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EU migrants with criminal convictions get jobs denied to British workers under new criminal records regime
Migrants with criminal convictions will be able to get jobs denied to British workers under a new EU-wide criminal records regime being adopted this month. In Britain, even the most minor convictions for student pranks or breaches of the peace can come back to haunt jobseekers years later if they apply for positions as teachers, policemen or other sensitive roles. But migrants from EU countries applying for the same jobs will be given a clean bill of health, even if they have similar convictions, because other countries either wipe the slate clean or do not keep records of low-level offences. The problem also applies to British workers trying to get jobs in other EU countries. Justice campaigners have described the situation as scandalous and have asked MEPs and the Home Office to address the issue as a matter of urgency. The problem arose after Britain signed up to a trial of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS), a new system of sharing criminal records between EU member states which is being permanently adopted this month. Britains rigorous Criminal Records Bureau regime means that even convictions classed as spent remain on file for life and can be thrown up during background checks by potential employers anywhere in the EU. In stark contrast, countries such as Belgium and Germany routinely destroy after just three years records of convictions resulting in prison sentences of less than six months or fines of less than 500 euros. Other EU countries have laws which prevent employers being told about spent or minor convictions, and in some countries, such as the Netherlands, fines of less than 100 euros for minor crimes are not treated as criminal convictions for the purposes of CRB checks. As well as the disparity in the way records are kept, EU countries have wildly varying sentences for different offences. In Germany, someone who indecently assaults a child can be given a sentence of as little as six months, whereas in the UK the starting point is two years.
Posted by: lotp 2012-04-07 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=342318 |