This page highlights some of the case studies and success stories that have come about as a result of our:

1. Support for individuals
2. Policy & campaign work
3. Support for practitioners
4. Work with employers
5. Work with other organisations

We also feature personal success stories as part of our online magazine, theRecord.

1. Case studies and success stories – Our support for individuals

Through providing direct and online information, advice and support, we help people to move on positively in their lives.

A selection of stories involving people that we’ve helped can be found below. For the latest stories relating to our support, click here.

Selected helpline case studies

More helpline case studies are available here.

• Wendy – Historic minor conviction from 22 years ago caused problems securing a job
• Jennifer – Making a conscious decision to disclose my spent convictions still got me the job of CEO
• Lucy – I lost a job because I didn’t realise the impact of a ‘relevant’ order 
• Ray – Granted a 10-year visa to travel to the US
• Richard – Previous employer disclosing a conviction in a reference
• Darpak – Confusing information on the internet made me question whether I’d be able to become a trustee
• Charlotte – A lack of understanding of the filtering rules meant I was almost refused a place at university
• Fiona – Incorrect recording of my conditional caution by the police almost cost me my job
• Wayne – “I was at risk of losing my job as a result of my employer taking on a government contract”
• Alice – “How can a new company taking over a care home contract assess my historic convictions so differently?”
• Joseph – Getting help in applying to have my Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) discharged at court
• Arthur – Challenging the results of a basic criminal record check carried out by Disclosure Scotland instead of the DBS enabled me to keep my job
• Abbie – How I challenged an enforced Subject Access Request (SAR) and kept my job
• Alan – Successfully making representation to be placed on a Council’s housing register
• Gerry – Excessive interventions by the police and probation can affect an individuals ability to move on with their lives
• Hilary – Having the confidence to challenge a Public Protection Officers decision enabled my son to find employment
• Katie – Understanding my rights under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) helped me keep my job
• Geraldine – Getting clear advice enabled me to successfully challenge an ineligible DBS check

Selected case work case studies

More case work case studies available here.

• Adam – Should a criminal record prevent the award of a PhD?
• Ryan – Suspended from my job because my employers didn’t understand the filtering legislation
• Penny – Potential barring after an ineligible DBS check and a 33-year old historic ‘love bite’
• Danny – Failings in the DBS eligibility investigation process meant that my employers became aware of my spent conviction and terminated my contract 
• Andy – Having an application for social housing refused on the basis of a spent conviction
• Kelly – Having an insurance policy cancelled due to a comparison company not providing full disclosure
• Dennis – How challenging an ineligible check with an employer can lead to changes in their policy and the correct criminal record checks being conducted
• Liam – I successfully appealed my employer’s decision to dismiss me due to ‘unsatisfactory conduct’
• Kabir – Confirmation from the ICO that my spent conviction couldn’t be used by an employer when deciding not to employ me.
• Clive – A potentially ineligible criminal record check led to the DBS considering barring me from working with children and vulnerable adults

Case studies about other support for individuals

• Case study – Vince – the InformationHub provided me with an anonymous and easy way to get answers to my questions
• Case study – Brian – Finding trusted and factual information improves mental wellbeing
• Case study – Dan – the InformationHub site made me realise how little I knew about criminal records
• Case study – Nathan – the InformationHub site made me realise that people with convictions have rights too
• Case study – Craig – Using Unlock’s information to find house insurance
• Case study – Tony – Using the disclosure calculator to work out when my convictions are spent has changed my life
• Case study – Paul – Finding out my conviction was spent using the disclosure calculator meant I could take up a great job
• Case study – Julia – Unlock’s disclosure calculator gave me information which I’d struggled to find on any government website
• Case study – Olivia – Unlock’s disclosure calculator helped me in the family court
• Case study – Roy – Finding out his son’s conviction was spent after using the disclosure calculator
• Case study – Fraser – Engaging with my peers through Unlock’s online forum has not only increased my knowledge but also my mental well-being
• Case study – Mike – Seeking help and sharing information on the Unlock forum
• Case study – Adam – Posting comments on theForum made me realise how common my problems were
• Case study – Will – Advice from members of theForum helped me make a decision about opening a business bank account
• Case study – Ronald – My personal experience of the Unlock forum

2. Case studies – Our policy & campaign work

Through our policy and campaign work, the changes that we achieve help to improve the life chances of people with convictions.

Examples of our policy & campaign work can be found below.

• ROA reforms of 2014 – Comments from some that benefited
• Unlock complaint leads to ruling that the Disclosure and Barring Service breached the Data Protection Act

You can also find examples of what we’ve achieved and future successes will also be posted here. Also see our successes with employers below.

Separately, we publish policy cases – these are examples that show the need for change.

3. Case studies and success stories – Our support for practitioners

Through providing training and support to providers and practitioners, we help to ensure people with a criminal record receive accurate, reliable advice and support from others.

A selection of stories involved practitioners that we’ve helped can be found below. For the latest success stories relating to our support for practitioners, click here.

• Michael – The benefits of training
• David – “As an ex-offender, I thought I had a good grasp”
• Ixion – Working with Unlock to train NOMS CFO Case Managers

4. Case studies and success stories – Our work with employers

Through working with employers, we help them to employ people with convictions and deal with criminal records fairly.

As part of our Fair Access to Employment project, we publish case studies of some of the employers that we’ve worked with. These case studies are available on Recruit!, our website for employers.

5. Case studies and success stories – Our work with other organisations

Through working with other organisations, we help to make sure that they treat people with convictions fairly. There’s more details about this work here.

A selection of case studies are below and you can also see the latest ones.

• Insurance brokers must ensure that any guidance they use to assist their customers is clear and does not provide misleading advice or information
• Bookshop potentially undertaking ineligible DBS checks 
• Misleading statement on an insurance company declaration form
• Misleading declarations on a mortgage company’s application forms
• Helping a housing provider make sure they don’t consider spent convictions
• Professional bodies should ensure they ask clear questions about criminal records on their application form
• Challenging a Community Rehabilitation Company regarding the failings in their recruitment process
• Social housing providers can only request details of unspent convictions on housing application forms
• Successfully challenging a misleading question on a college application form
• Challenging a misleading question on a Council housing reference form
• Colleges must ensure that if they want to know about criminal records then their questions are very clear