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TRANSFORMING LIVES

SUPPORTING BUSINESSES

SERVING SOCIETY

What is

THE SECOND CHANCE PARTNERSHIP?

The Second Chance Partnership (SCPartnership) is a bold new initiative designed to help businesses successfully employ ex-offenders. Its unique employment model is founded on the belief that everyone deserves a second chance and the opportunity to rebuild their lives and contribute positively to society.

The SCPartnership is built on the proven success of the Second Chance initiative launched by Iceland Foods in 2022 to help ex-offenders secure employment as retail assistants and home delivery drivers with Iceland and The Food Warehouse. Since its inception, the Second Chance initiative has delivered measurable benefits to Iceland Foods and society, including access to a motivated talent pool, improved staff retention, and reduced re-offending rates.

The SCPartnership is a new, not-for-profit organisation with its own independent board of trustees, dedicated to making the proven Second Chance rehabilitation model available to other interested retailers and businesses. The model has a strong foundation, operating in over 90 UK prisons, and is supported by the Prisons Minister and the New Futures Network (NFN), a specialist part of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) that attracts and supports employers to work with prisons in England and Wales.

A MESSAGE FROM PAUL COWLEY MBE

Managing Director of the SCPartnership

Paul Cowley MBE, an ex-offender, former soldier, priest, and founder of the Second Chance initiative at Iceland Foods is now encouraging businesses to engage in the process of employing prison leavers through the newly formed SCPartnership. Drawing on his 27 years’ experience in the prison and justice sector as well as establishing the charity, Caring For Prison Leavers, Paul has helped over 2,500 prison leavers gain employment. He was awarded an MBE for services to prison leavers in 2016.

When Iceland’s founder, Sir Malcolm Walker, approached me in 2022 about setting up the Second Chance initiative, I saw an opportunity for real change. With over 1,000 stores and over 30,000 employees nationwide, Iceland Foods had the infrastructure to make a difference and they were willing to take action.

The Second Chance initiative developed into a recruitment process like no other. We make sure store managers feel confident in the selection process and that their concerns about employing ex-offenders are met. Two things make this approach unique.

First, each candidate receives a letter telling them if they have been successful – if they have, that letter guarantees them a job before they even leave prison. Second, we guarantee them a position near their family. If no vacancy is available, we sponsor that position for the first 12 weeks. Since we began, Iceland has offered employment to more than 700 prison leavers.

I know first-hand how hard it is to rebuild your life and change opinions shaped by past mistakes. Many years ago, I was given a second chance, a job that changed the direction of my life.

There are no excuses for crime, but there are many reasons for it.

In a survey by Working Links, three quarters of employers admitted they would discriminate against a candidate with a criminal record. This means that for many prison leavers, no matter how much they want to move forward, the door to employment remains firmly shut. Most prisoners have limited education and little to no work history. Ministry of Justice data shows that two thirds of prisoners weren’t in work or training before custody and nearly three quarters leave prison without paid employment. This isn’t always their fault, and the consequences reach far beyond them, affecting their families, dependants and their mental health.

The cost of re-offending is estimated at £18 billion per year, but when prison leavers get a job they are 50% less likely to re-offend. That means less crime and fewer victims of crime, and a benefit to society as a whole.

Now I’m excited to work with more forward-thinking businesses as the Second Chance Partnership has been granted charity status this year (Registered Charity no.1213510). We’ll be working with businesses that don’t just talk about social responsibility but take real steps to change lives.

The Second Chance Partnership is a blueprint for success. If your business is ready to be a part of this movement, it won’t just transform the lives of a few prison leavers, it will strengthen your business, help reduce crime, and build a better society for us all.

Proven benefits to employing ex-offenders

For the past two years, the Second Chance initiative has demonstrated:

Improved staff retention

Employees given a Second Chance often show higher loyalty and commitment.

Community impact

Participating in this programme contributes to reducing re-offending rates, creating safer and stronger communities.

Supportive workplace

Teams benefit from the diverse perspectives and resilience these individuals bring to the workplace.

The Interview Process

Ellen Herickx – Employment Lead Manager

Ellen Herickx, Employment Lead Manager at SCPartnership, has 17+ years’ Prison Service experience in security, education, violence reduction, and employment strategy. An award-winning leader, she builds national employer partnerships to help prison leavers into work.

Alongside Paul Cowley, she visits prisons to interview 6–8 candidates each time, assessing their background and willingness to work.

Why Join?

We offer a ready-made solution

The SCPartnership offers a ready-made solution for integrating ex-offenders into your workforce, allowing your organisation to:

Save time and resources: we will provide your company with training, protocols, tools, safeguards, and expert advice on the justice system to help you launch and manage the SCPartnership in your workplace, and will engage a dedicated Employment Lead (EL) for your exclusive use if demand warrants. This negates the need for your company to develop a system from scratch, which is both costly and time-consuming.

Enhance corporate responsibility: joining the SCPartnership demonstrates leadership in creating opportunities for those who need it most, strengthening your brand reputation with employees, customers, and stakeholders alike.

Tap into proven success: the SCPartnership, born out of the Second Chance initiative with its strong record of success at Iceland Foods, has become the biggest retail new hirer of ex-offenders in the country in 2024. It has delivered meaningful social impact alongside real business benefits.

Contain recruitment costs: gain access to an untapped and loyal workforce, helping to address recruitment challenges.

Annual subscription

To ensure the initiative remains sustainable and impactful, participating organisations will be asked to contribute an annual subscription to the not-for-profit organisation. Subscriptions will be for an initial one-year period, with the option to renew.

This subscription supports the running costs of the SCPartnership, including the provision of resources, training, and ongoing guidance and support for all members of your team that are involved in the process.

By contributing to the SCPartnership, your organisation helps maintain the infrastructure needed to drive this meaningful work, while gaining access to the tools and expertise required to ensure your programme’s success. It also means you gain experienced staff, acting on your behalf, helping overcome the challenges of employing this particular workforce.

Get in contact with us to negotiate a reduced fee for a 3+ year term contract.

Join us in leading change

New Futures Network HM Prison and Probation Service

Proven Success

What makes the Second Chance approach different?

The successful candidate will receive a letter while still in prison, guaranteeing them employment. This brings hope and confidence for their release and helps them prepare.

Iceland have chosen to provide a minimum 16-hour contract in a store near their family or place of residence. Other partners have chosen to provide full-time contracts. If no vacancies are available at the desired store, we will sponsor the vacancy for 12 weeks. In each of these situations, a vacancy has been found, and the candidate has been able to remain working. As a business, Iceland is fully committed to this initiative, investing in 16-hour contracts – regardless of whether a vacancy is available – because we believe in the power of a Second Chance.

Iceland have chosen to place only one ex-offender in each store but, after 6 months, that person is no longer classed as an ex-offender and another ex-offender can therefore be sent to the same store.

The person interviewing has the authority to hire the individual.

Legal disclosures are discussed at the time of the interview. Once checked and an offer letter has been issued, there is no need for any further disclosure of past criminal convictions at the meet and greet with the business partner.

Hope and confidence in employment upon release

Minimum 16-hour or full-time contracts near residence

No second interviews as SCP has hiring authority

TESTIMONIALS

Successful candidate for home delivery driver

HMP Kirkham

I am very excited about starting. The store I will be working from is the busiest in the region for home delivery, doing around 1,000 deliveries a week. Don’t worry I don’t have to do all of them myself there are 3 vans and 5 other drivers. Thank you for all that you have done for me. This job has enabled me to hold my head high and be proud. It has given me a purpose and allowed me to support my family and not be a burden.

Lucy

Prison Employment Lead / HMP/YOI Drake Hall

The Iceland Second Chance Initiative has opened doors to life- changing opportunities for women being released from prison. It has provided them with hope and the foundations to build a successful future. Thank you to Paul and the team for driving and supporting this initiative to change the lives of not only the women being released from prison, but also their families.

Robert Edwards

Talent Pipeline Development Manager / GXO

We’re proud to be part of the SCPartnership, which allows us to provide prisoners with employment opportunities whilst under licence, and helps them to start to make valuable steps towards rehabilitation and reintroduction into society. This plays a critical part in helping to reduce reoffending rates, reducing the cost of the criminal justice system to the public sector and ultimately, reducing crime in the UK. In turn, we’ve found that the colleagues we employ whilst released on licence from prison have been exemplary colleagues, who’ve made valuable contributions to our business and integrated well. Many of them have gone onto full time roles with GXO following the end of their conviction, and some have now been promoted from their entry level roles. We have established clear processes, including face-to-face individual assessments, to ensure we recruit the most suitable candidates. Additionally, we provide management with comprehensive guidance and support, and our efforts in this area are strongly backed by our colleagues.

Mark

Governor / HMP Onley

Iceland Foods are paving the way in prisons by making a real difference in offering real jobs to prisoners before their release, promoting rehabilitation and second chances. HMP Onley was the first prison that launched Iceland’s Second Chance initiative scheme and the first prison to release someone into Iceland employment. With Paul Cowley interviewing the men in custody himself, this has instilled belief within our prison that second chances do exist!

Helen Tindle

HR Director / Iceland Foods

The Second Chance initiative embodies Iceland’s ‘Doing It Right’ philosophy in action. By tackling the high rates of reoffending and offering meaningful employment opportunities to ex-offenders, Iceland is breaking the cycle and paving the way for lasting change. The success of this initiative lies in our commitment to refining processes, understanding challenges, and making the transition into work seamless for ex-offenders. We invite other businesses to learn from our experience – together, we can create a better future for everyone.

Let’s work together to create opportunities, drive positive change, help people who want to change their lives, and so lead the way for others in our industry

Find out more?

If you’re interested in learning more, or starting your journey with the SCPartnership, please fill in the form below:

THE SECOND CHANCE PARTNERSHIP?​