Why It Matters
Why It Matters
The number of unfilled vacancies in the UK
(Source: ONS, 2024)
The number of working age people in the UK with a criminal record who face barriers to good work.
The approximate economic and social cost of reoffending each year, dominated by unemployed offenders.
Loss to annual GDP by excluding people with criminal records from work
*like-for-like comparison based on US CEPR economics. FCBA Estimate
The untapped talent pool of people with criminal records is growing constantly...
People with a criminal record face a lifetime of being overlooked for employment
unless we do something about it
*based on a response to FOI request made by Unlock relating the the number of criminal records on the PNC
The untapped talent pool of people with criminal records is growing constantly...
*New Criminal records in a year:
New Criminal records in a month:
New Criminal records in a day:
People with a criminal record face a lifetime of being overlooked for employment
unless we do something about it
*based on a response to FOI request made by Unlock relating the the number of criminal records on the PNC
We can address all these problems with just one change:
Fair Chance Employment
No one organisation can do this alone, so the amplifying effect of many is being brought to bear on this challenge - by deploying collection employer action we will be a force for good.
The Economic Case
There are 900k job vacancies in the UK, and nearly two-thirds of businesses are reporting a skills shortage – which it is estimated will cost the country £120bn by 2030. Whereas, if we meet the government’s stated aim of 80% employment, economic output could increase by £151bn.
Reoffending costs £18bn per annum – that’s £750 per household. In a competitive jobs market, where workforce gaps and productivity challenges persist, it makes commercial sense to recruit from the widest possible talent pool. By broadening our focus to all those with a criminal record and not just prison leavers, the 9.5m ‘waiting workforce’, we’re pioneering a new era of diversity and equity within the UK business landscape, where to achieve outsized impact, we need a common framework to scale our common purpose.
* Unspent convictions are those that candidates legally have to declare if you ask them. Some offences take longer to become ‘spent’ – rehabilitated – than others, and some never are.
The Business Case
Employers who recruit people with criminal records report significant benefits to doing so:
- 86% rate them as good at their job
- 92% say diverse recruitment has enhanced their reputation, helping them win new business
- Over 80% positively rate their reliability, motivation, attendance and performance.
Serious, successful businesses have made a public virtue out of hiring straight from prison. Murphy Group, Wincanton, Sodexo and countless others employ people with criminal records, and they’re thriving. And in case you were wondering, problems with reoffending at work are low level and few in number.
The Social Case
Stable employment, housing, relationships, and health are vital factors in reducing reoffending. In fact, people with convictions who land a job are around 23% less likely to commit further crime (MoJ). We estimate over 1 million people claiming out-of-work benefits have a criminal record.
Lower reoffending and a steady income means fewer absent parents, stronger role models for children and safer communities. Safer communities prosper – and spend more, fuelling economic and business growth in a virtuous cycle.
Getting just one person back into full-time work after a conviction is worth up to £24,269 in social value (Social Value Portal). And as historically marginalised groups, including racialised minorities, are over-represented in crime statistics, employing from this pool contributes to levelling up, too. Plus, with investments of this type, there is a 10x socioeconomic return on impact investments.
What a ‘Fair Chance’ looks like
A Fair Chance isn’t about preferential treatment, or ‘looking the other way’. It’s about answering this question: “So, you’ve paid your debt to society – now what?” and making sure employers can get the very best people working for them. Whatever their history.
If we believe in rehabilitation as a nation (and the evidence is we do) then we can’t continue to stop people who’ve made mistakes from being interviewed, employed and promoted on their merits. Risk management will sometimes mean taking an offending history into account, alongside evidence of the work they’ve done to rehabilitate. But blanket rejections of a category of candidate mean we’re not always hiring the best people for the job. And that’s just not compatible with a healthy, modern economy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Find out how Fair Chance employment could change your organisation.
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