information hub was visited by 1,132,371 and 45,761 people used our disclosure calculator. Have […]
In many cases, somebody who has been wrongly or unfairly treated by their employer can make a claim at an employment tribunal where a Tribunal Panel will make a decision on what settlement, if any, you should receive. However, since 2017 employment tribunal decisions have been published online which means that the names of anyone […]
Covid-19 and the social distancing measures introduced to help control it are creating challenges for all of us. For people with criminal records, these challenges can be particularly difficult to overcome. Since the UK went into lock-down, we’ve been contacted by many people with criminal records – those with criminal records in the community, people […]
Welcome to our monthly summary for February 2020. 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 […]
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 […]
Changes to the DBS filtering rules -
Will you still need to disclose your criminal record?
Read our response to the government's plans, and find out more about the impact of these changes will have on you. There's also a brief guide available to download.