Background
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) allows most convictions and all cautions, reprimands and final warnings to be considered spent after a certain period. This period – known as the rehabilitation period – is determined by the sentence or disposal given, rather than by the type of offence. The ROA gives people with spent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings the legal right not to disclose them when applying for most jobs and courses.
Most jobs and courses are covered by the ROA, but some are exempt. If a person applies for a job or course that is exempt from the ROA, the organisation is entitled to request details of spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not protected. It is then entitled to take this information into account when determining the person’s suitability for the role.
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