At the present time if  you are asked the question “Do you have any criminal convictions?” it is not possible for the reader as an individual to initiate an Enhanced Disclosure application solely at his or her own request, it has to be actioned by a third party in order to verify the response to the question. Usually, this third party would be an employer or regulator who would request and then assess the applicant’s Enhanced Disclosure in order to establish whether that individual is eligible to work for the organisation.

At the present time if  you are asked the question “Do you have any criminal convictions?” it is not possible for the reader as an individual to initiate an Enhanced Disclosure application solely at his or her own request, it has to be actioned by a third party in order to verify the response to the question. Usually, this third party would be an employer or regulator who would request and then assess the applicant’s Enhanced Disclosure in order to establish whether that individual is eligible to work for the organisation.

This clearly is a problem for self-employed individuals as there is no employer or regulator involved in the equation, and thus an alternative, ‘authoritative’ third party must be utilised such as a member organisation, for example the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT).  Also, some organizations that request an Enhanced Disclosure are not prepared to initiate an application on behalf of their self-employed or freelance workers.

You may already be slightly bored or evenconfused but will need to ask the question what is a Standard and Enhanced Disclosure as these processes may apply to you, due to the nature of our profession, when working as a practitioner in a variety of locations..

Eligibility for Standard and Enhanced Disclosures

There are three levels of Disclosure: - Basic, Standard and Enhanced.

Basic Disclosures will only cover unspent convictions and can be requested of anybody for any role. Applications for these do not need to be signed by a Registered Body so they are obtained direct from Disclosure Scotland (for the whole of the UK ) by the subject.

Standard & Enhanced Disclosures will show both spent & unspent convictions plus (if requested) any inclusions on Government-held lists or registers e.g. Sex Offenders Register. Only roles that are exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) are eligible for these Disclosures and these roles are listed in the Exceptions Order to the Act. Where the word “Disclosure” is used from this point it refers only to these higher levels.

For the most part and for therapists, roles that are eligible for Disclosures are those that give the individual access to under 18’s and/or “vulnerable” adults as part of their normal duties.

The term “vulnerable adults” is conventionally defined as those who are not able to make their own decisions due to age, infirmity or illness. However it can be said that anybody with a medical condition who puts themselves in the hands of a therapist in the hope of receiving some improvement in their condition is making themselves vulnerable to abuse in some form by that individual. With the boundaries between conventional and alternative therapies becoming much less distinct, we believe that alternative therapists are in no different a position to a nurse in an NHS hospital (who is required to have a Disclosure) and that having some means of ensuring that people with a known history of abuse do not gain access to new victims through becoming an alternative therapist is essential.

Also many therapists provide services to under 18’s that makes them eligible for higher level Disclosures anyway.

The Rules Surrounding Disclosures

Disclosures aim to provide an organisation that is offering, or endorsing and individual to work in, an eligible role with a means of verifying their response to the question “Do you have any criminal convictions?”

The subject will get a copy of the Disclosure document as a matter of courtesy, but the service is aimed at the employer/regulator.

Consequently an individual cannot apply for a Disclosure solely of their own volition, there has to be a 3rd party who has asked them to apply. Further that 3rd party has to be in a position to deny the role to the individual or withhold their endorsement of the individual working in that role if they do not consider the Disclosure to be satisfactory. Otherwise they would just be “being nosey”.

Meeting these criteria can be difficult for the self-employed or business proprietors, as they generally have no employer or “higher authority” that can apply the sanction of denying them a role. Also, where the self-employed individual wishes it to be known they have been checked (it may be of commercial benefit) the Disclosure certificate is of little value, as it cannot be publicly displayed. (It would be unreasonable to expect an individual to tell the world that they had committed a crime that is irrelevant to the role they have, just to show that they have no convictions that are relevant)

Also the Registered Body copy of an Enhanced Disclosure could include information based on police intelligence that cannot be revealed to the subject by law. If there is no 3rd party an Umbrella Body acting solely for the subject would have nowhere to go with this information, which would leave them extremely exposed.

The solution for the self-employed is to be checked through a credible third party who can endorse their working in a field/role by means of a document issued by the third party stating that they had been checked and nothing was found that would make them unsuitable to undertake such a role. This could be a wall-mounted certificate or an ID card, or both.

Better late than never

The good news is that the Independent Safeguard Authority (ISA) comes into being October 09 when independent self employed therapists will be able to register as the ISA will work in partnership with the CRB. This will incur a one off fee and a constant check and update will be carried out. Once the scheme has been fully rolled out, employers who work with vulnerable people will only be allowed to recruit people who are ISA-registered.

Useful links:

http://www.crb.gov.uk

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=371801&NewsAreaID=2

http://www.isa-gov.org.uk

For information on the FHTCRB Vetting Scheme and Membership, contact:-

Federation of Holistic Therapists T: 0870 420 2022   W: www.fht.org.uk

Stop Press

The Cabinet Office recently published guidance to help organisations that use volunteers to be clear about when they do and don't need to carry out Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks on volunteers. The guidance will help cut unnecessary red tape and responds to concerns voiced by the voluntary sector that potential volunteers can be put off if they are asked to undergo a CRB check without good reason.

Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:

“The Government has a duty to protect vulnerable people and CRB checks play an important part in this. However, it is a real waste if volunteers are being put off doing their hugely valuable work because checks are being carried out unnecessarily. Risk has to be managed properly and proportionately and I hope that this guidance will help organisations by giving them a clear step by step process to follow.

“The Government has made sure that CRB checks are free for volunteers, saving volunteer involving organisations £26.6 million in 2007/08. I want to encourage more people to volunteer and will continue to tackle the barriers that prevent them.”