FIRST AID COVER LIMITED CRB Disclosure Policy 2A Bridge Approach Tel +44 (0)0775 908 6816 London NW1 8BD Office +44 (0)20 7692 3018 United Kingdom Fax +44 (0)20 7692 3018 E-mail enquiries@firstaidcover.co.uk Www www.firstaidcover.co.uk
Contents 1.0 Introduction... 3 2.0 Scope... 3 3.0 Access to the Policy... 3 4.0 Roles and Responsibilities... 3 5.0 About the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)... 3 6.0 Registered Body... 4 7.0 CRB Code of Practice... 4 8.0 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974... 5 9.0 Exemptions to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974... 5 10.0 Notifiable Professions... 6 11.0 Who is required to undertake a CRB check and at what level?... 7 12.0 When will CRB checks be undertaken?... 7 First Aid Cover Limited Page 2 of 8
1.0 Introduction This document outlines First Aid Cover Limited (the Company) Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Policy. The Company is committed to implementing fair and effective policy and practice in relation to all Criminal Record Bureau matters. This policy has been developed in accordance with recommended guidance from the CRB, Home Office and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) guidelines and has been written in partnership by management and staff side. 2.0 Scope This Policy applied to all: Staff working for the Company Bank / casual workers 3.0 Access to the Policy All staff have access to this Policy via the internet based Policy folder or on hard copy on request. Individuals and may also wish to consult related Company policies such as the Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention & Disposal of Disclosures and Disclosures Information Policy. 4.0 Roles and Responsibilities It is the responsibility of all persons who apply to work or hold a position within the Company which is deemed by the Company or legally to be subject to CRB Disclosure to notify the Company of all convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands and bind-overs at the earliest opportunity; this would be at the time of recruitment and/or as they arise subsequently. The Director is responsible for keeping the provisions within this policy in line with employment legislation and best practice people management principles such as those set out in the CRB Code of Practice. The director can provide advice and guidance to staff on the application of this policy and procedure. 5.0 About the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) The Criminal Records Bureau is an Executive Agency of the Home Office, which provides wider access to criminal record information through its Disclosure service. This service enables organisations to make safer recruitment decisions by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially that involving work with children or vulnerable adults. The CRB was established under Part V of the Police Act 1997 and was launched in March 2002. The CRB delivers the service through a number of strategic partnerships with: First Aid Cover Limited Page 3 of 8
Police For the provision of information that is held on the Police National Computer (PNC) and held locally by forces Capita The CRB s private sector partner that operates an administrative infrastructure and call centre Registered Bodies As the primary contact point for checking Disclosure applicants and validating information provided by the applicant establishing an identity of the applicant; submitting a fully completed application form; and countersigning the application form to confirm that the organisation is entitled to receive Disclosure information The CRB also works in partnership with the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for the provision of information that is held by them. This information relates to details of persons who are considered unsuitable or banned from working with children and vulnerable adults 6.0 Registered Body First Aid Cover Ltd is registered with the CRB umbrella body and therefore is entitled to ask exempted questions under the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 Exceptions Order 1975. The Company s role as a registered body is to: Check and validate the information provided by the applicant on the application form Establish the true identity of the applicant, through the examination of a range of documents using guidance provided by the CRB Ensure the application form is fully completed Countersign applications to confirm that the organisation has an entitlement to access criminal record information Comply with the CRB s Code of Practice 7.0 CRB Code of Practice As a registered body, the Company is required to comply with the CRB s Code of Practice. It subsequently must use Disclosure Information fairly, and ensure that it is handled and stored appropriately. The Code of Practice states that Disclosure information should only be used in the context of a policy on the recruitment of ex- First Aid Cover Limited Page 4 of 8
offenders, designed to protect applicants from unfair discrimination on the basis of non-relevant past convictions. (Refer to the Company s Employing Persons with Criminal Convictions Policy) The Code of Practice states that the storage, handling and disposal of Disclosure information is important and the Company has therefore developed a policy relating to this. (Refer to Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention & Disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure Information Policy). 8.0 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 The ROA 1974 applies to England, Scotland and Wales and is aimed at helping people who have been convicted of a criminal offence and who have not reoffended since. Anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offence, and received a sentence of not more than 2.5 years in prison benefits as a result of the Act, if he or she is not convicted again during a specified period otherwise known as the rehabilitation period. The length of this period depends on the sentence given for the original offence and runs from the date of the conviction. If the person does not re-offend during this rehabilitation period, they become a rehabilitated person and their conviction becomes spent. (Refer to Employing Persons with Criminal Convictions Policy for details of periods). Sentences can carry fixed or variable rehabilitation periods and these periods can be extended if the person offends again during the rehabilitation period. However, if the sentence is more than 2.5 years in prison, the conviction never becomes spent. It is the sentence imposed by the courts that counts, even if it is a suspended sentence, not the time actually spent in prison. Once a conviction is spent the convicted person does not normally have to reveal it or admit its existence in most circumstances. However, this is not the case for persons working with children or vulnerable adults. These roles/jobs are, exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. 9.0 Exemptions to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 Various kinds of employment, occupations and professions are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. This means that the employment rights of an exoffender in respect to convictions are overruled. Ex-offenders therefore have to disclose information about spent, as well as unspent convictions including any convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands and bind-overs. Exempted occupations fall into the following categories: Work that brings the person into contact with vulnerable groups such as the infirm, elderly, mentally ill and young people under 18 Posts concerned with the administration of justice, for example, police officers, lawyers, etc. First Aid Cover Limited Page 5 of 8
Professions that have legal protection, for example, nurses, doctors, dentists, chemists, etc. Health Service appointments Work involving matters of national security A non-exhaustive list of examples of posts in the Company which are therefore exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act include: All persons working in a frontline A/E capacity All patient transport staff and managers All Health and Emergency Operations Centre staff Staff responders First Responders Company Directors 10.0 Notifiable Professions Home Office guidelines place all ambulance clinicians (care assistants, technicians, paramedics and ECPs) whether working in a paid or on a voluntary basis, in Category 1 of the notifiable professions. This is the same as, for instance, doctors, and means that there is a presumption on the part of police services to notify the Company about all recordable convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings which arise. Minor offences such as traffic offences which may have a material bearing on a person s work will also be reported to the Company by the police service. In addition, where someone is employed to work with children or vulnerable adults is under suspicion of an offence of violence or a sexual offence, notification would normally be given by the police service whilst the investigation is underway and is likely to be forwarded in the first instance to the HPC and then forwarded to the Company s Chief Executive. Standard Disclosures: These show current and spent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer. If the post involves working with children or vulnerable adults, the following may also be searched: Protection of Children Act (POCA) List Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) List First Aid Cover Limited Page 6 of 8
Information that is held under Section 142 of the Education Act 2002 Enhanced Disclosures: These contain the same information as the Standard Disclosure, but with the addition of any relevant and proportionate information held by the local police forces. 11.0 Who is required to undertake a CRB check and at what level? The Company will request that a CRB Disclosure check be undertaken where: The position to be filled involves a degree of risk There is a legal requirement to do so Whilst the CRB Code of Practices advises us that the level of CRB Disclosure required should always be as determined appropriate for specific roles, the nature of the work of the Company where working with vulnerable adults and children is integral to our activities means that all CRB Disclosures will be undertaken at Enhanced Level. The only exception to this, where a Standard Level Disclosure may be determined more appropriate, would be a post where there was no contact whatsoever with vulnerable adults and/or children and the level of risk identified deemed an enhanced level disclosure unsuitable. Such decisions would be made, by exception, by the Director of Human Resources and OD who is the CRB Lead Counter-signatory for the Company. A non-exhaustive list of examples of posts which will be subject to a CRB Disclosure at Enhanced level include: All persons working in a frontline A&E capacity All Patient Transport staff and managers All Health and Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) staff Staff responders First responders Volunteer car drivers Company Directors and the Chief Executive 12.0 When will CRB checks be undertaken? All staff require a CRB check prior to starting work with First Aid Cover Ltd. First Aid Cover Limited Page 7 of 8
Author: Guy Crofts; BSc (Hons); RGN; SRPara; PGDip (Anaes) Clinical Lead Reviewed by: Simon Nash - Operations Manager Document Creation Date 01/07/2009 Document Review Date 01/07/2010 and then annually Document Relevance All staff Document Type Policy Published on FAC website portal, hard copy on emergency vehicles and FAC office First Aid Cover Limited Page 8 of 8