Niacro

Working With Employers

Category: Working with Offenders and Ex-Prisoners
Many of the over 100,000 people in Northern Ireland with convictions (the figure excludes motoring offences) got those convictions for minor offences and few people with convictions pose a serious risk of harm. But they can all face discrimination when they apply for a job. This means that ex-offenders with skills, experience and knowledge which are needed in the labour market, are not able to contribute to the economy.

And there is a criminal justice cost as well - all the evidence shows that education, training, and the chance to hold down a job, significantly reduce the likelihood of someone re-offending.

So NIACRO works with employers to encourage fair treatment for job applicants who disclose criminal convictions.
Employers who want to promote their commitment to good practice can apply for accreditation of NIACRO's Employment Equity Award.

We work in partnership with Business in the Community to develop our links with employers from a wide range of sectors. The work supports both Jobtrack and ReachOut. It also addresses the skills shortages and labour market needs of local businesses.

We offer a free, confidential, advice service to employers and job applicants. We also run a half day training workshop each month, on the fair recruitment of people with criminal convictions. The objective of the training is to give employers and organisations an opportunity to consider the benefits of having fair recruitment practices in relation to people who have criminal records. It covers:

1. Concerns / issues for employers and applicants
2. The Rehabilitation of Offenders legislation
3. How to facilitate disclosure of convictions
4. Dealing with the information
5. Looking at the risk issues when assessing relevance.

For a copy of our guide for employers "Working with Conviction"