Agenda item

Ban the box

The Chairman welcomed Member of the Court Natasha Lloyd-Owen to the meeting who asked the following question;

Would the City Corporation increase its inclusive recruitment practices by becoming a ‘ban the box’ employer and removing barriers to employment for people with criminal convictions by:

1.    removing requests for disclosure of unspent criminal convictions on its job application forms; and

2.    evaluating the skills, abilities and persona of all candidates equally before asking about criminal convictions

In response, the Director of Human Resources advised that this was an area which the City Corporation was looking into and a report would be brought before the Committee at a later date with information on how it could be implemented. It was noted that 75% of employers admit to discriminating against applicants with a criminal conviction; however, some roles required disclosure due to safeguarding needs therefore work was being undertaken to identify those roles in preparation of recommendations.

Members suggested that officers liaise with City firms who had already undertaken this work, it was also observed that it might be helpful to include the Sheriffs and the Old Bailey on this.

Members voiced their support on this issue.

Job evaluation process

A Member explained that the amount of time it took to complete the job evaluation process had been brought to their attention. In response the Director of Human Resources advised that whilst job evaluations could be lengthy if being considered as part of a departmental restructure. One of the main issues was if the evaluation did not result in the anticipated grade, this could then result in delays. The Director advised the Committee if there were any direct examples, she would look at them.