Disclosure - previously known as a police or background check - is the name given to the procedure job applicants who apply to work with certain vulnerable people have to go through before taking up employment.
A Disclosure is also the name of the document containing information held by the police and government departments. Artists working with young or disabled people are usually asked by their prospective employers to obtain a Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The current legislation does not allow the self-employed or individuals to apply for a CRB check on themselves; instead you will be asked to fill in a form that your prospective employers will send off to obtain the Disclosure. A CRB check may also be required for a range of other types of job or licences. If you have been asked to apply for a CRB check you will need to speak to the person who asked you to apply as they will be able to provide you with the application form.
Disclosures cannot be obtained by members of the public and are only available to organisations for those professions, offices, employments, work and occupations listed in the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
The Disclosure service offers organisations a means to check the
background of job applicants to ensure that they do not have a history
that would make them unsuitable for posts they are trying to fill.
Disclosures will provide details of a person's criminal record
including convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the
Police National Computer (PNC). If the position involves working with
children, Disclosures will also contain details from lists held by the
Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Education and Skills
(DfES) of those considered unsuitable for this type of work. Depending
upon the level of Disclosure, it might also contain information held by
local police forces.
If you are worried or concerned about what
may be, or has been, revealed by your CRB check you can talk in
confidence to the Nacro helpline. Nacro is a crime reduction charity
that works with ex-offenders and is able to answer specific queries on
good practice in relation to employment and offenders. (Tel: 020 7840
6464, email helpline@nacro.org.uk, www.nacro.org.uk).
Safeguards and guidelines have been introduced to ensure that
conviction information is not misused and that ex-offenders are not
treated unfairly. Ex-offenders will retain the protection afforded by
the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. In addition, the CRB and the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have developed
guidance information for employers on this matter.
The CRB's Disclosure service provides access to a range of different types of information, such as, information:
held
on the Police National Computer (PNC), such as, convictions, cautions,
reprimands and warnings in England, Wales and those recorded from
Scotland. There is also some Northern Ireland conviction data held on
PNC
There are two levels of Disclosure, each representing a different level of check. The two levels of Disclosure are Standard and Enhanced. The organisation that has asked you to apply will decide the appropriate level of Disclosure for the position.
Standard Disclosures are primarily for posts that involve working with children or vulnerable adults. Standard Disclosures may also be issued for people entering certain professions, such as members of the legal and accountancy professions. Standard Disclosures contain the following;
Enhanced Disclosures are for posts involving a far greater degree of
contact with children or vulnerable adults. In general, the type of
work will involve regularly caring for, supervising, training or being
in sole charge of such people. Examples include a Teacher, Scout or
Guide leader. Enhanced Disclosures are also issued for certain
statutory purposes such as gaming and lottery licences.
Enhanced
Disclosures contain the same information as Standard Disclosures but
with the addition of local police force information considered relevant
by Chief Police Officer(s).
There are two ways of applying for a Disclosure. You will either be asked to:
In both instances, you will be asked to provide your name, address
and date of birth, along with the Registered Body name and number, and
the level of Disclosure. This will help the person who asked you to
apply, confirm your identity. A guidance booklet on how to complete
the form will be provided.
When the application is processed,
the CRB sends out a copy of the Disclosure, containing any information
revealed during its searches, to you and the person who countersigned
your form.
You can refuse to apply for a Disclosure, but there are some posts
for which a Disclosure is required by law. If you refuse to apply for a
Disclosure in this instance, the organisation would be within their
rights not to take your job or licence application any further. If you
are currently working and your employer asks you to apply for a
Disclosure, you may be able to refuse if your contract of employment
does not refer to a criminal record check.
If you are asked to
apply for a Disclosure and you already have one for a previous role;
ask if the organisation is willing to accept it. When making this
decision the organisation will take into account the length of time
that has elapsed since that Disclosure was issued; the level of
Disclosure; the nature of the position for which the Disclosure was
issued; and the nature of the position for which you are now applying.
Ultimately, it will be the organisation's decision whether to accept it
or not.
Disclosures do not carry a pre-determined period of validity because
a conviction or other matter could be recorded against the subject of
the Disclosure at any time after it is issued. Each Disclosure will
show the date on which it was printed.
If you have lived
overseas for a substantial period of time, it may not be worth applying
for a Disclosure, as the CRB does not generally have access to overseas
criminal records. However, some organisations have a legal
responsibility to check if a person is banned from working with
children or vulnerable adults and can only do this through the
Disclosure service. The Criminal Records Bureau
can advise on how to obtain equivalent information from the overseas
authorities, where available. You may wish to discuss this with your
prospective employer.
The CRB charge a Disclosure application
fee. Some organisations may pay for the Disclosure on your behalf. If
you are a volunteer, the CRB will issue the Disclosure free of charge.
A volunteer can be defined as a person who is engaged in any activity
which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travelling and other
approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit
some third party other than or in addition to a close relative.
Organisations using the Disclosure service must comply with the CRB Code of Practice and Privacy Policy,
which is there to make sure the whole process works fairly and that any
information revealed is treated fairly and securely. Under the
provisions of the Code, sensitive personal information must be handled
and stored appropriately and must be kept for only as long as it is
necessary. Also, the CRB is committed to compliance with the Data Protection Act. This means that any personal information that you submit to the CRB will be protected.