Have you ever searched yourself and found the information to be outdated or incorrect? .
In this day and age, it's certain to say that social media and search engines have become a huge part of our lives. It's not unusual for an employer to do a google search to see who they could be potentially employing. This can prove difficult, especially if one is on a journey of rehabilitation. So what can be done about this moving forward?
"I did type my name in google and was shocked to see my face and an article about my conviction online, before applying for jobs I knew I had to find out a way to get this removed as the article was also incorrect" - Elizabeth
Google and The Right To Be Forgotten
In this article we will review the various ways of removing negative articles about yourself. The right to be forgotten is the right to have private information about an individual removed from internet searches and directories.
You are able to directly ask Google for a particular article(s) to be removed using the available form here. The UK is in a jurisdiction that upholds RTBF and in order to get the process started, you must be able to provide a form of ID and prove you are the individual that the article is referring to. At Impact & Skills, we use a template that covers the following criteria's to ensure your application is successful with search engines -
Is the information accurate?
Is the information inadequate?
Is the information irrelevant?
Is there a public interest for the information to be available?
If the request is approved, the URLs are removed from the countries involved.
Claim Your Narrative
If your application under RTBF was unsuccessful, there are still other ways you can reclaim your narrative. It may be best to utilise how you can add your own content to social channels. This could be in the form of a blog, highlighting your journey and using it as a platform to inspire others or creating a profile on Linkedin. These strategies will help you to create your own narrative and also push outdated links further down Google's search engines.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
At Impact & Skills we are constantly asked by our participants "Do I have to disclose my conviction to my employer?". The answer to this question varies. If a conviction has passed a specific number of years, the conviction can be ignored and is protected under The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Apart from those given prison sentences of more than 4 years, individuals with convictions will be able to benefit and avoid facing discrimination whilst looking for work.
When applying for work, you are able to cross "no" so long as the conviction has been spent. Although there are some roles, which are exempt from the Act. If the role requests for all convictions, you should check what level of disclosure you can give the employer. If it is a Basic DBS disclosure, you are legally allowed to withhold this information
Use the Rehabilitation Table from Unlock.org.uk to determine if the Act covers your conviction:
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