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ITEM EX25 - ANNEX 1

EXECUTIVE – 15 MARCH 2005

POLICY ON CHECKING CRIMINAL RECORDS

Oxfordshire County Council Policy on Checking Criminal Records

Principles

1. Oxfordshire County Council supports and seeks to promote the rehabilitation of offenders. The Council recognises that many people with past criminal records do not present a risk in employment but work as responsible and productive members of the workforce.
2. The Council also has a duty of care to protect those who use its services, the public and public funds from criminal activity and abuse and a duty to comply with relevant legislation, codes of practice and national standards.
3. An applicant for employment or voluntary work with criminal convictions will only be prevented from taking a job with the Council where these are directly relevant to the job concerned and where it is judged that the applicant, if appointed, would pose a significant risk to the public, clients, property or public funds.
4. The Council undertakes to operate effective and appropriate systems to comply with and fulfil these principles and requirements.

Definition of "Conviction"

5. In this policy the term "conviction" relates to a finding of guilt following a hearing in a court of law, including Courts Martial. Prospective employees for jobs exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act working with children or vulnerable adults will also be asked to declare official warnings, reprimands, registration as a sex offender and other relevant matters as set out in Annex 1 and these will be taken into consideration. Where "soft information" is made available by the Criminal Convictions Bureau or the police this will also be taken into consideration.

Employees, Volunteers and Contractors.

6. Existing employees of the Council will not be asked to declare convictions nor will checks will be undertaken unless this is required by regulations, they change their role or job, or there are particular concerns which make this necessary. Where an employee is convicted while in the Council’s employment a risk assessment will be undertaken and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the spirit of this policy and under the Council’s agreed employment procedures where deemed necessary.
7. All applicants for employment, voluntary work or to deliver Council services under contract such as taxi and bus drivers and long-term contractors, will be asked to declare any un-spent convictions when applying to the Council.
8. All applicants for relevant employment as a uniformed fire-fighter will undergo checks through the Criminal Records Bureau.
9. Where the Council enters into contracts with external organisations who employ staff for the provision of services on the Council’s behalf, it will ensure that the contractor’s employment systems comply with this policy.
10. Work which involves substantial access to children and vulnerable adults has special requirements and applicants for this type of work will be treated as set out in paragraphs 16-21 of this policy.

Spent convictions.

11. Managers will not ask about or take into consideration an applicant’s spent convictions unless the application relates to a job which is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act or is covered by the legislation relating to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. See Paragraphs 16-21.

Un-spent convictions.

12. Where an applicant with un-spent convictions fulfils the requirements for a job sufficient to be short-listed or is seriously considered for voluntary work the appointing manager will, before deciding whether to shortlist the applicant, undertake and record a risk assessment, taking into consideration the advice at Annex 1, the nature, severity, frequency and timing of the convictions and the nature and requirements of the work. Advice on undertaking risk assessments is at Annex 2 (download as .doc file)
13. Applicants for work and voluntary service with the Council who have declared un-spent convictions will only be short-listed or appointed where the risk assessment carried out by the appointing manager indicates that the risks are judged to be low or where adequate supervision and management arrangements can be put in place to bring the risks down to an acceptable level.
14. The appropriateness and consistency of managerial decision making is very important, so if in any doubt the appointing manager must seek advice prior to the invitation for interview from senior management, Human Resources or the Legal Unit. In some cases it will be appropriate to discuss the convictions with the applicant to determine background information.
15. In all cases where appointments are made subject to conditions such as particular supervision requirements the appointing manager will obtain written agreement from the Head of Service or Headteacher. The line manager of the employee or supervisor of the volunteer will monitor these arrangements and review them during the probationary period and afterwards at least annually. The appointing manager will, in the case of employees, inform the Directorate Human Resources section who will ensure a note is placed on the personal file or, in the case of volunteers, he/she will keep a record of the conditions another appropriate file.

Employment and voluntary work with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

16. All applicants selected for employment or voluntary work with children, young people and vulnerable adults will be required to undergo a check by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) in accordance with the Disclosure Code of Practice and in addition to declaring any spent and un-spent convictions. The types of work where applicants must be subjected to a CRB check are listed in the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
17. Appointees to employment or voluntary work with children, young people and vulnerable adults will usually not start work until a satisfactory disclosure has been received from CRB. Where an appointee commences work prior to receipt of the disclosure a risk assessment must be undertaken by the appointing manager and the line manager for the job and the risks must be judged to be low with adequate supervision, management and monitoring arrangements in place to minimise the risks. Due to the high risks involved appointees to work in one to one situations or in residential care or similar environments must not start work until the CRB disclosure has been received.
18. In all cases where an appointee has started work subject to special conditions the appointing manager will obtain written agreement from the Head of Service or Headteacher and will inform the directorate Human Resources section who will ensure that a suitable conditional contract of employment is issued and a note is placed on the personal file.
19. In all cases where an appointee has started work subject to special conditions, as soon as the CRB disclosure is obtained the appointing manager will assess the appointee’s suitability to continue in the appointment in accordance with this policy. Where the employee’s suitability is confirmed the appointing manager will notify the employee and the Directorate Human Resources who will record this decision. In cases where information is disclosed by CRB which the appointing manager judges renders the appointee unsuitable for work with vulnerable groups he/she will immediately discuss the disclosure with the appointee and take into consideration what he/she has to say on the matter. Where appropriate the manager will, in discussion with Human Resources, redeploy or suspend the appointee from this type of work. Where the appointing manager judges, after proper consideration – including taking into account the employee’s comments and representations - that the CRB disclosure renders him/her unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups he/she will agree with directorate Human Resources an appropriate course of action which may lead to dismissal or redeployment of the employee concerned.
20. In cases where the CRB advise that a crime is currently under investigation, or if ‘soft’ information is disclosed which cannot be shared with the employee, special arrangements will be discussed and agreed with senior management, the police, Solicitor to the Council and Human Resources.
21. Where a risk assessment undertaken by a Headteacher within a school indicates that a voluntary worker will always be under adequate supervision within the school setting, including while working with IT equipment where there is a potential for down-loading offensive material, and the risks to children are negligible, the volunteer may work without a CRB check being undertaken.

Dishonesty in making a declaration.

22. Where a prospective employee is not able to verify that his/her declaration of convictions is exhaustive he/she must obtain a schedule of these from CRB and submit this before appointment can take place.
23. Where a CRB check discloses convictions which have not been declared by an appointee the appointing manager will consider whether it is necessary to redeploy or suspend the employee from working. He/she will discuss the disclosures with the appointee and take into consideration what he/she has to say on the matter. Where the appointing manager judges, after proper consideration, that the appointee has acted dishonestly in not making a full declaration he/she will agree with directorate Human Resources an appropriate course of action which may lead to the dismissal of the appointee.
24. Where it becomes known that an employee may have a criminal record which he/she did not declare when asked the line manager will consider whether to redeploy or suspend the employee and act accordingly. He/she will agree with directorate Human Resources to take appropriate action to check the validity of this information and, where appropriate, take action under either the Probationary Procedures or Disciplinary procedures.
25. Where the line manager judges that service users, the public, Council funds or property may have been subject to significant risk of criminal action or abuse by an individual an appropriate investigation must be undertaken. The line manager must bear in mind that secrecy from the individual may be important in investigating or detecting a crime and must straight away seek advice from Child Protection, Human Resources, Finance section and Solicitor to the Council as appropriate.

Elected Members.

26. In accordance with the Council’s decision on 6 April 2004 all Councillors and other persons co-opted onto a County Council Committee will be required immediately after their election or appointment to undergo a CRB check. The Monitoring Officer will be the person registered with the Bureau for this purpose and all Councillors and co-opted members will comply with the requirements of the Monitoring Officer and the Bureau in relation to such checks. No County Councillor or Co-opted member shall be required to undergo checking if he/she has been the subject of a CRB check within the previous twelve months of his/her election or appointment. Where this is the case, that person shall notify the Monitoring Officer of the outcome of such a check immediately after his/her election or co-option.

School Governors.

27. Headteachers will undertake a risk assessment of governors’ activities within the school and will seek a CRB check where governors have unsupervised access to children or are volunteers, including on school trips. Governors of schools with residential accommodation will be asked to undergo a CRB check due to the higher risks associated with residential work. If a governor is asked to undergo a CRB check and does not consent he/she is debarred from being a governor under Regulations.

Residents of Accommodation on School Sites.

28. All tenants of County Council accommodation on sites where services are provided to children, eg schools, and all adult members of their household will be asked to undergo CRB checks.

Records.

29. The Council will keep all records confidential and disclose them only on a need to know basis to appropriate persons.
30. The Council will comply with the Data Protection Act in respect of all records of criminal convictions. Where there is a conflict between disclosing information in possible contravention of the Data Protection Act and the safety of vulnerable groups a course of action will be agreed with the Solicitor to the Council.

Review of this Policy.

Head of Human Resources

2005

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