Looking for a job with a criminal record

An unspent conviction is when you have not passed your rehabilitation period. This is based on the length of your sentence.

If you have an unspent conviction:

• you must by law disclose your criminal record if asked
• it will show up on basic, standard and enhanced DBS checks
• you may face dismissal or prosecution if you are asked and fail to disclose the conviction

If the role involves a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and you have a spent conviction, you do not legally have to declare that spent conviction on the application form.

Criminal record checks when you apply for a role (GOV.UK)

Find out when your criminal record becomes ‘spent’, and whether you need to disclose it to employers and others.

Disclosure calculator (Unlock)

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 aims to ensure that people with a conviction are not penalised by employers when applying for a job.

Basic DBS check (Unlock)

If you are required to complete a standard DBS check, you must disclose the following:

• unspent convictions
• spent convictions that are not protected
• cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not protected

Standard DBS check (Unlock)

If the job you are applying for requires an enhanced criminal record check, you must disclose by law:

• spent convictions that are not protected
• cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not protected

You can do any role with a criminal record, as long as you are not on the:

• Children’s Barred list
• Adult Barred list

You can be on 1 list or both.

If your conviction is unprotected

For offences such as serious violent crimes and sexual offences, it will appear on your criminal records check. You must disclose this in the following occupations:

• those regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
• working as a solicitor or barrister
• positions working with children and vulnerable adults
• working in the licensed security industry
• working in health and social care

You can apply for any role that requires a basic, standard or enhanced DBS check, as no one with a criminal record is barred from these roles.

If your convictions are not spent or protected

You would need to disclose your conviction when an employer asks.

When you disclose, a good employer will do a risk assessment and speak to you about your convictions before they decide. But some may withdraw your application.

Protected convictions are automatically removed from standard and enhanced DBS checks after 11 years. This is called ‘filtering off’.

Filtering (Unlock)

Enhanced DBS check (Unlock)

A pending conviction is when a person has been charged by police with a crime but has not been found guilty.

If you have a pending conviction, it will not show up on a basic or standard check.

If you are later found guilty of the crime or have pleaded guilty, you will need to disclose this.

Every company’s recruitment process varies.

It’s worth researching employers' policies on recruiting ex-offenders and which checks they use.

Use your CV or cover letter to show your skills and work experience and why you are a good match for the role.

To address employment gaps in your CV, you could write ‘unavailable for work’ and specify when you were unemployed. It’s not recommended you declare your criminal record on a CV or cover letter.

If you did training while out of work or in prison, include this in your CV. You can ask your probation officer to help with this.

Writing a CV

Writing cover letters

If you must disclose by law, there are many ways of approaching this.

Application form

Application forms often have a section asking for disclosure of convictions. You could:

• declare your conviction on the form and add a disclosure statement
• or acknowledge you have a conviction and agree to provide more details if invited to interview

Disclosure statement

If you must declare your conviction by law, think about how you will discuss it at interview. Bring a written statement as evidence of your disclosure.

Disclosure statements (Unlock)

Contact Unlock, a charity for people with convictions.

Contact Nacro for free criminal record advice, information and guidance for individuals and employers.