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If successful, the applicant should be assured that the confidentiality of disclosed information on criminal convictions will be respected. Normally, only the personnel officer/employer needs to know, although in some circumstances it may be advisable that the person's line manager be informed.

If unsuccessful, the applicant should be advised of the reason, preferably in writing. Standard rejection letters, however, are undesirable as they can lead to the belief that rejection is always based on the criminal offence and thus discourage the disclosure of convictions.

Feedback about selection decisions is very helpful, particularly if the disclosure of convictions was not handled very well. It is also helpful to know if the rejection was job related and not to do with the criminal record.

Examples of rejection letters on (1) grounds of the relevance of a crimlnal conviction and (2) on grounds of skills and experience

(1) Example of a rejection letter on grounds of the relevance of a crimlnal conviction

Dear .................,

We thank you for your application for the position of .............................. Unfortunately, on this occasion, your application was unsuccessful.

It may be of future use for you to know on what grounds your application was rejected. "THIS COMPANY" believes that only relevant convictions should be considered when assessing a suitable applicant for a position within our company. We have an Equal Employment Opportunity policy that includes fair and reasoned assessment of applicants with a criminal record.

In this instance, it was felt that your conviction was, in fact, relevant to the position applied for. On closer scrutiny of your conviction and the job criteria, it was felt that it would be inappropriate for you to hold the position at this stage.

We would, however, like to thank you for your honesty and welcome any future applications from you for other vacant positions for which it may not be relevant.

Yours sincerely,

(2) Example of a rejection letter on grounds of skills and experience

Dear ................,

We thank you for your application for the position of ..................

Unfortunately, your application was unsuccessful.

All applicants were assessed on their individual merits, skills and experience.

We received in excess of ..................... applications for the position and have since shortlisted .................. applicants for interviewing.

I am aware that during your application you did disclose a criminal conviction, and I would like to thank you for dealing with us in such an open and honest way. Please feel assured that the conviction was not deemed to be relevant, and therefore was not taken into consideration when assessing your suitability for this position.

We will welcome future applications from you for other vacant positions.

Yours sincerely,

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