Beyond Rehabilitation: Criminal Records, Employer Perceptions, and Employment Barriers for Released Prisoners in Pakistan

Abstract

Employment is central to post-release reintegration, yet a criminal record may continue to restrict access to work after a sentence has been completed. This study examined the relationships among criminal-record disclosure, employer perceptions, and hiring intentions toward rehabilitated former prisoners in Pakistan. A quantitative cross-sectional design combined a structured questionnaire with a vignette-based component. A purposive sample of 300 employers, human-resource professionals, recruitment managers, and other employment decision-makers completed measures of perceived risk, stigma, trustworthiness, perceived employability, and hiring intention. Multiple regression showed that criminal-record disclosure (beta = -.24, p < .001), perceived risk (beta = -.31, p < .001), and stigma (beta = -.17, p = .006) were negatively associated with hiring intention, whereas perceived employability (beta = .38, p < .001) and relevant work experience (beta = .14, p = .009) were positively associated with it. The model explained 52% of the variance in hiring intention. Descriptively, mean hiring intention was lowest for a recently released applicant with a criminal record (M = 2.41), increased when more time had passed since release (M = 3.01), and was higher when rehabilitation evidence was provided (M = 3.46), although these vignette differences were not tested inferentially. The findings identify a gap between formal rehabilitation and labour-market recognition of change. Their interpretation is limited by the cross-sectional design, purposive sampling, hypothetical profiles, and the descriptive treatment of vignette differences. The study contributes to the literature by shifting attention from whether former prisoners have been rehabilitated to whether society and employers recognise that rehabilitation. It argues that where criminal records continue to restrict legitimate employment opportunities after rehabilitation, the consequences of punishment may extend beyond the formal sentence and undermine successful reintegration.