19-11-2008
New legal burdens for care home and nursery owners
A new vetting and barring scheme designed to tighten up checks on staff working with children and vulnerable adults will introduce new legal burdens for care home and children’s nursery owners, schools and charities, according to a leading employment lawyer.
BPE Solicitors’ John Turnbull, who acts for a number of care home and nursery clients, says the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), will place a legal duty on employers to report information to vetting and barring scheme officials.
There are almost 300 care homes and 200 children’s day nurseries in Gloucestershire, many of whom employ a large contingent of staff. Teachers, youth workers, social workers, childminders and transport providers will also be affected by the changes.
From October next year anyone who wishes to work with children or vulnerable adults must be registered with the Independent Safeguarding Authority, a new single agency set up to vet anyone who wants to work or volunteer with children and vulnerable adults.
Plans for the ISA came out of the inquiry following the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by Ian Huntley in 2002.
Only people who are believed not to pose a risk to vulnerable adults and children can be ISA-registered.
Once the scheme is up and running employers will be expected to pass information onto the ISA if they dismiss a member of staff, or they resign, because they harmed, or may harm, a child or vulnerable adult.
“If a member of staff leaves their job before they are sacked on grounds that could lead to barring, bosses must still refer the employee to the ISA,” said John.
“The effectiveness of the new scheme will only work if the ISA can reduce the time between someone believing they have evidence that a person is a known risk and that person being barred by ISA. This places a huge responsibility on the shoulders of employers, many of whom will be concerned about how information they may pass onto the authorities will be used,” he added. Bosses will have a hefty fine if they fail to provide relevant information to the scheme.
ISA registration will cost staff £64, unless they are a volunteer working with children and vulnerable adults. Many employers currently pay for Criminal Records Bureau checks for their staff and so this change in vetting procedure could also hit the pockets of business owners.
“Procedural changes such as those introduced by the ISA create an administrative headache for businesses concerned and management time will need to be invested in ensuring care homes and children’s nurseries comply with the law,” said John.
However there are some positive aspects of the change. ISA registration is fully portable by each individual member of staff, which means it will be quicker to employ registered workers as fresh CRB checks will not have to be carried out each time they move jobs.
Employers, with a member of staff’s permission, can also register an interest in the ISA status of a worker, so that they will be automatically notified if that person’s status changes.
“With 12 months to go to the new procedures becoming live, finer details of how the scheme will run have yet to be finalised,” said John.
“However what is certain is that by being aware of the issues at an early stage will help businesses prepare well in advance for the changes,” he added.
John Turnbull is an Associate in BPE’s employment team. He specialises in advising healthcare sector clients on employment issues affecting their business.
BPE Solicitors’ John Turnbull, who acts for a number of care home and nursery clients, says the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), will place a legal duty on employers to report information to vetting and barring scheme officials.
There are almost 300 care homes and 200 children’s day nurseries in Gloucestershire, many of whom employ a large contingent of staff. Teachers, youth workers, social workers, childminders and transport providers will also be affected by the changes.
From October next year anyone who wishes to work with children or vulnerable adults must be registered with the Independent Safeguarding Authority, a new single agency set up to vet anyone who wants to work or volunteer with children and vulnerable adults.
Plans for the ISA came out of the inquiry following the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by Ian Huntley in 2002.
Only people who are believed not to pose a risk to vulnerable adults and children can be ISA-registered.
Once the scheme is up and running employers will be expected to pass information onto the ISA if they dismiss a member of staff, or they resign, because they harmed, or may harm, a child or vulnerable adult.
“If a member of staff leaves their job before they are sacked on grounds that could lead to barring, bosses must still refer the employee to the ISA,” said John.
“The effectiveness of the new scheme will only work if the ISA can reduce the time between someone believing they have evidence that a person is a known risk and that person being barred by ISA. This places a huge responsibility on the shoulders of employers, many of whom will be concerned about how information they may pass onto the authorities will be used,” he added. Bosses will have a hefty fine if they fail to provide relevant information to the scheme.
ISA registration will cost staff £64, unless they are a volunteer working with children and vulnerable adults. Many employers currently pay for Criminal Records Bureau checks for their staff and so this change in vetting procedure could also hit the pockets of business owners.
“Procedural changes such as those introduced by the ISA create an administrative headache for businesses concerned and management time will need to be invested in ensuring care homes and children’s nurseries comply with the law,” said John.
However there are some positive aspects of the change. ISA registration is fully portable by each individual member of staff, which means it will be quicker to employ registered workers as fresh CRB checks will not have to be carried out each time they move jobs.
Employers, with a member of staff’s permission, can also register an interest in the ISA status of a worker, so that they will be automatically notified if that person’s status changes.
“With 12 months to go to the new procedures becoming live, finer details of how the scheme will run have yet to be finalised,” said John.
“However what is certain is that by being aware of the issues at an early stage will help businesses prepare well in advance for the changes,” he added.
John Turnbull is an Associate in BPE’s employment team. He specialises in advising healthcare sector clients on employment issues affecting their business.
