Launching on 28th April 2026 at Virgin Group‘s offices in central London, Unite 1K is a high-impact campaign to mobilise at least 1,000 UK employers, to embed Fair Chance hiring through adoption of the Fair Chance Charter.

The UK faces a dual challenge: persistent skills shortages and rising workforce pressures on one hand, and an estimated £26.3 billion annual cost of reoffending on the other. Unite 1K is a business led response to both.

By 2028, the UK’s Fair Chance talent pool represents more than 10 million people – which is one-in-four working-age adults, including a significant proportion of young people. This waiting workforce is the size of the population of Greater London. Yet for many organisations, outdated recruitment practices and enduring stigma continue to block access to stable, quality employment.

By removing these barriers, employers can directly contribute to generational social mobility, strengthen communities, and support the UK Government’s ambition to reach an 80 percent employment rate – while delivering one of the most effective interventions against reoffending: sustained, meaningful work.

Unite 1K is an ambitious, multi-year collaboration anchored by leading brands, and led by Fair Chance Business Alliance, in strategic partnership with leading justice VCSEs including: Clinks and the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ). This ecosystem brings together the public, private and voluntary sectors to innovate inclusion.

Our goal is to secure genuine employer commitment to Fair Chance recruitment and progression. This is underpinned by collective employer action, through a unique collaboration of purpose.

When businesses create Fair Chances for people with records, they strengthen their own organisations, their communities, and the economy.