Ban the Box

Ban the Box aims to give people with convictions a fairer chance at securing employment, by encouraging companies to ask the conviction question at a later point in the application process. This reduces the risk of unfair discrimination and overlooking talent.

Ban the Box asks companies to commit to:

• Removing the conviction question tick box from the initial job application stage
• Considering applicants skills, experience, and ability to do the job before asking about criminal convictions
• Reviewing their recruitment processes

This is achieved using three steps:

1.  Understand your starting point (what are your current processes)

2.  Make the appropriate changes to your processes

3.  Put Ban the Box into practice and communicate this internally and externally

Organisations signed up to Ban the Box in Northern Ireland have so far positively impacted available opportunities for people with convictions, covering 65,447 roles, where the risk of unfair discrimination is significantly reduced.

We brought this campaign to NI following its success in England where the campaign and its signatories opened up one million job roles within UK businesses for people with convictions. Companies are being supported to sign up to Ban the Box through advisory workshops, Seeing is Believing visits, and employer toolkits and guides.

The Ban the Box Steering Group oversees and helps drive the campaign. It meets quarterly. We are currently seeking representatives from the Retail and Hospitality sectors. To find out more, contact Ryan Stockard.

We are very grateful to our funders, the Department of Justice, who are helping us deliver Ban the Box in NI. We are also working with support from NIACRO and Equality Commission for NI to develop this exciting campaign.

Resources

Ban the Box campaign – Can I get a job with a criminal record? Click here to find out more.