Driving without Due Care and Attention

[roseymisty]

I pled guilty to driving without due care & attention. Last week I got fined �75 and 3 points.
Long before all this happened, I had applied for a job in the Civil Service and passed the exam. I've now received a letter saying that I had stated I had no criminal convictions on my application form, but they now note that I have one. I'm concerned this will cost me the opportunity of a good career.

Is driving without due care and attention really a criminal offence?

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Almost any motoring offence comes under 'criminal law'. (The only exceptions which I can think of are those parking offences which are dealt with by council staff rather than by the police). So, for example, speeding is a criminal offence.

As far as 'having a criminal record' is concerned, criminal offences which are dealt with by use a fixed penalty notice (e.g. dropping a cigarette end in the street or minor speeding offences) are not usually considered to be part of such a record. (Even so, the offender has still committed a criminal offence).

Conviction by a court, however, always creates an 'official' criminal record which, subject to the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, must always be declared when a potential employer asks if the applicant has any criminal convictions. (The RoO Act specifies periods of time after which offences become 'spent'. Unless the employment is exempt from the provisions of the Act, there is no requirement to declare 'spent' convictions).

[Buenchico]

There are a few jobs where any criminal conviction bars you from employment. (Some police forces, for example, might operate this policy but others, like the Metropolitan Police, don't automatically reject people with minor convictions). Job descriptions vary greatly under the general umbrella of 'civil service' jobs. As long as your conviction doesn't automatically bar you from employment (and you explain your misunderstanding of the definition of a 'criminal offence' to your employer), it's unlikely that your conviction will damage your immediate employment prospects.

Offences which are dealt with by fines are usually 'spent' after 5 years (or half that time for someone who is under 18 on the date of conviction). So, for most types of employment you won't have to declare this conviction after 5 years. (If the particular area, in which you work, is exempt from the provisions of the RoO Act, you'll have to continue declaring the conviction throughout your career but it's unlikely to carry any great weight when your applications for advancement are considered).

A couple of final points:
1. Although I doubt that your conviction will affect your career, an employer who already knows about an offence is not obliged to disregard it when it becomes spent.
2. Remember that you must disclose this conviction, when required to do so, for 5 years. Failure to do so, whether it's applying for another job or simply filling in an insurance application form, will render you liable to prosecution for 'seeking to gain a pecuniary advantage by deception'

Chris

[roseymisty]

Thank you very much. This information has been very useful and will help in the future when I will again require motor insurance.