Subject access requests (SAR) – General information
Everybody has the right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to make a request to any organisation, for a copy of the information that organisation holds about them. This is called a subject access...
View ArticleScrapping of ‘disqualification by association’ requirement in schools
With effect from the 31st August 2018, changes are being made to the childcare disqualification arrangements, specifically removing the ‘disqualification by association’ element from schools and other...
View ArticleEU nationals staying in the UK and deportation from the UK due to a criminal...
As the deadline approaches for the UK to leave the EU, the government has introduced a compulsory scheme for all EU citizens living in the UK who wish to remain in the UK – referred to as the EU...
View ArticleHomelessness and the Homelessness Reduction Act
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 came into force in England on the 3rd April this year. This is the biggest change to the rights of homeless people in England for 15 years. We’ve produced some new...
View ArticleHave you been dismissed from your job because of your criminal record?
Our helpline is regularly contacted by individuals who’ve lost their job after their employer found out about their criminal record. This can be extremely distressing, especially if the conviction is...
View ArticleGDPR and data protection – Guidance for individuals
On the 25th May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force and the Data Protection Act 1998 was replaced by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18) to incorporate the GDPR...
View ArticleYour right to be forgotten
Think back to the last time you applied for a job. Did the application include a tick box question on criminal convictions? Last year Unlock published research showing that three quarters of national...
View ArticleLooking to travel to the US? You need to know if your offence is classed as...
‘Moral turpitude’ is a legal concept in the US and is important when trying to work out whether you can travel under the Visa Waiver Scheme (ESTA) or whether you need to apply for a visa from the US...
View ArticleExploring the hidden job market to find work
You’d think that employers looking to recruit the best people for their vacant roles would want to advertise their roles in as many places as possible to ensure that they had cast their nets as wide as...
View ArticleBan the Box employers
TheBan the Box campaign launched in October 2013 at which time, 24 employers had committed to support the campaign. Nearly 6 years on and over 130 employers have now removed the ‘tick box’ from...
View ArticleDo you need help challenging an ineligible DBS check?
Despite the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, some employers try to seek a higher level of criminal record check than they’re entitled to. Sadly, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) don’t have any...
View ArticleMonthly summary – November 2019
Welcome to our monthly summary for November 2019. This provides a summary of: the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions recent posts to our online magazine,...
View ArticleNew tool to help work out if you need to disclose your criminal record
“Do I need to tell them about my criminal record?”. That’s one of the most common questions that our helpline receives when people are applying for work or volunteering roles. But it’s not a question...
View ArticleNew step-by-step video for Unlock’s Disclosure Calculator
Our Disclosure Calculator is a web tool that makes it simple to calculate when convictions become ‘spent’ and no longer need to be disclosed to employers and insurers. Feedback from users highlighted...
View ArticleMonthly summary – February 2020
Welcome to our monthly summary for February 2020. This provides a summary of: the latest updates to our self-help information site for people with convictions recent posts to our online magazine,...
View ArticleCovid-19 (coronavirus) – Key information for people with criminal records
Covid-19 and the social distancing measures introduced to help control it are creating challenges for all of us. For people with criminal records, these challenges can be particularly difficult to...
View ArticleBeen unfairly treated by your employer? Employment tribunals and anonymity...
In many cases, somebody who has been wrongly or unfairly treated by their employer can make a claim at an employment tribunal where a Tribunal Panel will make a decision on what settlement, if any, you...
View ArticleOur support in numbers – 2019/20
As the UK went into lock-down in March 2020, Unlock came to the end of another financial year. In the year April 2019 to March 2020, our helpline was contacted by 7,803 people, 87% of whom had a...
View ArticleChanges to filtering rules – Will you still need to disclose your criminal...
On the 30 January 2019, the Supreme Court directed the government to fix the broken Disclosure and Barring Service system. The Supreme Court ruled that two aspects of the filtering regime – as it...
View ArticleReceived a Single Justice Procedure Notice? What you need to know
In 2015 the Ministry of Justice introduced the Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) to speed up the processing of less serious offences such as rail fare avoidance and minor driving offences. We’ve...
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