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“Hi, I’m sorry that I can’t respond to your email. I’m currently in a prison, recruiting more amazing colleagues for our business.”

That’s a standard out-of-office reply for Darren Burns, who, as director of diversity and inclusion for well-known UK service retailer Timpson, spends a lot of time interviewing candidates from within prisons.

CEO James Timpson made his first prison visit in 2002, during which he struck up a rapport with a young man named Matt. When Matt was released, Timpson offered him a job. Now, around 12 percent of Timpson’s 5,000 strong workforce across 2,076 branches either has a criminal conviction or has been directly recruited from custody.

More than just your go-to outlet for getting your shoes resoled or new keys cut, Timpson has built a reputation for being one of the largest employers in the UK of not just ex-offenders, but of serving prisoners, too.