The safeguarding regulations that were introduced in October 2009 still apply. They state that:
- A person who is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults will be breaking the law if they work or volunteer, or try to work or volunteer with those groups
- An organisation which knowingly employs someone who is barred to work with those groups will also be breaking the law
- if your organisation works with children or vulnerable adults and you dismiss a member of staff or a volunteer because they have harmed a child or vulnerable adult, or you would have done so if they had not left, you must tell the Independent Safeguarding Authority
On average, approximately 200 people a month are barred under the current Vetting & Barring Scheme (VBS) from working with children, vulnerable adults or both.
In its “Programme for Government”, the Coalition Government committed to reviewing the VBS to scale it back to common sense levels. This review is now complete and the proposed changes should become law early this year (2012).
The main key recommendations include;
- Maintaining a barring function
- Abolishing registration and monitoring requirements
- Redefining the scope of 'regulated activities'
- Abolishing 'controlled activities'
The Children’s Commissioner for England stated that “Employers should not have discretion over appointments: a barred list makes clear those people who cannot legally work with children.”
Until the Protection of Freedoms Bill receives royal assent and decisions are made on when specific measures are implemented, the safeguarding regulations introduced in October 2009 continue to apply and the Criminal Records Bureau will continue to be responsible for the disclosure of criminal records and the Independent Safeguarding Authority for the barring function.
Criminal records disclosures are likely to continue to be available to employers and voluntary bodies however the disclosure should become portable through a system which allows for continuous updating.
To administer this new vetting scheme, one of the recommendations in the review is that the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority will be merged and a new single Non-Departmental Public Body or Agency created to provide a barring and criminal records disclosure service.
It’s not only those working with vulnerable adults and/or children, the outcome of employing the wrong person can be catastrophic for any business as an employer who hires an illegal worker without carrying out all the necessary checks will be liable to a civil penalty (a requirement to pay money that can be imposed for an offence without the need for a court conviction) of up to £10,000 for each person who they illegally employ. Not only can this be very expensive for a company but could also lead to a custodial sentence.
The UK Border Agency web site makes interesting reading as it lists those employers against whom notices of liability have been issued and civil penalties imposed for the use of illegal migrant workers.
They range from restaurants to supermarkets and hairdressers to garages and in one case the amount of £85,000 is imposed against a company.
It is not only illegal workers who can cause problems for a company. Bill Waite of The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG), said that many of the resume discrepancies they uncover are simple errors of omission but that around one in ten are more serious, such as failure to disclose criminal convictions, fraud against previous employers or even terrorist links. He warned employers to be alert to resume and CV lies and be far more rigorous in checking out new potential employees.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is also urging firms to make tighter checks before employing staff as often people involved in organised crime apply for jobs in the finance sector so that they can commit fraud. Fraudsters steal individual’s identities and use this to acquire money, goods and services.
So who do you turn to for help?
Qdos Consulting offer a range of pre-employment checks providing an efficient, cost effective way of meeting your pre-employment checking requirements. They are designed to support your recruitment process, cover the risks associated with your business and give you the peace of mind that not only are you complying with the law but that you have done all possible to protect your business. See here for more information on our range of checks with prices (discount for new clients).
For further details please contact Justine Lacey on 01455 850000 or email consultancy@qdosconsulting.com