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Using the theory of Planned Behaviour as the basis, the study investigates the impact of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control on rehiring intention. The predictors of attitude (i.e. organisational culture, risk and government incentives) and perceived behavioural control (i.e. skills and supporting documents) were examined by expanding the TPB model.

A self-administered survey was used to gather data from Malaysian firms hiring ex-offenders. Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to verify the study's proposed research model's hypothesis.

The SEM analysis showed attitude and subjective norm as solid predictors of rehiring intention. For attitude, organisational culture and government incentives were proven to have an impact. Besides perceived behavioural control, the skill set was a significant predictor.

This study suggests that active involvement of the government to engage employers with ex-offenders through incentives (tax deductions and wage and training subsidies) and prison job fairs can increase their employment opportunities. There is also a need for formal guidelines and practices on hiring ex-offenders in organisations to promote a positive hiring culture. Establishing an employment-based re-entry unit that provides ex-offenders with various transition skill programs, such as technical skills, job search skills and life skills, is crucial for their employment prospects.

This study is among the pioneers in investigating ex-offenders’ rehiring agenda, specifically examining factors that influence employers' decision making. The results are relevant to managers, regulators, institutions and NGOs to structure the right interventions to ensure ex-offenders are successfully hired. It is found that Interventions aiming to increase job opportunities for ex-offenders require activities that expand community and ex-offender engagement since it reduces the social stigma and promotes more ex-offenders accepting behaviour.

Ex-prisoners often face significant challenges in their efforts to find meaningful and stable work, undermining their chances of successful reintegration back into the community. These problems are likely to be compounded for those who have an intellectual disability (ID), given evidence that the disabled generally experience high levels of discrimination when applying for and maintaining jobs. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether members of the public hold different attitudes and expectations towards the employment of ex-offenders who have an ID and a history of criminal offending.

Samples of 642 participants, recruited via social media, were presented with vignettes, and then completed a short survey designed to measure their attitudes and expectations towards the employment of ex-offenders.

Whilst the presence of a mild ID did not significantly affect community attitudes towards ex-offender employment, it did change expectations about employment outcomes.

It appears that ex-offenders are perceived as a homogenous group of people, despite actual and substantial differences existing within this population.

There is a need to actively educate the community about differences between subgroups of ex-offenders in relation to the employment needs of those with an ID.

The social inclusion of ex-offenders with an ID lies at the heart of any effective and progressive criminal justice policy.

This is one of the only studies that has examined public attitudes towards this group.

Barriers to employment are a significant issue in the United States and abroad. As civil rights legislation continues to be enforced and as employers seek to diversify their workplaces, it is incumbent upon the management field to offer insights that address obstacles to work. Although barriers to employment have been addressed in various fields such as psychology and economics, management scholars have addressed this issue in a piecemeal fashion. As such, our review will offer a comprehensive, integrative model of barriers to employment that addresses both individual and organizational perspectives. We will also address societal-level concerns involving these barriers. An integrative perspective is necessary for research to progress in this area because many individuals with barriers to employment face multiple challenges that prevent them from obtaining and maintaining full employment. While the additive, or possibly multiplicative, effect of employment barriers have been acknowledged in related fields like rehabilitation counseling and vocational psychology, the Human Resource Management (HRM) literature has virtually ignored this issue. We discuss suggestions for the reduction or elimination of barriers to employment. We also provide an integrative model of employment barriers that addresses the mutable (amenable to change) nature of some barriers, while acknowledging the less mutable nature of others.

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that affect how managers assess the importance of criminal history for job seekers with criminal records in Ban the Box states.

This study uses a phenomenological investigative approach to examine narrative interview data obtained from 18 human resource (HR) professionals in organizations in five Ban the Box states.

Contrary to previous research, the findings presented in this paper show that managers are inclined to hire applicants with a criminal history. However, study findings indicate that those hiring decisions are positively influenced by: perceived value of criminal history; concerns about safety and cost; characteristics of the offense; motivation to hire; and evidence of applicant growth. Furthermore, a lack of systematic evaluation processes among hiring managers may present a barrier to employment.

This paper explores a poorly understood area of the HR management and employment inclusion literatures – the identification of factors that influence evaluations of applicants with a criminal history.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the research within the area of employment for ex-prisoners who have a Serious Mental Illness (SMI).

A review of the literature examining the employment of ex-offenders who have a SMI whilst also presenting a possible novel solution.

The research highlights a distinct lack of employment opportunities and numerous barriers for offenders with research often failing to distinguish between those who have mental health difficulties. However, early findings suggest that Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approaches can generate competitive employment for this population.

Offenders with a SMI are often routinely excluded from vocational services due to their mental health. This review has indicated that the way in which such offenders are treated in prison and reintegrated into the community needs to be addressed.

By tackling this issue not only could the mental health and quality of life of ex-offenders be improved through sustained employment, but the marked economic costs to society that unemployment and recidivism encompasses could also be alleviated.

This review not only suggests a possible solution to the problems faced by offenders with mental health difficulties in gaining employment, but also presents a novel approach to future research that extends to outlining causal explanations for what works for whom.

Aims to address some of the ethnic considerations, regarding ex‐offenders’ rehabilitation, which are current in present social policy. Elaborates on media attention to deviant behaviour among ethnic minorities and how crime by black offenders (when compared with levels of similar committed by white offenders), has been highlighted but that numbers of Asian offenders are lower than blacks or whites. Commends the Apex Community Entrepreneurs Scheme (ACES) project that aims to help ex‐offenders to continue their lives as law‐abiding members of society, by assisting them to find employment. Sums up that numerous amendments are needed to assist the rehabilitation of ethnic minority ex‐offenders into the mainstream.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of work as a means of desisting from crime among a group of male probationers.

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with male probationers to ascertain their views on desistance from crime and the factors which would enable or constrain them in their endeavours.

The research found that individuals regard employment as a key conduit to maintaining desistance from crime, but that several barriers exist to achieving this? Crucially, the research found that individuals identified various difficulties associated with external agencies to whom they had been referred for assistance in obtaining employment. This poses questions of the current government's approach towards expanding public‐private partnerships in probation.

The research is based on a small sample of 20 male probationers. However, the findings suggest that further research should be conducted in this area.

The research raises questions about recent government policy in this area, and about the effectiveness of some approaches designed to reduce reoffending.

The research examines an area of desistance which has previously received little attention. The findings are of concern for academics and practitioners concerned with desistance and recidivism.

A survey of 166 women exiting prison in a large mid‐western U.S. state examined the extent to which demographics, family history and relationships, institutional experiences, offence history, and physical and emotional needs were associated with re‐arrest one year after release. Analyses revealed that three independent variables and two interactional effects accounted for 40% of the variability in re‐arrest: employment in the year prior to incarceration, history of psychiatric hospitalization, participation in prison industries programs, and the interaction of prior psychiatric hospitalization with in‐prison substance abuse programming and with employment history. Interviews with 55 women over five points in time revealed important interpersonal and environmental elements for 20 women six months out who had not been arrested. Implications for program and policy development are discussed.

In the context of desistance, employment has been described as a contributing factor in the formation of a non-offending identity. This study aims to examine the lived experiences of adult male ex-offenders who had served a custodial sentence in the UK, to explore the potential influence of employment as a desistance-promoting factor in the construction of a new, non-offending identity.

Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to eight semi-structured interview transcripts, up to 12 months after release from prison, from which five themes emerged.

Findings showed that lawful income through employment is associated with a shift in the values and goals of former prisoners, but only after transformation from an offending identity into a pro-desistance identity had taken place. The early days of prison, soon after induction, were reported as critical to catalyzing identity reconstruction. Once committed to a non-offending identity, desistance was then consolidated by employment and external support.

External support soon after arrival at prison may be useful in helping offenders to develop a non-offending identity. Professionals within the prison service could initiate identity reconstruction strategies in the days immediately following arrival at prison. This was shown to be a potential key phase of reflection for offenders, which could result in life-changing identity reconstruction.

The findings challenge previous research, which suggests that identity change occurs on release from prison or after sourcing regular employment. The application of identity reconstruction strategies, immediately following arrival at prison, might provide a useful approach when supporting the development of a non-offending identity among adult men serving a custodial sentence.