Recruiting ex-offenders

It is important that voluntary organisations have a policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders to both paid and volunteer positions. As highlighted above, this is an important part of an organisation’s equal opportunities policy.

The fact sheet Ex-Offenders and Volunteering ( see Sources of Advice and Information on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders ) states that one in four men and one in nine women have a criminal conviction of some kind by the time they are 24 years old. It is therefore very likely that organisations will receive applications from ex-offenders for both paid and voluntary posts.

Guidance given in the Explanatory Guide to the Code of Practice for Registered Persons and Other Recipients of Disclosure Information (Disclosure Scotland, 2002) states that Scottish Ministers expect organisations to take a positive approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders:

“For those with convictions, gainful employment is often the most successful way of avoiding re-offending. Scottish Ministers are, therefore, anxious to ensure that those members of the community who may have convictions are not unfairly treated in the process of considering them for positions. The fact that a person has a conviction should not necessarily make him or her unsuitable to work with children or vulnerable adults. The person’s suitability should be looked at as a whole in the light of all the information available. The existence of a criminal record should not therefore automatically be taken to mean that a person is unsuitable. Employers [and voluntary groups] receiving Disclosure information should consider the relevance of the information in relation to the position for which the subject of the information is being considered. Good employers [and voluntary groups] will have a written policy on the recruitment of people who have been convicted in the past. This is best practice….”
(Paras. 20 and 21 of the Explanatory Guide to the Code of Practice for Registered Persons and Other Recipients of Disclosure Information (Disclosure Scotland, 2002))

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 ex-offenders normally have the right not to reveal spent (old) convictions. This protects their privacy and should help to counteract prejudice against individuals with convictions who are seeking work.

However, certain posts (e.g. those which give prolonged or sustained access to children and vulnerable adults) are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 by the Exclusions and Exceptions (Scotland) Order 2003. This gives organisations the right to ask individuals to declare all criminal convictions, both spent and unspent.

Disclosure checks (see role of crbs) at Standard and Enhanced levels give details of all convictions on record relating to an individual, whether spent or unspent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

However, as Disclosure checks should only be requested for successful applicants, many organisations give applicants the opportunity to provide details of any criminal record at an earlier stage of the recruitment process via a self-declaration form as explained in Step 5.

This gives both the organisation and the applicant the opportunity to discuss, in an open and measured way, any offences that might be relevant to the position applied for.

Sources of advice and information on the recruitment of ex-offenders

For an example of a policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders go to the Central Registered Body for Scotland’s (CRBS) website at www.crbs.org.uk or telephone 01786 849777.
CRBS also offers training in:

Effective Recruitment & Interpreting Disclosure Information;
Understanding Scottish Criminal Justice

The Volunteer Centre Edinburgh’s website contains some detailed fact sheets including Ex-Offenders and Volunteering and a Sample Policy on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders. www.volunteeredinburgh.org or telephone 0131 225 0630.

Apex Scotland is the only Scottish organisation with the sole aim of improving the employment and training prospects of offenders, ex-offenders and young people at risk. They can be contacted at 0131 220 0130 or 0131 467 8300.
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