Employment woes for ex-convicts

Davies Ndumiso Sibanda, Labour Matters
ONE of the debatable issues in recruitment is the hiring of ex-convicts, a thing that is shunned by some employers.

Talking to chief executives and human resources managers, one gets a mixed response with some indicating that there is nothing wrong with employing ex-convicts as they will have paid for their misconduct but others have a different view.

One chief executive when asked if he would employ ex-convicts he answered the question with an emphatic no.

He said it would be absurd to hire an ex-convict who raped a child to run a crèche or to hire an individual who was sent to jail for stealing money as your finance manager.

Such reaction by employers brings to the front the need for workers to conduct themselves in an ethical manner as some of the misconduct will affect one’s job prospects and acceptance by the workplace for the rest of one’s life.

It does not matter even if one repays society by serving his prison term or paying a fine, the misconduct stigma will remain intact up to your death.

One of the challenges of employing ex-convicts is that some of them are never really rehabilitated and it is not possible to distinguish a rehabilitated individual from one who has not been rehabilitated.

Once hired, individuals resort to their old ways causing discomfort and fear to other workers and in worse cases, some workers leave out of fear or uncomfortable and unsafe environment.

There are cases where the ex-convict has been sent back to jail damaging the employer’s world.

Another major challenge is that while some of the organisation’s clients might not mind doing business with an organisation represented by an ex-convict; there are many that will take exception to dealing with an organisation through an ex-convict.

In worse cases, hiring an ex-convict can damage the organisation’s brand, with many potential customers walking away.

I recall a case of a bank manager who spoke off the record saying that his bank does not lend money to organisations whose top managerial team includes ex-convicts.

He said such organisations rarely pass the risk ratings.

There is also the debatable argument by some employers that prison tends to degrade one’s behaviour and when the individual comes out, he has problems fitting into the workplace resulting in loss of productivity, collapse of harmonious workplace environment as a result of the ex-convict’s unacceptable workplace conduct.

This argument remains debatable given the efforts done by some prisons to rehabilitate ex-convicts and prepare them for life after prison.

Many employees have been known to shun working with ex-convicts.

They have fear for their safety when working with ex-convicts especially those who went to prison for violent crimes. This could have a negative impact on productivity, teamwork and others.

One category of ex-convicts that are almost roundly shunned by organisations are those who were convicted for crimes related to fraud or forgery.

They generally cannot be trusted with money and related matters.

Many organisations at reference checking stage look mainly for evidence of dishonesty, fraud or forgery and if the individual is tainted by any of these he has no chance of being employed.

Some organisations have in their mission statement issues such as serving with honesty and integrity thus they will not employ anyone who has offended their mission statement.

Many employers have argued that prison is a world of its own and when someone comes out of prison he or she needs both rehabilitation and re-integration into society, an area where they do not have the skills, resources or the time and as such they do not employ ex-convicts.

In conclusions, employing ex-convicts is generally frowned upon by many employers meaning that workers have to avoid acts that send them to jail as their prospects of getting jobs afterwards will be slim and there is also a need for improved rehabilitation programmes that can be accepted by the corporate world so as to give the ex-convicts a second chance.

Davies NdumisoSibanda can be contacted on: Email: [email protected]