We have to do a police check on some people I am working with so I asked whether any of them has a record. One said he had spent convictions so I reassured him that it would be ok without asking him what they might be. Sometimes a spent conviction does matter though...
Because he's an Arab, I worried more than I would normally. I joked that it was a terrorism conviction, but honestly, I think I wasn't joking - just airing my fears. I leapt to the conclusion that his would be serious and nothing petty like most people's records.
I was wrong. Of course it was nothing serious.