“I’m all for Second Chances…But…”: A Qualitative Study into Employer Perceptions of the Employability of People with Criminal Records

This thesis describes a qualitative study of the perceptions of employers around the employability of People with Criminal Records (PWCR), with the experiences of service providers who provide employability support to PWCR also presented. The study sets out to examine the barriers to employment for PWCR, how these barriers can be reduced, and the circumstances in which the barriers are perceived as too significant for employers. The study, which was theoretically informed by symbolic interactionism and phenomenology, used qualitative methods comprising of semi-structured interviews with a sample of employers from a variety of business sectors and sizes and service providers. The study design was motivated by a requirement to capture in-depth accounts of employer perceptions and the influential factors behind such perceptions. The study findings indicate how the concept of risk is at the forefront of employers’ decision making when considering applications from PWCR. The perceptions presented typically related to three categories: What Increases Perceived Risk? What Mitigates Perceived Risk? When is the Perceived Risk Considered Excessive? This thesis argues that the positive role which employment plays on desistance from crime is inhibited by a culture which is pre-occupied by risk, in which those who are making efforts to desist are labelled and stigmatised to a point whereby achieving employment is a significant barrier to their desistance journeys. In conclusion, this thesis suggests that there should be further awareness and training provided to employers to illustrate the benefits of employing of PWCR which also aims to challenge the stigmatising perceptions which contribute towards exclusionary policies. Further to this, this thesis proposes that changes are required to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, specifically through the implementation of a basic disclosure system in which disclosure is only required for offences which are relevant to the industry. This could prevent the tarnishing of applications through offence disclosure which is unnecessary and not legally required.

Citation

Squire, A. L. (2025). “I’m all for Second Chances…But…”: A Qualitative Study into Employer Perceptions of the Employability of People with Criminal Records [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. University of Chester.

Publisher

University of Chester

URI

https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/629900

Type

Thesis or dissertation

Language

en