Ban the Box

More than 11 million people in the UK have criminal conviction. The biggest influencing factor in reducing re-offending is employment. The following organisations have signed-up to Ban the Box:

Organisations signed up to Ban the Box in Northern Ireland have so far positively impacted available opportunities for people with convictions, covering 26,334 roles, where the risk of unfair discrimination is significantly reduced.

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 their starting point (what are their current processes)
2. Make the appropriate changes to their processes
3. Put Ban the Box into practice and communicate this internally and externally