Criminal record discrimination: How should workplaces handle employee criminal histories?

The Australian Human Rights Commission recently recommended that Suncorp should pay $2,500 in compensation to an employee, who was refused a job when Suncorp became aware that he had a 10 year old conviction for accessing and possessing child pornography offences.

The would-be employee had disclosed the offence during the recruitment process, and Suncorp declined to employ him. His employment had nothing to do with children, and the conviction had nothing directly to do with his employment or his performance as an employee. The recommendation reflected the fact that he had been punished for his crimes, and that a criminal conviction, even for a serious offence, is not a life-long bar to employment.