Need advice Please

mummyia

Hi everyone,

After some advice please.

My OH has been job searching for the past 2 years since -he got made redundant whilst working for the local council as a driver..

He has applied for tons of jobs and has been declaring his crb conviction from 2008-assault and always getting declined.

He applied to Royal Mail a couple of months ago came clean in the interview and they said they would not be offering him the job as he was one of the best candidates but had a crb history.

He has now applied for a job with a local bus and coach service he has passed most stages theory etc..
Has not yet declared his conviction before they go any further with training etc they will do a crb.. :eek::eek:

What is the best way to go about this???
As he really wants this job and this conviction is haunting him he was sent down for 10 weeks so has paid for his crime

What is the best way to go about this??

Write to them?
Or wait for the CRB to come back put hands up and apologise explaining?

Or any other reccomendations from you lovely people>?

Thanks

x x x

elsien

I don't think he has any choice but to be honest with them before the CRB results come back. Or is even applied for - they're not going to be happy to be paying out for a CRB that's going to show things he really should have told them about beforehand.
Most application forms have a section asking about previous convictions. If he says nothing, he's not only got a record he's showing dishonesty by lying about it. As an employer I'd rather people told me about convictions straight away, then depending on the conviction and individual circumstances I may choose to offer the job anyway. Lie to me and you've got no chance. Unfortunately for your OH an assault conviction is going to rule out a lot of jobs until it's spent. It's very catch 22, damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Was he working for the council when he had his conviction? Would someone there be prepared to give him a good reference, vouch for him and say it never affected the work he did for them?

mummyia

elsien wrote: »

I don't think he has any choice but to be honest with them before the CRB results come back.
Most application forms have a section asking about previous convictions. If he says nothing, he's not only got a record he's showing dishonesty by lying about it. As an employer I'd rather people told me about convictions straight away, then depending on the conviction I may choose offer the job anyway. Lie to me and you've got no chance. Unfortunately for your OH an assault conviction is going to rule out a lot of jobs until it's spent. It's very catch 22, damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Was he working for the council when he had his conviction? Would someone there be prepared to give him a good reference, vouch for him and say it never affected the work he did for them?

Thanks for your reply hun,

Yes he can get really good references from council as well as personal, would it be wise to write to them before the CRB comes in?? Or wait till its here?

Or give them a call,, They can see how hard he has tried passing the theory etc as it is really difficult.

He has tried really hard for this and I really want him to get it??

elsien

Personally I would try to speak to someone before they get the CRB back. The conviction is definitely going to be on it, and he's only going to make himself look dodgy by trying to hide it. Perhaps put it in writing with copies of his references then ask to speak to someone who's in a position to influence the decision to explain it properly and convince them he's a reformed character. Is it a standard or enhanced CRB, that might make a difference.
Some of it is going to come down to organisational policy. Big organisations can be a bit more inflexible - I've had times when I've been prepared to give someone a chance but have been overruled by HR. Assault isn't going to look good though if there's a lot of other good applicants, so he shouldn't be getting his hopes up.

mummyia

elsien wrote: »

Personally I would try to speak to someone before they get the CRB back. The conviction is definitely going to be on it, and he's only going to make himself look dodgy by trying to hide it. Perhaps put it in writing with copies of his references then ask to speak to someone who's in a position to influence the decision to explain it properly and convince them he's a reformed character. Is it a standard or enhanced CRB, that might make a difference.
Some of it is going to come down to organisational policy. Big organisations can be a bit more inflexible - I've had times when I've been prepared to give someone a chance but have been overruled by HR. Assault isn't going to look good though if there's a lot of other good applicants, so he shouldn't be getting his hopes up.

aww thanks so much for your reply hun,

I will ask him to call them first and speak to maybe a a managing director
not sure what exactly to get him to say though...

Maybe something along the lines of Im really sorry I havent declared my convition for XY and Z reason????

Can I also ask you a real big favor is there any chance you could do me a draft letter for them pretty please...
I dont think I would sound too good or professional enough?:mad:

colino

I'm sorry for your position, but what do you think the potential employer will do? An applicant driver who has a conviction, one for criminal assault where he actually served a custodial sentence is going to the bottom of the pile. If driving is his thing, why not look at trunk driving etc., I doubt if anyone will consider him for a job interfacing with the public.

mummyia

colino wrote: »

I'm sorry for your position, but what do you think the potential employer will do? An applicant driver who has a conviction, one for criminal assault where he actually served a custodial sentence is going to the bottom of the pile. If driving is his thing, why not look at trunk driving etc., I doubt if anyone will consider him for a job interfacing with the public.

He knows he made a mistake and has suffered for that and still is as he cant get a job..All he is asking for is a chance for someone to see he is a hardworker...

The assault had nothing to do with work.. it was self defence from an ex wife...but she won the case :mad::mad:///

elsien

Sorry, I was a bit unclear. Meant to say, is there someone on the recruitment side he's already had contact with, who might be impressed by how well he's done so far and who if he explains himself and backs it up in writing might be able to push on his behalf?
Sincerity is more important than professionalism. An explanation of why he didn't declare it, along with a realisation that he was mistaken in not doing for which he is extremely sorry. Then any relevant information about the assault that shows mitigating circumstances, along with an assurance that it was a one off due a particular set of circumstances, that nothing like it has happened before or since, for which his previous employer can vouch (refer to references), lesson well and truly learned etc. (Only if that's all true of course.) That he really wants to work for this particular company, has demonstrated this by his performance so far, and would welcome the opportunity to prove himself if they are able to give him the chance. Etc Etc.

However aside from company policy which may automatically rule him out, as I've said it will also depend on what actually happened and how it's possible for him to present it. Plus whether the job involves contact with children or vulnerable adults.

I think in future what he did with Royal mail was maybe the best option. Don't sign the declaration on the form so he's not automatically ruled out in shortlisting, but come clean at interview in person. And accept that for now a lot of jobs are just going to be not possible for him.
Not wanting to preach, but it's not just about him having paid for what he's done, it's also about protecting the potentially vulnerable people he might be in contact with- the system is there for a reason.

You might want to wait for some more replies on here before doing anything else - there's other posters who are a lot more experienced in employment law etc who might be able to make better suggestions than me.

denla

There's so many unemployed graduates with excellent work experience queuing up for any job. What makes you think people with criminal convictions will get a chance? They won't, not unless a company specifically targets employing former criminals.

Nothanks

denla wrote: »

There's so many unemployed graduates with excellent work experience queuing up for any job. What makes you think people with criminal convictions will get a chance? They won't, not unless a company specifically targets employing former criminals.

That's a pretty unpleasant thing to say. This person is asking for help with her other half's job hunt, not judgemental generalisations.

I think on this occasion not disclosing was a foolish if tempting mistake. I've got no real employment law skill (just a layperson union rep) but i'd happily help you draft a letter if you PM me.

denla

Nothanks wrote: »

That's a pretty unpleasant thing to say. This person is asking for help with her other half's job hunt, not judgemental generalisations.

I think on this occasion not disclosing was a foolish if tempting mistake. I've got no real employment law skill (just a layperson union rep) but i'd happily help you draft a letter if you PM me.

Unfortunately there's no realistic help anyone can give. Sure you can say you've changed, but who will honestly give him a chance when there's so many other people out there? Only thing he can do is do voluntary work until his criminal record is spent, and then apply for jobs not asking for enhanced CRB checks.