After a certain amount of time (known as a rehabilitation period) you do not need to tell potential employers about most crimes you have committed in the past.
Rehabilitation periods
The length of your rehabilitation period depends on the sentence you received or what sort of punishment you got. After that, your crime (also known as your conviction) is spent. This means you do not need to tell anyone about it. Before your conviction is spent, you only have to tell the employer about your past crime if they ask you.
You were 18 or over when found guilty in court
| Prison sentence | Rehabilitation period (from end of sentence) |
|---|---|
| 6 months or less | 2 years |
| Between 6 months and 30 months | 4 years |
| Between 30 months and 4 years | 7 years |
| More than 4 years | Conviction is never spent |
| Other Punishments | Rehabilitation period (from end of sentence) |
|---|---|
| Community order (such as unpaid work) | 1 year |
| Fine | 1 year (from date of conviction) |
| Absolute discharge (you were not given a punishment) | None |
You were under 18 when found guilty in court
| Prison sentence | Rehabilitation period (from end of sentence) |
|---|---|
| 6 months or less | 18 months |
| Between 6 months and 30 months | 2 years |
| Between 30 months and 4 years | 3.5 years |
| More than 4 years | Conviction is never spent |
| Other Punishments | Rehabilitation period (from end of sentence) |
|---|---|
| Community order (such as unpaid work) | 6 months |
| Fine | 1 year (from date of conviction) |
| Absolute discharge (you were not given a punishment) | None |
Cautions
Simple cautions become spent immediately. Conditional cautions become spent after 3 months.
When employers still need to know about your conviction
You usually do not need to tell a potential employer about your conviction once it is spent.
You’ll have to tell them if your sentence was more than 4 years long.
Some jobs, such as locksmith, lawyer and teacher, require a criminal record check (these used to be called CRB checks). Your potential employer should tell you if they need to do this.
The ‘standard’ and ‘enhanced’ criminal record check will show an employer your past crimes, even if they’re spent. If you’re not suitable for a job because of a spent conviction or caution, the employer can withdraw a job offer.
It’s against the law to refuse someone a job because they’ve got a spent conviction or caution, unless it’s because a DBS (criminal record) check shows that they’re unsuitable.
Employing ex-offenders
Employers interested in offering training and employment to ex-offenders, can register with the Ministry of Justice to find out more.
For further information on Telling Employers about your Conviction can be found on GOV.UK's website.