The Spent Convictions Act 2016

Employment matters

Check for any serious convictions but not "spent" convictions Pic: Shutterstock

The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures Act) 2016 came into force on April 29 of this year.

The purpose of the act is to clear the criminal record of any person who was convicted of certain types of minor offences, provided that seven years have passed since the date of conviction.

This will certainly have an impact on employers as job applicants are no longer obligated to declare “spent” convictions.

Under ...