Rehabilitation of Offenders
Although there is nothing to stop employers asking applicants for details of any criminal convictions, under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 certain offences become 'expired' after various periods of time and must be ignored. Other than jobs which are exempt, taking account of an offence after it has been time-expired breaches the Act. New Legislation To assist employers knowing whether applicants have a criminal record, under the Police Act 1997, the Criminal Records Agency was set up to provide a range of certificates giving details of criminal convictions. The Agency is now able to issue two of the required certificates, with the first certificate expected to be made available by early 2005. The following certificates are now available: Criminal Conviction Certificates are available to individuals and (with the individual' s agreement to employers) give details of all 'unspent' convictions. Criminal Record Certificates available to bot...