People have never, ever, ever had a right to return to their jobs post-sentence.
spence82 What we do we do? Well, currently we legally require them to declare their convictions for all forms of employment for a certain time-frame and bar them from working in some professions for ever.
The odd thing is that it was acknowledged by the government this very year that having a criminal conviction disadvantages you in the employment market. Although many people seem not to know about that.
Critics are likely to argue it could prevent employers from gaining an accurate picture of prospective staff.
But justice minister Simon Hughes said the change would be a vital support for people who want to turn their back on crime and rebuild their lives.
“This is the biggest change to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act since the current system began in the Seventies,” he said.
“The aim is to ensure that people who made a mistake early in life are not punished indefinitely and are given the chance to contribute to society by getting an honest job and putting their offending behind them.
[...]
Offenders sentenced to between six and 30 months will see the period during which they must declare their conviction fall from 10 to four years. Those jailed for between 30 months and four years, who were previously required to disclose the offence throughout their lifetime, will now only have to reveal it for seven years. Offenders given non-custodial sentences will also see the disclosure period reduced.
www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/convicts-will-not-need-to-confess-criminal-past-to-employers-9125757.html