Old and minor criminal convictions will no longer be included in criminal record checks, following changes announced by the Home Office. Legislation is expected to be in place within weeks that would mean that some cautions and convictions will be ig  More...
27 March 2013 11:56

Well intentioned though it undoubtedly was, the 2006 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act spread its net very wide, so its replacement by a more focused vetting and barring scheme is no great surprise, says John Charlton. Employers with a duty to car  More...
10 September 2012 15:35

From 10 September 2012, a number of amendments to the vetting and barring scheme, which is designed to protect vulnerable individuals, come into force. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 scales back the number of job roles covered by the vetting an  More...
05 September 2012 14:54

Trish Hopkinson, senior HR business partner at DHL Supply Chain, tells Personnel Today about the challenges involved in devising a prisoner-employment scheme. More employers should consider employing ex-offenders, according to justice secretary Ke  More...
08 May 2012 00:01

Sally Smith, director of people at Sue Ryder, explains how the organisation's prison volunteer programme (PVP) has turned lives around and how the loss of funding could have disastrous effects. "I'm 46 years old and this is the first pro  More...
09 December 2011 12:20

More than nine million people working with children and vulnerable adults will no longer have to undergo criminal background checks after the Government today unveiled plans to scale back the vetting and barring scheme (VBS) and the criminal records reg  More...
11 February 2011 12:53

Three quarters of employers haven't hired from disadvantaged groups, such as young people without qualifications, ex-offenders or older workers, in the last three years. This is according to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Deve  More...
22 December 2010 13:28

The Government has been urged to overhaul the "outdated" Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, cutting the time before offences become spent to help ex-offenders get back to work. Ex-offenders charity Nacro is today presenting a report to MPs, which warn  More...
13 September 2010 12:04

The new coalition government should take a more efficient, common-sense approach to criminal vetting of staff and only require it where necessary, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) . Responding to four separate gov  More...
14 July 2010 08:48

Registration under the vetting and barring scheme for those working with vulnerable people has been put on hold while the system is "fundamentally remodelled" by the new government. Voluntary registration with the Independent Safeguarding Authority   More...
15 June 2010 11:34

A former GP practice manager has been sentenced to 150 hours' community service after failing to disclose her previous convictions to a new employer. In February 2008, Brenda Ward was sentenced to 20 months in prison for stealing £38,000 from the   More...
05 March 2010 16:30

A senior NHS HR manager who lied on her CV has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £9,600 in compensation. Kerrie Devine of Lympstone, Devon, claimed she held a degree in Human Resource Management and said she w  More...
21 December 2009 15:54

Employers are now entitled to access more information regarding the previous convictions of potential employees, following a ruling by the Court of Appeal. A successful legal challenge by five police authorities, against guidance stating they shoul  More...
21 October 2009 09:54

As from today, some employers and suppliers of personnel who suspect that an employee or volunteer may be a risk to children or vulnerable adults must tell the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) , which will vet the individuals concerned.   More...
12 October 2009 17:00

HR news and analysis including: The decision in the Heyday case against the default retirement age The latest employment law changes and their implications for employers. Presenter Tara Craig is joined by Rob Moss and John Charlton. Edited  More...
25 September 2009 16:32

If it's October then it's time for some employment law changes. Experts sum them up.   More...
21 September 2009 12:48

NHS Employers has developed a new membership model to give NHS trusts access to a broad range of additional benefits. The body was formed five years ago to represent trusts on pay and workforce issues. Its trustees have now approved the move for NH  More...
03 September 2009 00:01

The construction industry ‘blacklist’ has raised the hackles of just about everyone involved with recruitment – not least those individuals listed who may have been denied a working wage because of it. But is it always wrong to use a staff regi  More...
07 July 2009 00:00

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11 March 2009 14:39

The Baby P case has sparked a recruitment crisis in the social care sector as local authorities struggle to deal with an increase in referrals. Haringey Council has called on other authorities to lend "good quality" social workers for a month   More...
27 January 2009 12:29