Monthly update – January 2021

We’ve just published our update for January 2021. This months update includes: An advice post on changes to immigration rules and travel to Europe from 1 January 2021. A personal story from an individual who has benefitted from changes to the filtering rules which came into effect in November 2020 and now has a clean DBS certificate. 

Some examples of people we’ve helped

Looking back over the last couple of months, we’ve written up a few examples of the people we’ve helped. We hope they give a good idea of how we help people. However, more importantly than our role, we think that these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers

Case study – Grace – Having a better understanding of criminal record check eligibility gave me the confidence to challenge an ineligible check

Grace contacted our helpline seeking advice around a DBS check which, was being carried out by a potential employer. She explained that approximately 3 years ago she had received a caution for child neglect and had been placed on the children’s barred list by the DBS. She went on to say that, having been offered

Case study – Noah – Getting the right information and advice from Unlock meant that I could continue on my university course

Noah contacted our helpline to find out how he could get a caution removed from his criminal record. Noah explained that he was in his second year at university studying for a degree in health and social care. He had scored highly in his first year exams and was looking forward to going into his

Case study – Terry – Opening a bank account has finally made me feel ‘normal’ again

Terry contacted our helpline from prison seeking help to open a bank account prior to his release. He stated that he had initially applied to NatWest Bank for a current account approximately one year ago. NatWest had refused his application as their qualifying criteria stated that individuals needed to be within 6 months of release from

Monthly update – November 2020

We’ve just published our update for November 2020. This months update includes: New guidance explaining the rules on what is disclosed on (and removed from) standard and enhanced criminal record checks following changes to the filtering rules which came into effect on 28 November 2020. A personal story from Roger describing his experience of volunteering

Monthly update – October 2020

We’ve just published our update for October 2020. This months update includes: New information about the EU Settlement Scheme for applicants with a criminal record. An advice post on travelling to the EU after 1 January 2021. A personal story from James setting out his experiences of applying to university with a criminal record. A

Monthly update – September 2020

We’ve just published our update for September 2020. This months update includes: An update to our A-Z of job roles and their eligibility for basic, standard and enhanced criminal record checks. A personal story from an individual who has been accepted onto a university course to study digital forensics following a conviction for assault. A

Some examples of people we’ve helped

Looking back over the last couple of months, we’ve written up a few examples of the people we’ve helped. We hope they give a good idea of how we help people. However, more importantly than our role, we think that these examples show how people with convictions are able to overcome some of the barriers

Case study – Zara – People with a criminal record don’t always remember the details of their conviction: self-disclosure almost cost me my job

Zara contacted our helpline seeking advice following her dismissal from work due to the non-disclosure of information on her DBS certificate. Zara explained that she’d been working at a children’s nursery and was still in her probationary period when she was dismissed. She confirmed that at every stage of the application process she had been

Case study – Ian – Unlock provided me with information and advice and introduced me to another new business start up

Ian initially contacted our helpline for some advice in 2019 after the solicitors he had worked for, for 25 years suspended him when his conviction from 1988 came to light. In order to ensure that they were fully compliant with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Ian’s employers decided to carry out retrospective background checks on all

Case study – Bernie – The help I received from Unlock enabled me to work again

Bernie contacted our helpline seeking advice around employment and insurance. He explained that in 2019 he had been convicted of assault and received a 12-month suspended sentence. He went on to say that prior to his conviction, he had been a driving instructor and, although the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) had not removed his