Minor offenders can get a job

Job applicants with old and minor convictions will not have their criminal past revealed to employers, it was announced earlier this week by the Home Office.

Under the proposed legislation, convictions resulting in a non-custodial sentence, will be removed from record checks after 11 years for adults and five and a half year for young offenders.

Cautions will be filtered from record checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service, previously the Criminal Records Boreau, after six years for adults and two years for underage offenders.

The changes will affect those applying for jobs that need background checks, and come after a case involving a young woman who had to reveal details of two minor offences that took place when she was just 11 years old.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach, minister for criminal information, said that criminal records checks are an important tool for employers to use in making informed safeguarding decisions.

“This new system strikes a balance between ensuring that children and vulnerable groups are protected and avoiding intrusion into people’s lives,” he said.

The Home Office has announced the system would be implemented within weeks. 

However, all serious violent and sexual offences will continue to be disclosed.