Serco pledges to unlock thousands of jobs for people with criminal records through partnership with justice charity

Serco is teaming up with employability experts Offploy to expand the number of sustainable employment opportunities for people with convictions in a bid to address the UK’s skills shortage, reduce reoffending, and allow Serco to benefit from often overlooked skills and experience.

Offploy is a UK-based social enterprise and charity that leverages lived experience of the criminal justice system supporting employers to consistently recruit people with criminal records.

Serco’s partnership with Offploy is focussed on removing barriers in the recruitment process for those with convictions, offering appropriate, meaningful and sustainable careers in thousands of roles over across the country.  This builds on and amplifies the Pathways Programme launched in 2025 where anyone with a conviction and the right skills is guaranteed an interview for most roles across the organisation.

With recent research commissioned by DSA Connect showing that only 16% of UK businesses have recruitment policies in place for people with convictions, Serco is proud to show its commitment to support socially excluded people into the world of work. Serco’s inclusive employment practices, evidenced by Guaranteed Interview Schemes, has already employed thousands of veterans, people with disabilities and those with convictions, who often face societal barriers into employment.

The partnership has three key priorities –

1. Remain Legal and Compliant – Asking appropriate questions, conducting the correct level of checks and handling data in a legal manner will continue to be a priority, embedded with additional training from the Offploy’s lived-experience team.
2. Improve Recruitment & Retention - Helping attract talented individuals with prior convictions, while building the systems and support needed to retain and develop them for long-term success. Serco is committed to making a shift change during the recruitment process, so this becomes standard practice.
3. Enhance Social Value & Business Development - Embedding inclusive recruitment into Serco’s broader business strategy, strengthening Serco’s ability to deliver on social value commitments while enhancing workforce resilience.

The partnership will focus on an initial pilot of 30 diverse roles from across Serco such as a Bid Writer, Chef or Sales Executive where people with convictions will be offered guaranteed Interviews, go through a robust risk assessment and receive bespoke onboarding considering additional needs those with a criminal record face. The longer-term commitment will focus on applying everything learnt from the pilot to all qualifying roles across the UK.

A current Serco employee, who has a criminal record, explains why seeing the skills and experience of a candidate rather than their past mistakes makes a difference: "The sheer number of rejections I faced because of my conviction, even with a degree and experience, was exhausting. It took hundreds of applications, but Serco was the company that finally saw me. I was offered more than just employment; I found a sustainable career with real responsibility, allowing me to make a positive difference to people every day. This job is everything: it provides the stability my family needs and is my chance to build a brighter future."

Shaun Stacey, Serco’s Chief People and Culture Officer for UK and Europe, said: “This partnership is about creating a model that other large employers can learn from. With our scale and reach and Offploy's proven methodology, we think this has the potential to influence an entire sector's approach to inclusive recruitment. It represents more than training. To Serco, our

Pathways Programme is not a side-project, we are ensuring inclusive recruitment is an integral part of our processes and culture.

“We want to implement a lasting change that creates opportunities for individuals while strengthening our business. This partnership demonstrates our commitment to making the

Pathways Programme core to our recruitment and will impact tens of thousands of lives for years to come.”

Jacob Hill, an ex-prisoner and the founder of Offploy celebrated the partnership: “Serco, an organisation that most people in the United Kingdom have engaged with in some way or another in their life, is showing Big Business that employing people with criminal records is everyone’s responsibility and the best applicants will go to the companies who embed an open culture, revisit their policies and train their team on inclusive processes.

“As someone with a criminal conviction, representing 1 in 4 adults in the UK, I welcome Serco’s forward-thinking, risk-appropriate approach by overcoming out-dated perceptions and seeing someone’s potential, not just their past. “