The WRC recommended that prospective employees disclose material facts before starting work and flag inaccuracies in pre-employment reports. The recommendation, dated 24 September 2024, followed a dispute over a worker’s summary dismissal after his employer learned of a conviction.
The worker said he had referred to an ongoing legal issue during pre-employment checks and was told the checks were complete with no issues. He argued that he had no fair opportunity to respond to the allegations before his dismissal. The employer, a globally recognised e-commerce business, said it learned of the conviction about nine months after he started work and dismissed him under a contract clause covering convictions.
The adjudication officer found that when the worker asked whether the checks were satisfactory, he had not disclosed his guilty plea or name change. The officer also noted that the contract did not set a period for considering convictions. The WRC recommended that employers clarify how long different categories of conviction remain relevant to a role.