Employee screening: jargon buster
Personnel Today Management Resources one stop guide on employee screening, comprising a glossary of key terms. Other sections .
Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
Making it illegal for employers to employ anyone without permission to work in the UK
Care Standards Act 2000
Designed to protect the public from unqualified or dangerous workers, placing the onus on employers to check candidates
Caution
A warning about a future conduct given by a senior officer, usually in a police station, after a person has admitted an offence
Conduct on Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations
Regulations requiring agencies to screen candidates adequately, give employers information on why candidates might be unsuitable, and which limit fees imposed on employers who give temps permanent jobs
Criminal Justice and Court Services Act
Making it illegal for people on the PoCA or PoVA lists to seek or be given employment in jobs involving close contact with children or vulnerable adults
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
Government organisation providing checks - disclosures - into individuals' criminal records
Data Protection Act 1988 (DP Act)
Protects personal data and allows data to be disclosed only in accordance with data protection principles
Data controllers and data subjects
Employers who process personal data about staff, and those to which this data relates
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Prohibits discrimination by an employer against a disabled person
Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
Prohibit sexual orientation discrimination and harassment based on HIV status, regardless of gender.
Employment Practices DP Code
A code of practice issued by the Information Commission to help employers meet the requirements of the Data Protection (DP) Act
Enhanced disclosure
A type of criminal record check available from the CRB to applicants for posts involving regular care, training, supervising or being in sole charge of young people, for certain statutory licensing purposes and judicial appointments
Financial Services Market Act 2000
Saw the establishment of regulatory body the Financial Services Authority, which requires individuals in controlled categories to be checked out for honesty and competence
Job analysis
A structured examination of tasks inherent in a job and the requisite skills to perform it
National Minimum Standards
A set of standards developed by the Depart-ment of Health regulating the care sector, requiring employers to have written recruit-ment procedures and to carry out intensive checks into certain regulated employees
Personal data
Any data relating to a living individual from which that individual can be identified, or from which, together with other information in the possession of, or likely to come into the possession of the data controller, that individual can be identified.
Personality questionnaire
A questionnaire that looks at the typical behaviour, interpersonal style, thoughts, feelings of an individual
Police Act 1997
Set up the CRB, giving employers access to individuals' criminal records
Pre-employment vetting
As defined by the Employment Practices Code, means actively and often intrusively making enquiries from third parties about an applicant's background and circumstances
Processing
Any action involving data
Protection of Children Act (PoCA) list
A list of people who have harmed or placed at risk children, who are now banned from working closely with children
Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) list
A list of people who have harmed or placed at risk vulnerable adults, who are now banned from working with vulnerable adults
Psychometric test
A measure of psychological construct that produces accurate and valid scores
Registered person
Applications for both standard and enhanced disclosures must be countersigned by a 'registered person' listed in a register maintained by the CRB as such. A registered person is a corporate or unincorporated body; a person appointed to an office by virtue of any enactment; or an individual who employs others in the course of a business.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and ROA (Exceptions) Order 1975
Governing when a conviction can be considered spent and outlining job exceptions to the definition of spent
Risk assessment
Procedure to compare an applicant's skills, experience and conviction circumstances against risk criteria identified for the job
Sensitive data
Data such as information about criminal records, the handling of which is governed by the DP Act
Standard disclosure
A type of criminal record check available from the CRB for posts which are exceptions to the ROA, including those involved regularly with children, young people, the elderly, sick or handicapped, administration of the law and other sensitive areas
Verification
As
defined in the Employment Practices Code is the process of checking that details
supplied by applicants are accurate and com-plete, including the taking up of
references
One stop guide on employee screening: other sections Section one: The importance of screening candidates Section two: Policy and process Section three: Methods of employee screening Section four: Recruitment and selection Section eight: Jargon buster Section nine: Model documents (this section contains a job description for a senior manager, application forms for manual posts and non-manual posts, a reference request form and reference clause in an offer letter, all of which can be found in the recruitment section of XpertHR's policies and documents service)
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