Working in the public sector can sometimes mean that you end up working with vulnerable people, be that children; young adults or disabled people. Whoever you work with, it is most likely that they depend on you and trust you to look after their wellbeing. This dependence on staff is why it is so important to safeguard these individuals and screen the people who work in public sector roles and environments. In this blog, we explain how safeguarding can help protect those under your care and why this process is so important.
Catch the criminals out
It is a legal requirement for anyone who works regularly with vulnerable adults or children to have an up to date DBS check in place. This means that anyone who has a DBS check will have their criminal history reviewed to ensure that their record is clean and that they are allowed to work around children or vulnerable adults. This aims to protect these groups from coming into contact with those who could possibly harm them in an environment which is supposedly safe and protected. A case where this recently didn’t happen occurred in Middlesbrough, where due to a lack of criminal checks, a convicted paedophile was able to become a school governor. Glenn Wright was able to stay at the school for four years without any knowledge from members of staff or pupils. Clearly, a background check would have stopped this from happening and this is why they are so critical.
Devil in the details
A background screening check can provide you with information on an individual’s past employment experience. For many reasons, it’s always good to know how a candidate performed in a previous company. It will give you an idea of their experience and the length of time they stayed at previous jobs roles, allowing you to make a call on both reliability and experience. It may also allow you to find out why they left a previous role, allowing you to make a more informed hiring decision.
Sweet little lies
As much as we want to have faith that candidates did achieve the grades and credentials stated on their CVs, it’s not always the case. Even successful people lie on their CVs – take Scott Thompson, Yahoo chief executive, for example. In 2012 it was found that he lied about his academic credentials.
Personality and performance
Employment screening can include a referencing check, which will allow you to understand how a candidate performed in their previous role by gathering information from their past employers. This may highlight any important information about their personality and will give you an estimate of how they will fit into your organisation. This will help you to understand if they are suitable for the role on offer and if they will be able to play their part to the standard which you require.
Get updating and save money
Sometimes, a DBS check can take longer than usual to come back for various unforeseen circumstances. This is why it is good to ensure that you have an updating service in place, so that all of your candidates have an up to date DBS check, ridding you and your employee of the stress of applying for a new check. An updating service can also save an organisation considerable amount of money on admin fees while enhancing safeguarding procedures.
Safeguarding the vulnerable people that you work with should be a very high priority, especially if you work in the public sector. When working in an industry which relies on trust for its members of staff, background checks are crucial to ensuring that you have the right people in the right role and are not putting anyone at risk. If you would like anymore information about safeguarding or would like to speak to a member of our team regarding any other screening requirements, you can call us on: 01443 799 900 or email us: info@cbscreening.co.uk