Disclosure of criminal convictions
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons( RCVS) sets out clear standards of professional conduct for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses in the UK. Among these standards is the obligation to disclose any criminal convictions, cautions or adverse findings that could affect registration or fitness to practise. Understanding what needs to be disclosed and what does not is vital to protect your professional standing and uphold the trust of the public and the profession.
An obligation to disclose
Under section 5.3 of the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, all veterinary professionals are required to disclose any caution, conviction, conditional charge or adverse finding that could impact on their registration. This obligation includes:
• Convictions and cautions issued both in the UK and overseas
• Convictions that are spent but not protected
• Adverse findings from university fitness to practise investigations.
However, protected spent convictions do not need to be disclosed.
Key definitions
A conviction is considered spent when a legally defined period has passed and no further offences have been committed. Normally, spent convictions do not need to be disclosed to employers, but the veterinary profession is an exception due to the sensitive nature of the work and the trust placed in practitioners.
A protected spent conviction is a type of spent conviction that is legally exempt from disclosure in most circumstances, including to the RCVS. Certain conditions must be met for a conviction to be considered protected. To qualify as a protected spent conviction, the following must apply:
• It was a single offence( not multiple related offences)
• It did not result in a custodial prison sentence of more than 4 years
• A legally specified amount of time has passed since the conviction. For persons aged 18 or older at the time of the offence, this is 11 years; for persons under the age of 18 years it is 5½ years
• The offence is not on the list of offences that can never be protected.
The list of offences that cannot be protected includes those for which there was a custodial sentence of more than 4 years; serious violent offences, such as murder or grievous bodily harm( GBH); sexual offences; offences involving children, vulnerable adults or animals; terrorism-related offences; and multiple related offences, even if these offences are minor.
An adverse finding occurs when a university or other educational institution determines that a student ' s fitness to practise is impaired. This includes findings by institutions both in the UK and abroad. These must also be disclosed to the RCVS.
Requirements to disclose convictions Type of offence or finding
Recent( not spent) conviction Spent but not protected conviction Protected spent conviction Conviction that will never be spent Adverse fitness to practise finding
Minor traffic offences or local authority notices
Disclosure required?
Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
10 Veterinary Nursing Journal