In response to your query about the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in
relation to an applicant who has a spent conviction.
Air carriers could use an exemption under the act on the basis of national
security, however they currently fall in line with the Department for
Transport regulations which is enforced through the
requirements of the
BAA to provide a basic disclosure before a restricted-zone ID is issued.
There is a list of disqualifying criteria so someone could still have a
conviction e.g. Driving under the influence of alcohol and be OK. The list
of disqualifying criteria can be found on HR Direct.
A basic disclosure, which the airline or an individual applies to
Disclosure Scotland for, should only disclose unspent convictions. If
they do disclose spent ones, my understanding is the individual (who is the
one to receive this information first) can appeal to Disclosure Scotland to
have it removed. It may be worth suggesting to him/her to apply for a
basic disclosure on line from Disclosure Scotland themselves (i.e. before
needing it officially) to put their mind at rest what may be disclosed.
It costs about £14.
It's important to point out that the requirements may change in future. If
they do, it is likely that Standard Disclosures will be the requirement,
this will show spent and unspent convictions.
However, this is unlikely as
the current process for Standard is so involved it would give the airlines
an administration burden and delay recruitment to 2-3 months in most cases. It would be a similar situation to that which was experienced in
schools and hospitals.
In the meantime, can I suggest you refer him/her to the Disclosure
Scotland's website (
http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/ ) and Apex Trust
(
http://www.apextrust.com/ ) who are an independent source of information
to ex offenders about employment issues.
I hope this helps.