Businesses love their jargon. Pushing the envelope, blue sky thinking, ducks in a row – we’ve all heard the terms. Jargon terms fall in and out of fashion, and one which we’re seeing a lot is safer recruitment. It’s tempting to write this off as just another of those ridiculous statements but in fact, the thinking behind the term is important.
Safer Recruitment – Definition
Safer recruitment builds on the whole idea of safeguarding. Safeguarding is usually used when discussing how to protect children or vulnerable adults, but it goes much deeper than that. Companies can use the term to refer to protecting the company assets from theft. It could also mean looking after your current members of staff and not doing anything which might put them in danger. Safer recruitment is all about thinking about these issues at each and every stage of the recruitment process rather than leaving it as an afterthought.
Does Safer Recruitment = Checking?
In very simple terms, safer recruitment means checking out what people tell you. Employers who have a safer recruitment policy won’t take anything they are told on face value. They will check applicants’ references, ask to see copies of exam certificates, conduct thorough face to face interviews and
apply for DBS checks if the role requires it. All checks should be recorded and notes made when each stage is completed.
It’s not just companies recruiting people to work with children or handling large sums of money who have these policies. Companies in many different industry sectors are waking up to the fact that one rogue employee can be very costly if they are found stealing, or damaging the company’s reputation with their behaviour.
Benefits of Safer Recruitment
As a job applicant, these recruitment policies can seem over the top and time consuming. We’ve all landed jobs without anyone checking our references or asking to see exam pass certificates. If an employer’s recruitment policy is that everyone is fully vetted then they can’t make exceptions to this. They have to adopt an “all or nothing” approach. The employer wants to make sure of basic facts, like the applicant having the right to work in the UK. From an applicant’s point of view, it shows that your employer is switched on, and takes their responsibilities seriously.
What Proof Will I Need?
This sort of recruitment often means showing lots of documents to your employer. Nearly all employers ask to see your passport. This is the easiest way to check that you are in the UK legally and have a right to work here. There are high fines for employing illegal workers. Employers will also ask for references from recent workplaces or school. Most will ask for an address or phone number as a contact method rather than email. They will ask you to fill in a DBS check form, and wait for the checks to be complete before you can start work. Each employer has its own policies about how often your DBS checks have to be renewed.
