Working with vulnerable groups and children
26 August 2009
The Government is set to introduce new safety checks from 12th October 2009. Under the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS), employers will be allowed to employ people who are going to regularly work with children or vulnerable adults only if they are registered with the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The ISA will have the power to bar individuals from those occupations.
It will be an offence for any barred person to work in regulated activities, and for any employer to employ someone they knows to be barred, either paid or voluntary.
The scheme has been created as a result of the inquiry into the murder of two schoolgirls in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 2002. The VBS will also replace the three current protection lists, and is believed by the Home Office to be by far the most sensible way to safeguard the public and simplify the current systems.
The new checks will cover employees and volunteers in a variety of sectors that already have similar schemes, including education, care and health, but some professions will be affected for the first time.
The Basics
From July 2010, when you recruit someone new to work with children or vulnerable adults you must check their ISA status. This will determine whether or not you can employ them (or take them on as volunteers), and may affect what activities they can undertake. Registration and checking registered status will become mandatory for phased-in groups from November 2010.
Only an ISA-registered person can undertake regulated activity – it is illegal to employ an unregistered person and can result in imprisonment or a fine of up to £5000. An unregistered person means that a person has either not applied to register withthe ISAor that they are on an ISA Barred List.
For controlled activity it is still mandatory to check the ISA status of an applicant before you employ them. However, you may be able to employ a barred person provided certain safeguards are in place.
Definitions:
As “regular” contact with vulnerable groups is defined as once a month or more, some hospital administrators and school cleaners and caterers will be among new groups affected. The Home Office has not yet confirmed a comprehensive list, insisting it depends on the “individual details of each role”.
For a definition of Regulated and Controlled Activities please download the ISA Factsheet
Cost and Timescales:
Potential employees will have to pay £64 to register with the ISA from the autumn, and all current staff must be listed by the time the scheme is fully rolled out in July 2015.
Volunteers will also need to be vetted, although they can register for free.
Impact:
While individuals will originally be assessed using background checks from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), employers will be legally obliged to contribute information to the scheme. Details of employee investigations, dismissals and dangerous behaviour must be submitted to the VBS, so that individuals can be continuously monitored throughout their career.