We were contacted recently by an individual who was concerned about the criminal record question being asked on a Council’s housing reference form and the fact that the Council were asking applicants to give authorisation to the Council to carry out a police check. The question relating to criminal records asked: “Have you been convicted

We were recently contacted by an individual who was concerned about a question relating to criminal records on a generic college application form. This asked: “Do you have any criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands, final warnings or prosecutions pending?” The individual felt that the college should be a lot more specific about what they needed an

Liam contacted our helpline after his employer dismissed him for failing to disclose his unspent conviction. Liam explained to us that he’d originally been employed on a temporary basis through a recruitment agency before being taken on by the company approximately 6 months later as a permanent member of staff. When he’d signed up with

Teresa contacted our helpline as she needed advice following a meeting with her employers to discuss an anonymous ‘tip off’ they’d received that she was “a drug addict with convictions for drug offences”. Teresa explained that in the past she had taken drugs and had also received a caution for possession. However, as her caution

Sandra contacted our helpline on behalf of her daughter who was experiencing difficulties in getting onto a college course due to her criminal record. Sandra explained that due to the nature of the course, her daughter had needed to apply for an enhanced DBS check which had disclosed that when she was aged 14, she

Abbie contacted our helpline for some advice after a director of the company she worked for had become aware of her convictions following a ‘Google’ search and had asked her to provide ‘proof’ that her convictions were spent. Abbie explained that her director had become aware of the online information through another work colleague and

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

Geraldine contacted our helpline following a job offer teaching adults. Geraldine explained that her employers had initially told her that they would be carrying out a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check which she happily agreed to. However, several days later she’d been contacted by the HR department who informed her that on one day

Clive contacted our helpline for some advice after he’d received a letter from the Disclosure and Barring Service stating that they were considering putting him on one or both barred lists. The DBS believed that he was going to be working in regulated activity and, due to his previous conviction, needed to carry out an investigation.

Following his successful appointment to a job working in a call centre, Arthur had been told by his new employer that he would need to apply for a basic criminal record check. His employer provided him with a link to an online application form which Arthur used to complete the check. On receiving his basic

We were contacted recently by an individual who wanted some advice about answering a criminal record question being asked by a housing provider on their housing application form. The question on the application form stated:   Have you or any member of your household ever been convicted of a criminal offence?  Yes/No   The individual

Our helpline was contacted recently by a probation officer who was working with an individual looking to apply for a college course. She believed that the wording on the application form was unclear as the question asked:   Please declare whether you have any relevant* convictions or current proceedings against you:  Yes/No   *Relevant proceedings or