Job Opportunities

Important information - Criminal Records Bureau Checks

Like many organisations, Optua uses the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to assess the suitability of applicants who are offered employment. This is particularly important for us as we work with a lot of people who would be considered vulnerable and we therefore have a duty to ensure we employ suitable people.

We comply fully with the CRB Code of Practice - for more information about this you can visit www.crb.gov.uk, or ask us for a copy of the code.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 sets a scale of rehabilitation periods for people who have been convicted of criminal offences. After completing such a period without further conviction, the individual can regard any conviction as 'spent' (as if it had not occurred) when applying for jobs other than those that are 'exempted'.

The ROA 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 sets out a list of exempted occupations for which applicants are required to declare all criminal convictions. Posts within Optua fall within those exempted occupations; this means that all applicants for employment with Optua and Optua UK must declare all criminal convictions.

However, having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an applicant from working with us. If you are concerned about whether a previous conviction may mean we are not able to employ you, we would encourage you to discuss this with us in confidence before or at the time of your interview, and before going through the CRB process.

If you are offered employment, as part of our recruitment procedure we will apply for a CRB Disclosure on your behalf. We will ask you for a cheque for £50 to cover the cost of an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure and our administration fees. Because we provide a free disclosure for our employees, your cheque will be returned to you with your employment contract, when you start working for us.

However, in the event that you withdraw your application and we have already processed your CRB Disclosure, or if we consider it inappropriate to proceed with your employment because of information on a CRB Disclosure which you did not discuss with us, we will reserve the right to decide to use your cheque in payment of our incurred CRB costs.

We have taken this decision because we are regularly faced with situations where people have applied for jobs and then withdrawn their application mid-way through the recruitment process, and we have already incurred costs on their behalf. As a charitable organisation this does have an impact on our resources.

If you have any questions about this please call our Human Resources Department on 01473 836790 or email personnel@optua.org.uk