Can Essex employers afford to reject talented staff because they have a criminal record?
9th Jan 2012
Can Essex employers afford to reject talented staff just because they have a criminal record?
Free criminal justice system awareness training for employers - 26 January 2012
A survey of business decision makers in the East of England revealed that only just over half (55%) would consider interviewing a candidate with a criminal record, even if they were well-qualified and experienced. This means they could be missing out on talented, well-skilled and motivated staff.
On 26 January 2012 a free training day for Essex businesses, as part of the Business in the Community Right Step project, will examine the business case for working with ex-offenders as well as providing best-practice advice and guidance for employers on the criminal justice system.
In October 2011, Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Group and Marc Bolland, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer, were just two of the UK’s leading business leaders who wrote to the Financial Times calling for more companies to back the government’s plans to provide work and training for ex-offenders. Eight of the UK’s best-known businesses outlined how employers can benefit from recruiting ‘potential superstars’ who may have a criminal record.
The 45% of organisations in the East who said they would be put off short-listing a skilled and experienced candidate if they knew they had been in prison and/or had a criminal record could be dramatically reducing their pool of good people. In these difficult trading times, that puts these businesses at a disadvantage compared to their competitors. That’s because 17.1%[1] of the UK working population has a criminal record. In addition, by not giving ex-offenders the chance to compete on a level playing field when it comes to training, work and volunteering opportunities, employers are contributing to one of the most challenging issues that our society and economy faces: the high cost to us all of re-offending.
The short survey was commissioned by Business in the Community (BITC) in the East of England; a business-led charity which works to advise, support and challenge businesses to be responsible, sustainable and successful. The charity, in partnership with the National Offender Management Service and the European Social Fund, is delivering the Right Step project to help businesses in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Norfolk. The project links employers with their local Prison and Probation services in a way that will benefit both their firm and the wider community: reducing reoffending by offering ’real life’ employability support to serving prisoners and ex-offenders.
“Our survey findings show that businesses in the East of England are far more cautious than the UK as a whole: existing national statistics state that nine out of ten employers would, in principle, be open to employing an ex- offender[2]. It means Essex employers could be missing out on talented people,” explains Mike Brophy, Regional Director of BITC in the East of England. “Interestingly, whilst just under half (45%) of our respondents were quite candid in their reluctance to consider employing someone with a criminal record, 80% of them agreed that ex-offenders should be helped to get back into the workforce. The question is, who provides that help?”
“Since 1992 the UK prison population has more than doubled and currently stands at approximately 86,778[3], but despite the huge numbers of people who are in prison, the impact of crime on businesses is continuing to grow,” continues Mr Brophy. “The Home Office estimates that there are almost twice as many crimes against commercial and public sector organisations as there are against individuals and household, so crime is an issue that no business can afford to ignore. The Government’s 2010 Green Paper ‘Breaking the Cycle’ says that almost half of all adult offenders released from custody reoffend within a year. But evidence shows that having a job has been proven to reduce re-offending by 25-33%.”
For organisations that would like to find out how they can benefit from working with ex-offenders or the Prison and Probation Service, Business in the Community has organised a free training event on Thursday 26 January 2012. The event is being hosted by e2v, a company that delivers technology solutions for high performance systems at a component, sub-system, and service level, at its training centre - Whoosh!@e2v – at 106 Waterhouse Lane, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 2QU. The free training will look at the UK Criminal Justice System and help to de-mystify some of the jargon that potential employers may be faced with when they receive job applications from those with a prison or criminal record. Trainer Rachel Allen has worked in the criminal justice sector for ten years and, in addition to being a qualified teacher, has a law degree and a Masters in Criminology.
“There are many businesses and not-for-profit organisations in the East of England that are doing amazing work in providing offenders with training, work experience or paid employment so that they have a real alternative to crime on release from prison,” says Mike Brophy. “The Criminal Justice Training and our newly launched Right Step Code of Practice are just two of the tools we are providing as part of the Right Step project. Our aim is to encourage more employers to consider how working with offenders can benefit them and, ultimately, help to reduce crime in our region.”
The Right Step Criminal Justice Training event is free to attend but places must be booked in advance. Please visit the BITC in the East of England website, call Chris Williams on 07734 990561 or email chris.williams@bitc.org.uk.
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Press contact:
Pippa Lain at Plain Speaking PR
t: 01603 487291 e: pippa@plainspeakingpr.co.uk
Notes to editors
About the research
225 business decision makers from the East of England were surveyed by independent research company Insight Track on behalf of Business in the Community in the East of England, between 25 August and 2 September 2011.
About Business in the Community
- BITC stands for responsible business
- It is a business-led charity with a growing membership of 850 companies, from large multinational household names to small local businesses and public sector organisations.
- Members work with BITC to define what responsibility looks like in the workplace, marketplace, community and the environment - and the charity shares what it learns about driving performance through responsible business practice.
- Business in the Community is one of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President.
- The charity works locally, nationally and internationally through a network of partners world-wide and has 29 years’ experience of working with communities in greatest need.
www.bitc.org.uk/east
