September

People Management reports how Lawyers have sounded fresh warnings about the importance of checking references properly, after a pilot was found by a tribunal to have used a pseudonym for a Star Wars villain on an application form. 

Birmingham Employment Tribunal dismissed Mr N F M’s claims against West Atlantic. However, it allowed the airline’s counterclaims and told the pilot to pay back almost £5,000 in training costs. The pilot had successfully applied for a position with the commercial freight airline operator as a captain. 

But court documents stated that the pilot, who did not attend the tribunal hearing, had “provided a false reference”. The reference on his application “purported to be from Desilijic Tiure”, an alternative name for Star Wars character Jabba the Hutt. 

The tribunal heard that, when West Atlantic discovered this, it confronted the employee, who “initially denied but, ultimately, largely admitted” the false referee. West Atlantic offered him the opportunity to resign on 30 June 2017, which he did. 

The pilot claimed three months’ notice pay, his contractual notice entitlement. West Atlantic counterclaimed for recovery of his training costs, as he had signed an agreement stating that these were repayable if he was terminated within the first six months of his employment. 

The tribunal dismissed the pilot’s claim but allowed West Atlantic’s counterclaim. 

Allied Solutions, LLC failed to provide the plaintiff, Shameca Robertson, with a copy of her background report after it took back its initial job offer due to "non-conviction information" found within the report.  The district court said she lacked standing to sue, but the plaintiff argued this limited her ability to understand and respond to the decision, which was ruled in her favour and further proceedings were agreed upon.

A number of 'non-convictional' criminal checks resulted from the background checks causing Allied Solutions to revoke the job offer. The complianant alledges that Allied Soltuins HR department then contacted her to recind the offer of employment withut offering her a full copy of the screening report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) consumers are entitled to a copy of their background screening report.

Allied Solutions failed to inform the candidate about the background check, and to show it to her along with her rights after the decision was made, which was deemed illegal.

The Cabinet Office has been running a consultation into the practice of employers dismissing applicants with a criminal record.

Employers “too often” discount job applicants with a criminal record before even considering their suitability for the role, the government has been advised.   The Cabinet Office had been running a consultation on supporting ex-offenders into employment. That consultation closed for feedback last Friday. 

In its submission, Unlock criticised the use of questions asking potential employees to ‘tick a box’ if they have a criminal record, noting such practices were being used by organisations to “deselect” candidates and offered them no chance to explain or add any context. It added the practice also led to those with past convictions self-selecting out of certain roles. 

“Too often, employers overlook skills, experience and qualifications if an applicant declares they have a criminal record,” the submission continued. “Employers – supported by government – should ban the box as the first step to recruiting the best candidates for their jobs.”  The charity added its own research had found more than two-thirds of large employers ask applicants whether they have a criminal record in the first stages of the recruitment process. 

In 2013, Business in the Community (BITC), partnering with Unlock and Nacro, launched the ‘Ban the Box’ campaign, urging employers to drop questions asking potential employees to tick a box if they have a criminal record. Since then, more than 100 employers have signed up.

“We believe screening based on a tick box is not an effective way of excluding inappropriate applicants and we can’t assume that everybody with a criminal conviction poses a risk,” BITC wrote in its consultation submission. “A successful organisation needs to take a long-term view, looking for the potential offered by candidates from a variety of walks of life, rather than recruiting in your own image.”