Hi guys, Thanks for the add.  I’m new to the Forum but glad I found it.  Below is my story.  Just over 7 years ago I was arrested at a tube station by BTP .  I was out for work drinks and I did get v drunk, prob had 2 bottles of wine or more so I admit to being v drunk. After leaving the restaurant I got on tube but fell asleep and missed the stop which I needed to get the over ground train home. I ended up further down the line so I got up startled and made my way to the ticket hall to go back through barriers to get back to the station I needed. Pretty sure I tried to use my season tkt instead of my oyster to do this as they tried to charge me with fare evasion but later found my oyster in my bag and removed it. I had the correct travel tickets but got wrong one out, subsequently two plain clothed British transport officers must’ve been in wait and they grabbed me from behind, I was petrified as I didn’t know what was going on. Long story short I lashed out and kicked one of them very lightly in the shin, they told me to leave station i said I didn’t know how to get back and I'm drunk they said tough get a bus i said I want to get tube then they arrested me, took me to a room upstairs in the tube station and made me wait while they arrested others, during this time as I was handcuffed my skirt slid down exposing my underwear and they just left me with other men there, they later then put me in a police van and took me to a station, I asked them which one but they ignored me, I was kept there for few hours, I was terrified never experienced anything like this before never been in any trouble. They said I was arrested for fare evasion, drunk n disorderly and assaulting a police officer. They told me I’m getting caution but I’ve been v lucky and should be grateful. But if I wanted to see a sol I’d have to wait hours and they could prosecute me so I felt like taking the caution was my only real option if I wanted to go home and after all it was just a caution right. They dropped the first evasion charge after going my bag so still drunk but scared and In shock I signed. Fast forward 7 years it’s causing all sorts of problems with travel and I want to get another job as my new manager is not a nice person but agencies have told me I must declare everything but I’m pretty sure since 6 years has elapsed and common assault is on the filtered list (pretty sure assault on PO in their duty is common assault) then I don’t have to declare it. So what was supposed to be a slap on the wrist for an event one night that shouldn’t have ended in an arrest is literally ruining my life. Thanks for reading and any advice would be appreciated.

Cautions become spent immediately, conditional cautions become spent after 3 months. You only have to declare 'unspent' convictions and only when asked.
It will be filtered from a standard CRB check but not from an enhanced CRB check, so if you are for example going to apply for work as a teacher or healthcare professional then those types of professions tend to do enhanced CRB checks.

In the grand scheme of things I don't think you should worry too much, your caution was for a moment of madness and i think if you do find yourself in a situation where you have to explain it then i imagine most people would see it for what it is, we've all done things we regret when we're drunk.

I managed to work in customer service for various major brands with a caution for possession of Cannabis which i got many years ago.

In my experience if people like you and you make a good first impression then something like a simple caution related to an offense that anyone could potentially find themselves committing, given the right circumstances shouldn't stand in the way.

Thank you, I work in the FCA sector and have no idea what type of checks they apply for. I am not a senior manager or have a managerial role and will not be going for those so fingers crossed by caution will not show up but its such a worry not knowing because by the time the checks are done you have handed in your notice on previous role and relying on the new one financially.

Also do you know how I respond to the following questions  which are on a two different recruitment agencies' online application forms:

1. Do you have any criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings that are not 'protected' as defined by the ROA 1974 (exceptions) order 1975 (as amended 2013)

2. Do you have a criminal record

Whilst I believe, as you say, my convictions for my simple spent cautions are over six years and on the protected list so how do I answer these?

Thank you

The first question i would be confident in saying no

The second question is a bit misleading and i would take further advice on that. It sounds simple enough a question but my concern would be whether asking 'do you have a criminal record' is in line with the ROA. I feel that unlock would advise you they should really be asking ' do you have any unspent convictions' but on the other hand the company probably has the right to ask if you have any criminal record spent or not.

I don't work for unlock and i'm only speaking from my own personal experience.

I would recommend giving unlock a call or it might be worth calling ACAS who specialise in employment disputes and they would be able to advise you on the law regarding the second question.

Thank you, I will answer no to the first question in that case but I agree the second questions is misleading, on the one hand I am now legally allowed to not disclose my caution but they are asking a very broad questions but makes me disclose it, not even sure in that case if it is legal? I will contact ACAS and will report back.

In my experience, many recruitment agencies are pretty loose with the way they word questions and can also be pretty harsh in ruling people out of jobs (whether fully lawful or not). The end employer, however, may be much more professional as, ultimately, they are the employer (the agency is just a filter). Given this is only a caution and is legally spent, I would not worry and simply answer 'No' to the agency question.  If the role somehow turns out to require a standard DBS check later on, it is a straightforward conversation to have with the firm who already wants to employ you...

Hi coco98

I would agree with everything that the others have said.

a).  A caution for fare evasion would be eligible for filtering after 6 years and would therefore be deemed 'protected'. You would therefore be able to answer 'No' to the question 'Do you have any criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings that are not 'protected' as defined by the ROA 1974 (exceptions) order 1975 (as amended 2013)'.

b).  Questions like 'Do you have a criminal record' are extremely misleading and can often be used by employers or agencies to get applicants to over disclose details of their criminal record. As cautions are spent immediately and your caution is 'protected' then you can answer 'No' to this as well. 

The majority of jobs in financial services would only require a basic criminal record check and therefore even if your caution hasn't reached the 6 year point yet, you still wouldn't need to disclose it. 

Hope this helps.

Debs

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