application forms

[bitteorca]

Hi,

I have an application form which requires me to state any spent and unspent convictions that I may have. My question is this, Is my drink driving conviction a conviction? sounds like a stupid question...but a police officer once told me that it is a motor offence, and I do not have to put it on application forms (and haven't been doing). However, this application is different, as it involves the potential of working with children or people who are vulnerable. It happened 5 years ago this coming August. I'm just a bit afraid that people will judge me a lot because of it, and it will hinder my chances of getting the position. It happened quite a while ago and I was young

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

I disagree with the advice you have previously been given. Drink Driving is a conviction like any other criminal offence and will be recorded by the Criminal Records Bureau as it is a "recordable" offence. Under the Rehabiliation of Offenders Act a sentence of a fine or community order becomes spent after 5 years, a prison sentence of 6 months or less is spent after 7 years and a prison sentence of more than 6 months up to 2 years and 6 months after 10 years. If the Rehabilition of Offenders Act applies to the form you are completing (you can assume it does if it is silent on the subject) then you must disclose the conviction for the duration of the rehabilition period but don't have to mention it after that has expired, although remember that a drink driving offence remains on your driving licence for 11 years before it can be removed by the DVLA.

If the form says that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does NOT apply, or the form asks you to disclose all convictions including those that are spent (as you might expect it to for a job working with children or vulnerable people or for certain professions) then you are required to disclose all convictions recorded against you.