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- Type:
- Employment law guide
This guide provides an overview of regulated activities involving children and vulnerable adults under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. It covers what is considered regulated activity, describes key rules and obligations, and highlights exclusions.
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- Type:
- Employment law guide
This guide outlines the rules for rehabilitation periods - the length of time after which an individual's conviction becomes "spent" - as set out in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
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- Date:
- 4 February 2025
- Type:
- Podcasts and webinars
A significant proportion of the population have criminal records. So what are the legal requirements when thinking about recruiting someone with a spent or unspent conviction? And are employers that shy away from engaging with ex-offenders failing to make use of a valuable resource and even damaging their organisations? Debbie Sadler of Unlock and Brightmine senior legal editor Laura Merrylees join the podcast to discuss these questions.
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- Type:
- Quick reference
Updated to reflect changes to the length of rehabilitation periods.
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- Type:
- FAQs
Updated with further information about rehabilitation periods.
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- Type:
- Employment law guide
Updated to reflect an increase in fees for all levels of DBS check, effective 2 December 2024.
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- Type:
- Policies and procedures
A model policy on recruitment of people with a criminal record, which deals with jobs covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, jobs that are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
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- Type:
- Policies and procedures
A model policy on recruiting people to work with children and/or vulnerable adults, in compliance with safeguarding requirements.
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- Type:
- Employment law cases
In R (on the application of P) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and other appeals, the Supreme Court held that the criminal record checks rule requiring disclosure where a person has more than one conviction, regardless of the circumstances of the offences, is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
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- Type:
- Employment law cases
In R (on the application of AR) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police and another, the Supreme Court held that, although the disclosure of the appellant's acquittal for rape was an interference with his human rights, it was justified. However, the Court expressed concern at the lack of guidance for employers on how to deal with disclosures of serious criminal charges that result in acquittals.