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Disclosure of Criminal Records
Local Authorities have access to criminal records for those potential employees whose posts would involve responsibility for children and/or other vulnerable groups or posts which are also exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This is referred to as a disclosure.
A disclosure is only requested after a thorough risk assessment has indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned. If a post is subject to a disclosure, it will be stated in the vacancy advertisement and the applicant information pack stating which level applies. A copy of this policy will be included in the application pack.
This Policy explains the purpose of disclosure and the recruitment of ex-offenders. What candidates for employment must disclose; how disclosed information will be considered and how it will affect employment; and who will consider this information. It also indicates how disclosed information will be handled and destroyed.
Purpose of Disclosure
The purpose of disclosure is to facilitate safe recruitment decisions. It will help to prevent unsuitable people having access to jobs and positions that provide opportunity to harm children and vulnerable adults. It will provide information to help recruiters make more informed decisions about the suitability of those seeking work in positions of trust.
Types of Disclosure
There are three levels of disclosure:
These are available for all types of employment and voluntary positions not covered by the higher-level disclosure. This level of disclosure contains details of convictions considered 'unspent' under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and held on the Police National Computer. The basic disclosure is applied for by, and issued only to, the individual concerned. It is then the individual's choice whether they show the disclosure to an employer. It is non job-specific and may be used more than once.
These are primarily for posts that involve working with children or vulnerable adults. Standard disclosure may also be issued for people entering certain professions, such as members of the legal and accountancy professions.
The standard disclosure contains details of all convictions held on the Police National Computer including current and 'spent' convictions as well as details of any cautions, reprimands or final warnings.
If a position involves working with children, the disclosure will indicate whether information is held on government department lists, held by the Department of Education & Skills and the Department of Health, of those who are banned from working with children. The disclosure also includes information held by the DH of those considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults.
These are for posts involving a far greater degree of contact with children or vulnerable adults. In general the type of work will involve regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of such people. Examples include a teacher, scout or guide leader. Enhanced disclosures are also issued for certain statutory purposes such as gaming and lottery licences.
This level of disclosure involves an additional level of check to those carried out for the standard disclosure. An enhanced disclosure includes a check on local police records. Where local police records contain additional information that might be relevant to the post the applicant is being considered for, the Chief Officer of Police may release information for inclusion in an enhanced disclosure. Exceptionally, in a very small number of circumstances (typically to protect the integrity of current police investigations), additional information may be sent under separate cover to the Counter-signatory and will not be revealed to the applicant.
What must candidates for employment disclose?
Anyone applying for a post where disclosure applies is required to disclose the detail of all convictions on record on their application form (including 'spent' convictions - i.e. those that happened some time ago and normally no longer need to be revealed as specified in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974), plus details of any cautions, reprimands or warnings.
How will this affect employment?
Past convictions will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining a position.
If you have past convictions and disclose them consideration will be given to the nature of the offence stated and its relevance to the post applied for. This will be considered by Registered Officers of the Council who specialise in the area of employment concerned and have been trained to identify and assess the relevance and circumstances of offences. Disclosure will only affect you obtaining employment where the particulars of the offence make you an unsuitable candidate.
The Registered Officer will consider the following:
- Whether the convictions or other matters revealed is relevant to the position in question
- The seriousness of any offence revealed
- The length of time since the offence or other matters occurred
- Whether the applicant has a pattern of offending behaviour or other relevant matters
- Whether the applicant's circumstances have changed since the offending behaviour or other relevant matters
The failure to disclose such convictions could, however, be seen as a deliberate attempt to gain employment by deception, and as such would result in the withdrawal of any offer of employment.
Will a candidate be given the opportunity to explain?
At interview, or in a separate discussion, we ensure that an open and measured discussion takes place on the subject of any offences or other matter relevant to the position. Any matters revealed by disclosure will affect a recruitment decision. These will be discussed with the candidate prior to a decision being made. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Registered Officer(s) to decide whether to offer the candidate a position.
How will the information disclosed by an applicant be checked?
If a candidate is successful in their application for a post requiring disclosure, they will be required to authorise the Authority to apply for disclosure of information from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). This authorisation must be given at the time the application is made. No check will be made, however, until an appointment is offered.
The CRB is a Central Government Agency, which provides information on criminal records. The application for disclosure is made and paid for by the Authority to the CRB, who undertake to issue a response as quickly as possible. The response is in the form of a certificate of disclosure.
As part of its agreement with the CRB the Authority conforms to the Code of Practice it publishes regarding disclosure of convictions. The Code of Practice is available at www.disclosure.gov.uk or a copy will be sent to you upon request.
How secure is Disclosed information?
Disclosure contains sensitive personal data, which must be handled carefully, and only by those in the organisation who are entitled to see them in the course of their duties, i.e. the Registered Officers.
As part of the agreement for access the CRB will provide information at the request of, and to, specific officers, who are registered with them by the Authority, referred to as Registered Officers.
The Registered Officers must store disclosure and other confidential documents issued in secure conditions. Documents must be kept in lockable and non-portable containers. Keys or combinations for such storage units must not be freely available within the organisation and access must be restricted to named individuals.
The Authority's Licensing Officer is also registered for disclosure in respect of applications for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licences.
It is an offence to disclose information provided by the Criminal Records Bureau.
How long is information retained?
Once a recruitment decision has been made the certificate and associated correspondence will be retained for a maximum of six months. This period allows for any disputes about the accuracy of a certificate or a recruitment decision to be made and considered. In the case of a dispute, certificate information may be retained for a period of six months after resolution of the dispute. The usual conditions in respect of storage and access remain in place during this period.
Disclosures will be destroyed by suitable secure means, i.e. shredding, pulping or burning. They should not be kept in any insecure receptacle (e.g. waste bin or confidential waste sack) whilst awaiting destruction. No photocopy or other image of the disclosure may be retained nor must any copy or representation of the contents be made or kept. A record of the date of a disclosure, the name of the subject, the type of disclosure, the position in question, the unique number issued by the Bureau and the recruitment decision taken will be retained.