Thames Water seeks to give ex-offenders a helping hand

Thames Water has signed up to a scheme to help ex-offenders access career opportunities in the water industry

Thames sad it has “signed the pledge” to remove the criminal convictions tick box from its application forms following a call from a campaign urging UK employers to “Ban the box” led by charity, Business in the Community .

The campaign has said removing the declaration of criminal convictions from the application form stage gives ex-offenders “a fair chance to compete for jobs”. Instead, the campaign counsels that companies should ask about previous convictions later in the recruitment process.

Thames said it has signed the pledge as part of its “ambitious recruitment programme, which plans to upskill people who are out of work due to Covid-19 and help increase social mobility in London and the Thames Valley.”

Employment and skills manager at Business in the Community, Charlotte Gibb, said: “Thames Water joins 150 Ban the Box employers that have collectively opened up 1.1 million roles to people with criminal convictions, demonstrating the scale of impact that could be achieved if every UK employer followed their example.”