Jayden* was working for a security company, but was dismissed from work because he had a criminal record. According to him, his criminal record was cleared before he started working for the company. To make problems worse, his company hasn’t been paying his UIF contribution to the state, and he says they had terrible working conditions. What can he do?
Scorpion Legal Protection’s advice
In terms of Section 271 of the Criminal Procedure Act, certain minor convictions fall away on application for expungement (removal) if a period of more than 10 years has elapsed since the date of conviction. However, there are conditions that apply. Offences that can be removed from the record are minor offences which did not include violence – like petty theft, shoplifting or fraud (only up to a certain amount) – and a period of at least 10 years should have passed since the conviction. Offences that do not qualify are: murder, rape, sexual offences, armed robbery and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH).
Offenders like Jayden may apply for the expungement of their criminal record to the director general of the DOJ, asking him to issue an expungement certificate in respect of qualifying convictions.
On a separate note, with regard to his employer, Jayden should have reported the working conditions and the fact that there were no deductions for UIF to the Department of Labour while he was still employed, as not contributing UIF is illegal, and his employer could get into big trouble. Jayden could also have a case of unfair dismissal. He should refer the case to either the bargaining council for the security industry or the CCMA.
Tips:
- Only certain criminal offences qualify to be removed from your record, and there are certain requirements that must be met.
- If you think you may have a case of unfair dismissal, you can refer your matter to the Private Security Sector Bargaining Council or the CCMA, but you must do this within 30 days of being dismissed from your job
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* Terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions apply (click here to view the Legal Membership Agreement). This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. Names have been changed to protect identity.