Those with more than one minor conviction, or more than one youth conviction, will no longer have to disclose them to prospective employers under a proposed change in the law, where those convictions are classified as "spent" and the conviction did not result in a custodial sentence.
Minor Convictions & Youth Convictions
The Government introduced a "filtering" system back on the 29th May 2013 as regards minor convictions, following the outcome of the case of R (T and others) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester and others [2013] EWCA Civ 25, in which the Court of Appeal held that the blanket disclosure of all convictions and cautions was disproportionate. Under the filtering system, one off convictions relating to a non-violent offence and which did relate to a sexual offence, that are spent, and which did not result in a custodial sentence, did not have to be disclosed to a prospective employer in a DBS check after 11 years, or 5.5 years if under the age of 18 at the time of the offence.
However, where the person concerned had committed more than one offence, regardless of the type of offences involved, then all offences were still disclosed in a DBS check, even once spent. However, on the 30th January 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that this was disproportionate and a breach of human rights, in that it failed to take into consideration the fact that the convictions may be no more than minor convictions, and it also failed to distinguish between warnings, reprimands, and cautions issued to young offenders, and convictions.
Following the Supreme Court's ruling, the Government has now completed a review and the multiple convictions rule requiring automatic disclosure of all convictions within a DBS check, where the person has more than one conviction, will be removed. Youth cautions, reprimands, and warnings, will also no longer be automatically disclosed).
Victoria Atkins, the Safeguarding Minister, stated: "By making these adjustments we will ensure that vulnerable people are protected from dangerous offenders while those who have turned their lives around or live with the stigma of convictions from their youth are not held back."
Government Decision Welcomed
The co-director of Unlock, Christopher Stacey, welcomed the Government's decision on minor convictions and on youth offences. He said: “We welcome the government’s intention to fully comply with the Supreme Court ruling on filtering. Unlock intervened in that vital case because we know thousands of people are unnecessarily anchored to their past due to an arbitrary regime which forces the disclosure of old and irrelevant information. The changes announced today are a crucial first step towards achieving a fair system that takes a more balanced approach towards disclosing criminal records. However, we are still left with a criminal records system where many people with old and minor criminal records are shut out of jobs that they are qualified to do. Reviews by the Law Commission [and others] have all stressed the need to look at the wider disclosure system. The government’s plan for jobs should include a wider review of the criminal records disclosure system to ensure all law-abiding people with criminal records are able to move on into employment and contribute to our economic recovery.”
