Consultancy and training for organisations
Inclusive hiring in action
Hiring With Conviction: building confidence, clarity and consistency in recruitment
Working Chance is the UK’s only employment charity specialising in women with convictions, We have over 16 years’ experience supporting employers of all sizes to recruit people with convictions fairly, safely and effectively. We understand that getting hiring decisions right matters to organisations commercially as well as ethically, and we help employers to make practical, business-driven hiring decisions. We partner with employers across sectors to strengthen their recruitment practice, reduce unnecessary exclusion and embed inclusive hiring in a way that stands up to scrutiny from managers, boards and regulators.
Why this matters
Recruiting people with convictions is not a charitable act. Many employers want to widen access to opportunity, but feel uncertain when criminal convictions are involved. We ensure inclusive hiring is done well and with confidence and clarity. When done well, it strengthens recruitment outcomes, improves retention and reduces unnecessary cost and risk. Across sectors with persistent turnover, skills shortages and operational pressure, employers consistently tell us that the biggest challenge is not willingness to hire, it is confidence. Confidence in disclosure conversations. Confidence in DBS interpretation. Confidence that managers across the business are making the right hiring decisions.
Questions we hear regularly include:
- How do we assess risk fairly and proportionately?
- How do we handle disclosure and move away from blanket exclusions without exposing the organisation?
- How do we balance safeguarding, compliance and inclusion?
- How do we support hiring managers to feel confident?
Working Chance helps employers to navigate these questions with clarity, confidence and care.
We don’t ask employers to lower standards or ignore risk. Here's our approach:
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What we doWe help organisations to:
- Make informed, business decisions
- Apply clear and proportionate risk frameworks
- Build confidence across HR, leadership and hiring teams
- Align inclusive hiring with values, governance and culture
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How we do itOur work is:
- Practical, focused on real hiring situations and the challenges businesses face
- Evidence-based, informed by our expert understanding of the legal and government policy contexts
- Trauma-informed and contextual, recognising the circumstances and backgrounds that can lead people into the justice system
- Ethical, treating candidates fairly, respectfully and non-judgementally
What working with us looks like
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Confidence-building sessionsAudit & Training
Practical sessions for HR teams, recruiters and hiring managers, covering:
- Understanding convictions and disclosure
- Proportionate risk assessment
- Lawful and fair decision-making
- Confident conversations with candidates
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Hands-on help
Consultancy
- Review of recruitment policies and practices
- Support to remove blanket bans
- Development of clear internal decision frameworks
- Guidance on when and how to escalate complex decisions, ensuring safeguarding, governance and accountability are maintained
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Deeper impact
Ongoing partnerships
- Support you every step of the way as you embed inclusive hiring
- Ongoing evidence and learnings including case studies and peer learning
- Opportunities to contribute to wider system change
Impact for your organisation
Employers we work with report:
Increased confidence in hiring decisions
Clearer, more consistent recruitment processes
Improved access to diverse talent
Stronger staff retention and loyalty
Stronger alignment between your values and practice
Who is this for?
Employers across public, private and non-profit sectors
HR and People teams
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Senior Leadership Teams (SLT)
Organisations at every stage of inclusive hiring
“Our partnership with Working Chance has strengthened our recruitment approach. We’ve diversified our talent pool and helped bridge skills gaps. Welcoming women with lived experience has also enriched the empathy and understanding within our teams.”
Jessica Laryea Group Director of Operations, YMCA St Paul's Group