Who is responsible for protecting vulnerable adults and safeguarding children?
Safeguarding. It’s all about safeguarding. We’re talking about safeguarding children and vulnerable adults who may rely on your staff and your organisation to protect them. We’re talking about safeguarding your staff and your reputation. We’re talking about safeguarding your applicants.
It’s always tricky if you are recruiting for a rule that requires the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. There are crucial decisions to be made and there’s a lot to take in.
Here at uCheck, we are committed to giving you access to the very best, most accurate information available to assist with your pre-employment screening policy.
We know that, from the recruiter or employer’s point of view, certain things are a given when you put a potential new employee through his or her paces.
You will almost certainly already be relying on a well-designed application form which should show up any gaps in employment history – not to mention careful interviewing techniques and comprehensive references from previous employers and personal referees.
That’s a great start but it’s by no means foolproof, as thousands of employers find out to their cost every month.
Many end up wishing they had just gone the extra mile but the good news is we can support you throughout your recruitment process to give you that extra peace of mind.
We offer a raft of screening checks to enable you to make a thorough, well-balanced decision on the recruitment of potential staff.
With your applicant’s consent you can carry out a Basic Disclosure as a minimum check. This will let you know if the applicant has any unspent convictions.
As an individual applicant or a self-employed individual, you can proactively apply for a Basic Check yourself so you have a criminal record certificate to support your credibility as an employee or contractor.
If your applicants are working with vulnerable groups such as children or vulnerable adults – or in the financial or security sectors – you may be eligible to carry out an Enhanced or Standard DBS Check for your applicant, assuming it is supported by the relevant legislation.
These higher-level checks will disclose spent and unspent convictions, cautions, warnings and reprimands.
To give you extra reassurance, it is possible to also check against the barred lists where regulated activity is taking place.
Whatever the nature of your business, you can be assured of a rapid, secure and trusted service from uCheck, where our focus on customer service means we can help you make those safer recruitment decisions and meet your safeguarding obligations as an employer.
Being able to care for or support the members of our society who are less able to protect themselves is a privilege. Fewer things can be more important than ensuring you have a policy for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults who are in the care of your organisation.
Fortunately, with a variety of checks available, employers can make sure they get the right team of people to support them.
If you have any questions about this blog, safeguarding children and vulnerable adults or DBS Checks in general, don’t hesitate to drop us a line – we’re always happy to help!
