Withdrawal of Employment offer - Advice needed

pioneer22

This info is wrong, yes it's spent that only means you don have to mention it on an application it will appear on a dbs check unless it's filtered for convictions it's 11 years 6 years for a caution and only if it's your only offense.

I repeat roea only applies if you aren't getting a dbs check it will appear unless it's filtered.

What regulated activity are you in?

ljrees

I am an administrator for a recruitment company, so part of my role is to check references etc for contractors. Funnily enough if someone applied to me as a temp i would pass them on their CRB with these minor offences!!!

ljrees

here is the email i have been sent -

Thank you for your emails this morning.
obtain a basic criminal check through Disclosure Scotland, which details only unspent convictions. We have a clear and consistent policy that we do not employ any individual who has an unspent conviction, irrespective of the nature of the conviction.

You have previously referred also to the Disclosure and Barring Service. For the avoidance of doubt, this is a separate service and is not one use, so is not relevant to your situation.

I appreciate this decision may well be disappointing for you but trust you understand that our decision is fair and is consistent with how we treat all other individuals in this situation.

I would be happy to speak to you to explain in more detail if that would be helpful.

I have also requested a copy of the policy they refer to twice but am yet to receive anything.

Undervalued

It seems to me you need to get some professional advice on this.

There appears to be a lot of confusion here as to a) whether this conviction is "spent" due to a change in the law and b) if so, whether is should have been disclosed as a result of this check.

Under some circumstances it can be illegal to discriminate on the basis of a legally "spent" conviction and it MAY be that is what your employer is doing here perhaps due to a lack of understanding.

Do you have access to legal advice perhaps via your house insurance? Failing that it may be worth contacting a solicitor.

System

According to the legislation it should have been considered spent

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10/section/141/enacted

(1)Section 139 applies in relation to convictions or (as the case may be) cautions before the commencement date (as well as in relation to convictions or cautions on or after that date).

(2)The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (“the 1974 Act”) applies in relation to convictions or cautions before the commencement date as if the amendments and repeals made by section 139 had always had effect.

Section 139


However the bug in the ointment is that the legislation only applies to England and Wales. I don't know if a similar change has been made in Scotland. If not then that may account for the entry still showing as unspent on the Disclosure Scotland return especially if applied for as a Scottish company.

From Disclosure Scotland front page

Justice Minister announces Rehabilitation of Offenders Act Reforms

The Justice Minister Simon Hughes has announced Reforms which will cut the amount of time some offenders need to disclose details of any low level convictions, they will come into effect on Monday 10 March 2014. The move is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to tackling reoffending so that offenders can turn their back on a life of crime and can get back into honest work.

This means that, with effect from 10 March 2014, the contents of a criminal conviction certificate (commonly known as a Basic Disclosure certificate) applied for under section 112 of the Police Act 1997 may differ depending on whether the application for the certificate is processed under the legislation that applies in England and Wales or under the legislation that applies in Scotland.

ljrees

Thank you for all of your advice - I do have house insurance so will contact them and see if I am able to see a solicitor.

Yes, it looks as though there are questions as to whether my convictions should be classed as spent, I am going to apply for a CRB from England and see what it comes up with.

Many Thanks everyone

ljrees

another question - are my employers legally allowed to refuse my offer even though i havent been given the policy or advised of this before?

Undervalued

ljrees wrote: »

another question - are my employers legally allowed to refuse my offer even though i havent been given the policy or advised of this before?

Largely irrelevant I'm afraid as, with less than two years' service, you can be dismissed for any non discriminatory reason or no reason at all.

Sadly your only hope here is that they may have acted unlawfully based on information about a spent (if it is) conviction. There is no minimum qualifying period for such a claim but you do need specific legal advice particularly due to the difference between Scottish and English law.

If (repeat IF) they have erred in this respect and it is pointed out to them by a solicitor they may relent and keep you on rather than risk a claim and possible prosecution.

whitewing

See if this organisation (Apex Scotland) can help you:

http://www.apexscotland.org.uk/

pioneer22

ljrees wrote: »

Thank you for all of your advice - I do have house insurance so will contact them and see if I am able to see a solicitor.

Yes, it looks as though there are questions as to whether my convictions should be classed as spent, I am going to apply for a CRB from England and see what it comes up with.

Many Thanks everyone

Do I need to tell an employer about spent convictions?

You don't need to disclose spent convictions when applying for most jobs. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 it's unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the grounds of a spent conviction. However, some types of jobs are exempt from this Act – this means you have to disclose spent convictions as well as unspent ones. These jobs include:

working with children and vulnerable adults, such as elderly and disabled people
senior roles in banking and the financial services industry
certain posts connected to law enforcement, including the judiciary and the police
work involving national security
certain posts in the prison service
certain professions in areas such as health, pharmacy and the law
private security work.

What do your contractors do?