Around 12.5 million people in the UK have a criminal record. That's roughly one in four of the working-age population. Yet for many, a past conviction remains one of the most stubborn barriers to finding work.
The result is a significant pool of motivated, capable people that most employers overlook entirely. But over 80% of employers of ex-offenders have positively rated their reliability, motivation, attendance, and performance. The challenge, for most organisations, is knowing where to start.
Timpson has built a reputation for looking beyond someone's past and focusing on their potential. For employers facing skills shortages and increasing competition for talent, that's a lesson worth paying attention to.
To find out more about the motivations and impact of Timpson Group’s initiative, we spoke to Darren Burns, Director of Diversity and Inclusion and Head of the Timpson Foundation.
Q: What prompted the decision to hire ex-offenders and why has it remained such an important part of your culture?
A: The whole thing kind of started by accident. Our CEO, James Timpson, now Lord Timpson, was invited to visit a local prison in Warrington with some other business leaders. It was James' first visit to a prison and he didn't really know what to expect. When he arrived, he was shown around by a young chap named Matt, who was a serving inmate.
Matt had a big personality, James liked him immediately and thought that Matt would make a great addition to the Timpson business. So, James gave him a business card and said: “Matt, when you get released, give me a call and I'll see if we can get you a job.” A few months later, James did receive a call, but not from Matt, it was from Matt's mum. She said: “Mr. Timpson, you met my son in prison a few months ago. You offered him a job. He's not got the courage to call you himself, so that's why I'm calling on his behalf. Will you give Matt a job at Timpson?” And James said, “Absolutely!”
So, we brought Matt into the Timpson business, and he did a great job for us. From that, we realised that if there's one great candidate like Matt, surely there's going to be hundreds, if not thousands, of people like him who just need that opportunity and a second chance.
We then began to proactively recruit ex-offenders into the Timpson business.
I'm very proud to say that we are now one of, if not the largest, employer of people with convictions and prison leavers in the UK. Approximately 12% of our entire workforce are colleagues who have a past criminal conviction.
Q: What misconceptions do employers often have about hiring people with criminal convictions?
A: I think the biggest misconception is that people think prison leavers and people with convictions are very dangerous, often not work-ready, very chaotic, dishonest, or all of these things - obviously it's not true. While those people may well exist, the vast majority of individuals in our prisons are just regular people. People who've made a bad choice or a series of bad choices, often because of circumstances, and they just need an opportunity and a second chance. And, if you give them that second chance, they will go on to work very hard and be very loyal employees.
Q: How do you identify and connect with people who are currently in prison or have recently been released?
A: We do it in a number of ways. We work very closely with an organisation called the New Futures Network, who are an offshoot of the Ministry of Justice. They are specialist employment brokers, so it's their job to introduce businesses like us to prisons so that they can go in, interview people in custody, and offer them employment.
But because we've been hiring ex-offenders for such a long time now, we're in the very fortunate position that Timpson is synonymous with being ex-offender friendly. What that means practically, is that people feel confident enough and emboldened enough to apply via the usual channels – such as applying online, or they'll even pop into a branch and say, “Hi, I've just been released from prison,” or “I've got a criminal conviction. Will you consider me for one of your vacancies?” And obviously we say, “Of course, let's have a chat,” and then we take it from there.
Q: How do you balance risk management with giving people a genuine second chance?
A: I think the important thing to bear in mind with risk is that it's often the perception of risk. The fact is, other than a tiny handful of the almost 90,000 people in prison in England and Wales, the vast majority are going to be released at some point. These people are going to be our neighbours, they're going to be sat next to us on a train, on the bus, in a coffee shop, in the park while we're walking our dogs. So, you've just got to be practical about risk. Obviously, if somebody's been convicted of a string of driving offences, then we're not going to give them a job driving one of our vehicles. But other than that, we have honest and frank chats with people with full disclosure, and nine times out of 10, it's not an issue.
We have got some red lines, and there are some offences that aren’t really compatible with working for our business. But, the vast majority of people we are able to offer employment to.
Q: What support/training do you provide ex-offender employees during their transition into work?
A: We don't provide any specialist training to our ex-offenders. When people join us from prison, they join the Timpson business family, and we really look after them exactly the same way that we look after all our existing colleagues. The only difference is, we know from experience, often there are some bumps in the road in the very, very early stages. Because of this, we offer some flexibility to people who've just left prison, because we realise they've often got a lot to deal with, such as processing the fact that they've been to prison, things that they've lost, or things that they might have to sort out when they get released.
But otherwise, we treat all our colleagues exceptionally well, because we know that happy colleagues make for productive colleagues. For example, we've got a whole raft of welfare benefits that all our colleagues, including our prison-leaver colleagues, can access, including two full-time, fully qualified counsellors, mental health first aiders, financial hardship funds, etc. We are proud to take care of our people.
Q: How have existing colleagues responded to working alongside employees with criminal convictions, and has that changed any perceptions or assumptions they may have previously held?
A: When we first started employing prison leavers and ex-offenders, it was almost 25 years ago - so it was before my time with Timpson, but I've been reliably informed that our colleagues thought it was a terrible idea!
They thought these people were going to be dangerous, they were going to steal from us, they were going to cause reputational damage, and they were going to upset our customers. But none of that was true. And because it wasn't true, and because we were very careful to choose the right people who were ready to make a positive change to their lives, then we've brought our colleagues along with us on this ex-offender employment journey.
What we find now, is that our colleagues are completely on board with our approach to inclusive recruitment. They're very supportive, they're very nurturing, and they really take care of our colleagues, particularly the ones who have been to prison, because they know they've been through a lot, and they may need some additional help in the early days.
Q: Have you seen a positive difference in employee retention, loyalty, or engagement? Are there any other benefits you have seen throughout your organisation?
A: Hiring ex-offenders has been hugely beneficial to our business. Quite frankly, people are cheaper to recruit when we recruit them from prison, they stay with us longer, they're more loyal, and our retention rate is favourable for prison leavers as opposed to people recruited through more conventional streams.
Our prison leaver colleagues, believe it or not, are statistically more honest than people that we recruit from more ordinary streams. And they're just very loyal, hardworking people. Obviously, it doesn't work out for everybody, but then it doesn't work out for everybody who joins us in a more usual way. What we do find is that the colleagues from prison are often very grateful for the opportunity we've given them, and we just get that back in loyalty and hard work.
In terms of what it does for the business more widely, I honestly believe being such an inclusive employer makes our business a more rewarding and interesting place to work. Plus, it also fits in with our culture of kindness and compassion.
Q: What would you say to someone who is considering hiring ex-offenders for the first time?
A: First piece of advice would be absolutely do it. You can't consider yourself to be an inclusive employer if you're not hiring people from prison. There are 14 million people in the UK with a conviction more serious than a driving offence, so that is pretty much one-sixth of the UK population. So, to consign that huge swathe of the population to the employment scrapheap, you're effectively not accessing a huge potential pool of talent.
Just do it. Start small, speak to other businesses like us who've been doing this for a long time, and get some advice from them. Speak to your local prison, speak to the prison employment lead, speak to the New Futures Network… just get some professional advice and do it.
We've had no regrets and it's been great for our business.
Q: When someone who has served a prison sentence is given a meaningful job opportunity, what's the wider impact, not just for that individual, but for their family, community, and society as a whole?
A: I think there are huge societal benefits to offering prison leavers jobs. Employment is a key factor to reduce re-offending. Sixty-one per cent of prison leavers will re-offend within two years of leaving custody, but that is reduced to 19% if people have full-time employment. So, the evidence is there that employment is a key factor to reduce re-offending.
But it's not the only thing people need. First and foremost, people need somewhere safe to live. They need a support network, they need friends, family, people to care for them, love them, look out for them. But after that, employment is that all important factor. For us, by helping prison leavers or people with convictions into employment, everybody wins.
The offenders win because they're not wasting their lives in prison. The offenders’ families win because they're not losing their loved one. The taxpayer wins because re-offending is significantly reduced and people are working. But I think more importantly than that, we all win as a society because our communities are safer and ultimately there are fewer victims of crime.
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