Policy for employing people with convictions: examples and guidance

The DBS requires you to have a policy

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) requires all registered bodies and organisations in receipt of the DBS update to follow its code of practice – this will include your school or trust. 

Under the code of practice you must:

• Have "a written policy on the suitability of ex-offenders for employment in relevant positions"
• Make sure applicants for relevant positions are notified in advance that you will require a disclosure 
• Notify applicants of the potential effect of a criminal record history on your recruitment process
• Discuss the content of a criminal record disclosure with an applicant before withdrawing any offer of employment

This is set out on page 6 of the code of practice, linked above.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2023 also states that you should have a policy for "the employment of ex-offenders" that applicants can access (see page 53). While this is not a statutory requirement, it’s important to have a policy or statement to support your commitment to both equality and safeguarding.

Adapt the DBS' sample policy

Use the sample text provided by the DBS and adapt it for use in your school or trust. 

It covers your commitment to:

• Treat all applicants fairly
• Not discriminate unfairly against applicants based on past convictions or other information revealed
• Notify applicants about which DBS checks will be required in job applications 

You should make the policy available to all applicants by including a copy in the job application pack or a link to the relevant page of your school website in the job description. You should also make your policy available to applicants upon request. 

However, you aren’t required to have a standalone policy. You could include it within your:

• Equal opportunities policy
• Safer recruitment policy

Examples from schools

Ashby CofE Primary School, a voluntary controlled school in Leicestershire, has an ‘employment of ex-offenders’ policy. 

Brook Street Primary School, a community school in Cumbria, has a ‘recruitment of ex-offenders policy and procedures’ document.

Holy Cross Catholic High School, a voluntary aided school in Lancashire, includes it's policy on recruiting people with previous convictions in its DBS policy. See section 17 and appendix A of the policy.

Understand the rules around recruiting people with criminal records

Follow safer recruitment procedures

Shortlisted candidates for roles involved in regulated activity relevant to children should:

• Be asked to declare any relevant convictions
• Complete a self-declaration (also known as a self-disclosure form) before any interviews are held

Download our template self-declaration form to make sure you’re compliant, and to help you explain what information applicants do and don’t need to disclose.

This form should be sent back to you by applicants under separate, confidential cover and should only be seen by those who need to see it as part of the recruitment process.

Do use this form to:

• Check if a candidate is barred or ineligible for the role
• Guide a disclosure discussion during the interview stage
• Clearly set out that candidates should only disclose unprotected convictions and cautions

Don’t:

• Ask candidates to declare relevant convictions before the shortlisting stage
• Use the information in the self-declaration to remove people from your shortlist, or deny them an interview
• Take protected convictions into account when deciding who to appoint

Protected and unprotected convictions and cautions

Candidates may misunderstand which convictions and cautions are protected, and may disclose information that you're not entitled to have. It's illegal for you to take this protected information into account when deciding whether to appoint a candidate (see page 11 of the Ministry of Justice's guidance).

Compare the result of a self-declaration with the result of a DBS check to make sure you're only using relevant information. Have a member of staff who isn't involved in hiring decisions carry out the comparison and pass on the results, so any irrelevant information doesn't impact your decision.

Make sure you reassure candidates that you won't take this information into account. Forbes Solicitors gave us this advice.

The rules around self-declarations and criminal records can be complicated. Seek specialist HR or legal advice if you’re unsure about how to proceed.

For more support, read about how to manage a criminal records disclosure, which includes a template to help you assess whether someone’s previous convictions make them unsuitable for a role.

A criminal record doesn't automatically bar someone from working in your school...

For example, the charity Unlock suggests that the following types of offences are usually considered minor:

• Fare avoidance
• Electoral offences
• Littering/fly tipping
• Poaching/fishing/hunting
• Using TV equipment without a licence
• Motoring offences (excluding drink driving)
• Urinating or smoking in an enclosed public space
• Offences related to drunken behaviour (excluding drink driving)
• Offences related to the use of insulting or offensive language (except where the language relates to protected characteristics)

In these cases, hold a disclosure discussion with the candidate. 

KCSIE 2023 (page 64) states you should take the person's explanation of events into account, including:

• The seriousness of any offence and relevance to the post applied for
• How long ago the offence occurred
• Whether it was a one-off incident or a history of incidents
• The circumstances around the incident
• Whether the individual accepted responsibility for their actions
• Whether there is any pattern of offending behaviour

There's "no exact science" to deciding if an offence is minor or whether it makes a candidate unsuitable for a role. Make sure your decision either way is properly justified by looking at the circumstances of the offence, and whether it is relevant to the role you're recruiting for. Forbes Solicitors gave us this advice.

If you decide not to hire an applicant, document that your decision was based on risk and how the candidate may be unsuitable for the role, to avoid being accused of unfair discrimination.

...but certain offences mean you can't hire an applicant

You can't legally hire someone if:

• They'd be working in regulated activity and they're on the barred list
• They'd be working with children under 8 and have committed offences that disqualify them from doing so (read more about childcare disqualification)
• They're subject to a section 128 direction and they're applying to work in a management role in an academy

In these cases, you don't need to hold a disclosure discussion or conduct a risk assessment, because you can't hire the applicant.

More support with safer recruiting:

Unlock is a charity that provides a voice and support for people with convictions who are facing stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record. It also supports employers in the fair treatment of people with criminal records, and its Recruit! website for employers promotes good practice and provides practical guidance and tools. 

Nacro is a charity that supports people through its housing, justice and education services. It offers support for employers to help you when employing someone with a criminal record.

Use our other resources to help you carry out safer recruitment practices in your school, such as: 

• Checks for new staff
• How to carry out an online search of shortlisted candidates