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 five: Case studies

Section six: The law

Section seven: Resources

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)

Section ten: Checklists