Recruitment of Ex-offenders
The Group is committed to equality of opportunity and aims to select people for employment on the basis of their individual skills, abilities, experience, knowledge, qualifications and training.
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us but it will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances of your offences.
As part of our recruitment process job applicants are asked to disclose any unspent convictions. If an applicant has a conviction that is not spent and if the nature of the offence is relevant to the job then we will review the individual circumstances of the situation before making any decision.
Jobs that are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
The Group will make an application for a criminal record check through the Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) if it is considered relevant to a specific job. For those jobs, the adverts and recruitment brief will contain a statement that an application for a DBS certificate will be submitted for the successful job applicant.
The Group complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice and undertakes to treat all applicants for positions fairly and will not discriminate unfairly against any subject of a criminal record check on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed.
The Group ensures that Human Resources staff involved in the recruitment process have been suitably trained to identify and assess the relevance and circumstances of offences.
The Group undertakes to discuss any matter revealed on a DBS certificate with the individual seeking the position before withdrawing a conditional offer of employment. Failure to reveal information that is directly relevant to the position sought could lead to withdrawal of an offer of employment.
The Group is committed to ensuring that all information provided about an individual’s criminal convictions, including any information released in disclosures, is used fairly and stored and handled appropriately and in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act.