Moving forward - finding a job
Places to contact
There are many other places to job hunt:
- Local paper
- Recruitment agencies online or on the high street such as Reed and Jobrapido
- Contact Jobcentre Plus; this is being re-branded The Jobcentre
Use the Universal Jobmatch service to find a job at the jobcentre. You can also phone Jobcentre Plus, telephone: 0845 6060 234 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
The following website is a good place to start:
Getting a National Insurance number
The young men need a National Insurance number to work. They should automatically get a National Insurance number just before their 16th birthday. They should call the National Insurance Registrations Helpline if they didn’t get a number and they’re under 20.
Call Jobcentre Plus to apply for a National Insurance number.
One must have the right to work or study in the UK to get a National Insurance number. Jobcentre Plus will send an application form. They may also ask to go to an interview to confirm identity.
Jobcentre Plus application line
Telephone: 0845 600 0643 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
National Insurance Registrations Helpline
Telephone: 0300 200 3502 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm)
National Insurance number interview
Jobcentre Plus may write and ask the young men to come to an interview where they’ll be asked about their circumstances and why they need a National Insurance number. The letter will also tell them which documents to bring to prove their identity, e.g.:
- Passport/identity card
- Residence permit
- Birth/adoption certificate
- Marriage/civil partnership certificate
- Driving licence
Getting a birth certificate
The young men can order a copy of a birth certificate from several places the cheapest is:
www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate#other-ways-to-apply
It can all be done online. They’ll need to register on the General Register Office (GRO) website to order a copy of a birth certificate in England and Wales.
- Certificates cost £9.25
- Takes around 10 minutes to fill in the form.
- Debit or credit card required.
Ex-offenders and employment
www.gov.uk/exoffenders-and-employment
Employers can’t turn someone down for a job just because they’ve been convicted of an offence if the conviction is ‘spent’.
Job applicants also don’t need to tell potential employers about spent convictions.
What counts as a “spent conviction”
Convictions with a sentence of 30 months or less will become spent after a certain period of time. This period is known as a ‘rehabilitation period’. Its length depends on how severe the penalty was.
Exceptions
If the job requires a criminal record check, and this shows that someone’s not suitable for a job because of a spent conviction, the employer can withdraw a job offer.
Criminal record checks are carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which used to be the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). CRB checks are now called DBS checks.
It’s against the law to refuse someone a job because they’ve got a spent conviction, unless it’s because a DBS check shows that they’re unsuitable.
NACRO have a helpful publication; “Applying for work” (with a criminal record) - Information for people working with prisoners and ex-offender.” It is downloadable as a pdf from their website www.nacro.org.uk
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