Job applications should eliminate criminal record tick box

The criminal record tick box on job applications should be removed, according to a recent study.

Business in the Community (BIC) found that 91% of prisoners wanted to work but two thirds wouldn’t apply if there was a criminal box.

The campaign by BIC launched in 2013 and since then, 50 businesses with a combined workforce of 400,000 have banned the box. With the hope of ending costly discrimination against job-seeking ex-offenders, they are calling on employers to end “archaic recruitment practices.”

Faye Goldman is the Campaign Manager for BIC. Speaking exclusively to Recruitment Grapevine, she said: “In the UK, 10million people have a criminal record and every single one of those people is different. Many have received a fine from a court – 70% of all sentences are fines – whilst others have spent time in prison. Some may have taken significant steps to move on in their lives and are willing and able to work. Importantly, none of this information is captured in a helpful way through a tick box.”