Gauteng man gets job after invalid criminal record nearly blocks his appointment

06 August

A Gauteng man was thrown a lifeline to lay claim to a civil service job he desperately needed after an erroneous criminal record threatened to render him ineligible for appointment.

A former employee of the Department of Correctional Service, the man responded to an invite from the department calling on previous staffers to apply for re-employment as Security Officers.

He applied and had a successful interview. The department later informed him that he could not be appointed on the basis that he had a criminal record. He was previously arrested and charged but the prosecuting authority withdrew the case. The police also removed his name from the record.

However, the department procured the services of a private company for the verification of the man’s criminal record. The database the company relied on had not been updated and thus reflected a criminal record next to his name despite the police and the Department of Justice expunged the record.

It was then that the man approached the Public Protector, who went on to intervene successfully to help his get the job he was entitled to. He has just completed nearly 16 months on the job.

Entrust the Public Protector with your maladministration complaints concerning conduct in state affairs or the public administration, at any sphere of government. Email to registration2@pprotect.org.