Details of the latest updates that we’ve made to the information on this site
Business in the Community’s Ban 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 BITC’s list of Ban the Box employers into […]
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 […]
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 came into force in England on the 3rd April this year. This is the biggest change to the rights of homeless people in England for 15 years. We’ve produced some new information which sets out how the Act will work in practice. The new law puts an obligation on prisons, youth […]
As the deadline approaches for the UK to leave the EU, the government has introduced a compulsory scheme for all EU citizens living in the UK who wish to remain in the UK – referred to as the EU Settlement Scheme. It is expected that 3 million people will apply for ‘settled status’. If your […]
With effect from the 31st August 2018, changes are being made to the childcare disqualification arrangements, specifically removing the ‘disqualification by association’ element from schools and other non-domestic settings. It will however remain in place for roles such as home-based childminding. We’ve updated our page Childcare Disqualification Requirements – Primary school teachers, nursery staff and […]
Everybody has the right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to make a request to any organisation, for a copy of the information that organisation holds about them. This is called a subject access request (SAR). There are many reasons why you may want to apply for a SAR, and we’ve produced some new information on […]
A criminal record can be a real obstacle in getting on in life. What we don't know is whether women face additional barriers that men don't.
Please help us understand the barriers that women face in terms of their criminal record by completing our online survey. All responses will be confidential and no personal details shared externally,