Job Offer in finance sector with a Criminal Record

sysadmin

Hi All,

After a bit of advise really. Ive been working in the education sector for around 14 years. I have just been offered an excellent position with a global financial company.

Ive accepted the offer and handed in my notice in my current position.

Ive just been informed that they need to do background checks which include a DBS check.

10 years ago, i had a conviction of common assault against me. 100 hours community service and a small fine. I was basically defending my girlfriend, restrained some bloke from hitting her but left a bruise. hence common assault !

anyway, I told the new company all this Friday but am waiting to hear back from them to see if this will be an issue.

Its totally freaking me out!! I really really want this job and the thought of it being rescinded and me having to grovel back to my old employer is really stressing me out.

I should also add that the job is subject to FCA/FSA approval.. whatever that means.

Anyone been through anything similar or have any advice?

TIA

gunsandbanjos

I work in finance and they do thorough background checks and we've had people even in entry level positions fail these and have job offers rescinded.

Not trying to scare you but it's definitely a possibility.

shopaholicz

My first thought is to be totally honest and to declare it.

My second thought is do you know how long this would stay on your record for? After 10 years, could it have now been removed?

There must be a website somewhere that tells you how long each type of conviction stays on your record.

sysadmin

It became spent after 5 years and will be filtered from a standard DBS check next year ..

The company in question is more of a software and consultancy company but their clients are mainly in the financial sector.

There was no mention of DBS checks until Friday when I then let them know straight away

lincroft1710

100 hours community service for a bruise administered whilst trying to protect a female from physical assault seems unduly harsh.

sysadmin

Tell me about it.
I didn't even hit him. I just pushed him up a fence with my arm. Unfortunately his neighbour only saw that part and not the fact that he was about to assault my girlfriend.

Left a bruise on his upper chest / lower neck. It was all over in a few minutes

phill99

Bizarre really as some of the most senior people in banking and those trusted with many billions of pounds of banking investment act as criminals on a daily basis. We seem to have double standards.

BK123

Ironically the comm service may help more than just a fine! I've recently worked within probation, but only recently and am all set to leave, so the setup may be different now than it was 10 years ago.

What was your compliance like? Did you do the hours as quickly as possible (theres normally a timescale agreed at the induction meeting depending on if you work or not)? If so, you could get your probation officer (assuming you had one) to give you a reference. This is normally reserved for people who don't have anybody to give them a reference for employment/accomodation, but don't see why you wouldn't get one given the circumstances.

If you did miss some appointments, you're probably best off leaving it alone as it's unlikely to help.

Also, if you've only told them on friday, they're unlikely to get back to you over the weekend really. I don't see why it should be a problem really as the conviction is spent, so think everything would be ok, but perhaps give it a working day or two. Even if it takes longer, they may want to run this DBS and update you after it comes back all clear.

sysadmin

Yes the 100 hours were all completed within a 2 and a half week period pretty much as quickly as I'd met the probation officer.
I only met him once. As I worked in education I had a lot of holiday time which allowed me to get it all done asap.

I'd have no idea about my probation officer as I only met him once..
I worked in a charity shop. Quite enjoyed it actually

BK123

I think the best thing to do would be to get in touch with the probation office you did the work with. The first person you speak to would likely be the receptionist, so be prepared to explain your story again once you get through to somebody who can help (one of the managers i would think but dont ask to speak to them straight away). They should have a record of you on the system (should just say expired or something) and once you explain, I'm sure they'll give you a reference just saying something like "he did the work in 2 weeks, and there were no problems with compliance". You might want to wait anyway, as i say i think you'll be fine, they probably weren't going to get back to you on a weekend anyway. But if you want, ask for the reference. Im sure there'll be understanding from all concerned omce you explain the situation

sysadmin

Thanks - I wasn't expecting them to get back to me until tomorrow anyway but it hasn't stopped me loosing sleep over it over the weekend.

Just hope they can see that's it's way in past and doesn't effect me or the role now