A woman working in a position of trust was sacked after she was found to have stolen £100,000 from the dealership which employer her. Yet, while out on bail, she was able to secure a part time position at another dealership where she promptly began thieving again. Her offenses have now landed her two years in jail.
When her part-time position became full-time, her employers ran a CRB check and discovered how she had been sacked from her previous employ. She was subsequently let go, and an account review revealed she had stolen over £12,000 from her newfound employers. Her job had been to bring money to the bank, and instead it went to her pocket.
Reports state that she spent the money on indulging friends and family. Moreover, before her fraud was revealed she had been regarded as a highly prized employee. A previous employer had said of her that she was ‘an integral part of the team and very much part of the family’.
Employers can avoid such embarrassing hiring situations by completing due diligence checks and vetting those they take on as new staff. Knowing why an employee left their previous place of employment is important to the health of an organization.
In the recovering economy many people are tempted to make some quick cash hoping their superiors will turn a blind eye. While such individuals may escape detection for some time, they will invariably be caught and tried. Yet the monetary damage they have done is irreversible, and companies will have little choice but to count the stolen money as a loss.
A forward looking pre-employment screening strategy is the best approach to risk management, landing you honest hires with no crooked past to hide. A >£70 CRB check could have saved this organization £12000. And while it may seem folly to accuse everyone of being a potential thief, the safest course is to trust, but verify.
Do you know who you’re hiring? For more information visit backcheck.co.uk
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Government Admits To CRB Mistakes
As a result of over 17000 mistakes in CRB records during the past 7 years, a sum of more than £1 million has been paid out as a means of apology. Individuals who sought to work with vulnerable people were told that their criminal records made them ineligible. The information which barred them from working was inaccurate. Though many sought to contest the allegations, doing so would not net them the positions they had originally applied for.
Vetting checks began in 2002 and the volume of checks has increased every year since their inception. Last year, the number of complaints rose to 2,564. However the Home Office claims that despite their admitted mistakes, the rate of accuracy in the checks is over 99 per cent.
Criminal record verifications remain an important aspect in the safeguarding of youths and vulnerable people in the UK. Though some claim verifications to be overused and in some cases abused, few other options remain for verifying who works with the nation’s youth. As a progressive forward looking strategy, verifications seek to deter paedophiles and other staff who may pose a risk to others from entering positions where they could cause harm.
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk.
Vetting checks began in 2002 and the volume of checks has increased every year since their inception. Last year, the number of complaints rose to 2,564. However the Home Office claims that despite their admitted mistakes, the rate of accuracy in the checks is over 99 per cent.
Criminal record verifications remain an important aspect in the safeguarding of youths and vulnerable people in the UK. Though some claim verifications to be overused and in some cases abused, few other options remain for verifying who works with the nation’s youth. As a progressive forward looking strategy, verifications seek to deter paedophiles and other staff who may pose a risk to others from entering positions where they could cause harm.
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Verifications and Profitability
Profitability is the driving force of any company. Unprofitable companies simply cannot remain in business for a long time. As there exist numerous strategies to grow your profitability, it is important to evaluate the use and effectiveness of each one and how it applies in your case.
A company’s profits revolve around two things, their staff and their client base. The staff’s prerogative is to deliver the goods or services to meet the clients’ needs. Staff are also responsible for growing the client base, and increasing the volume of orders. Without the proper staff, or enough clients, a company does not survive.
Hiring staff can be trying. Finding the right fit for a company takes time, and an understaffed organization can not easily keep up with customer demand. Moreover, staff turnover exacerbates the problem of understaffing, and should be limited if at all possible.
Implementing a pre-employment screening program mitigates the difficulties of employee turnover. By decreasing the time it takes to fill a position, and verifying the quality of the hire, the implementation of such a program is of great value. Using the information gathered on job candidates, the hiring pool is quickly shrunk to a manageable size, and relevant information eases the decision process.
While some companies abstain from verifications due to the upfront costs, they can easily find themselves at a loss. Competing companies using verifications will have greater productivity, a higher quality of staff, and lower staff turnover. As a tool, verifications are used to cut employment costs, deter fraudulent and high turnover staff, and increase overall profits.
The greatest value in pre-employment verifications is seen with a partnership to a third party provider. Specializing in verifications, a third party provider is able to apply their expertise to succinctly provide the information needed for you to make the best hire. Doing verifications in-house often proves to be time consuming, causing HR professionals to fall behind on their other duties.
BackCheck is a world leader in pre-employment verifications. Our staff are committed to helping you narrow your hiring pool to find the most apt candidate in the least amount of time.
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk
A company’s profits revolve around two things, their staff and their client base. The staff’s prerogative is to deliver the goods or services to meet the clients’ needs. Staff are also responsible for growing the client base, and increasing the volume of orders. Without the proper staff, or enough clients, a company does not survive.
Hiring staff can be trying. Finding the right fit for a company takes time, and an understaffed organization can not easily keep up with customer demand. Moreover, staff turnover exacerbates the problem of understaffing, and should be limited if at all possible.
Implementing a pre-employment screening program mitigates the difficulties of employee turnover. By decreasing the time it takes to fill a position, and verifying the quality of the hire, the implementation of such a program is of great value. Using the information gathered on job candidates, the hiring pool is quickly shrunk to a manageable size, and relevant information eases the decision process.
While some companies abstain from verifications due to the upfront costs, they can easily find themselves at a loss. Competing companies using verifications will have greater productivity, a higher quality of staff, and lower staff turnover. As a tool, verifications are used to cut employment costs, deter fraudulent and high turnover staff, and increase overall profits.
The greatest value in pre-employment verifications is seen with a partnership to a third party provider. Specializing in verifications, a third party provider is able to apply their expertise to succinctly provide the information needed for you to make the best hire. Doing verifications in-house often proves to be time consuming, causing HR professionals to fall behind on their other duties.
BackCheck is a world leader in pre-employment verifications. Our staff are committed to helping you narrow your hiring pool to find the most apt candidate in the least amount of time.
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk
Friday, January 28, 2011
Implementing a Pre-Employment Screening Strategy
Background checking in the UK is a growing industry. Many businesses still do not see the benefit to a forward looking policy of screening new employees and safeguarding both the organization’s profitability and reputation. While background screening is not a definitive guard against employee fraud, it is a vital tool in the protection of an organization’s future.
Being able to summarize a candidate’s work history, criminal records, educational background or credit report allows an organization to minimize its hiring pool and more quickly select an apt candidate. A candidate with a poor credit history, for example, may be less attached to an organization’s needs than to their own financial desires.
Pre-employment screening is a cost effective means of proactively hiring new staff without any surprises. Greatly reducing the costs of employee turn-over, as well as staff fraud and its related expenditures, the implementation of a forward looking policy is a benefit to any organization.
BackCheck has been aiding companies to screen potential employees for over a decade, and has the capacity and expertise to meet your needs. As a third party contractor specializing in pre-employment screening, the services we provide are both cost effective and objective. Having never met the job candidate, our interviewers provide an unbiased picture of the candidate’s history of accomplishments.
To learn more, visit BackCheck.co.uk
Being able to summarize a candidate’s work history, criminal records, educational background or credit report allows an organization to minimize its hiring pool and more quickly select an apt candidate. A candidate with a poor credit history, for example, may be less attached to an organization’s needs than to their own financial desires.
Pre-employment screening is a cost effective means of proactively hiring new staff without any surprises. Greatly reducing the costs of employee turn-over, as well as staff fraud and its related expenditures, the implementation of a forward looking policy is a benefit to any organization.
BackCheck has been aiding companies to screen potential employees for over a decade, and has the capacity and expertise to meet your needs. As a third party contractor specializing in pre-employment screening, the services we provide are both cost effective and objective. Having never met the job candidate, our interviewers provide an unbiased picture of the candidate’s history of accomplishments.
To learn more, visit BackCheck.co.uk
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
School Caretaker Was “Persistent Fraudster”
A man with a history of 95 crimes was able to work at a Maryport school for seven months because his CRB check was delayed. The man, hired as a caretaker, did not reveal his criminal history during his application, and was hired in the interim while his background check was conducted.
The caretaker was not put in a position of authority over any school children, nor did his past crimes warrant him a place on the “List 99”, which bans individuals from working in a school environment. However, during his time at the school, he was given the master key to the school grounds and had access to all areas of the secondary school.
The man’s past convictions mostly centered around fraud and dishonesty, some of which landed him jail time. When a laptop went missing at the school in 2010, the man stopped going to work, sending in a series of sick notes and staying out of contact. This was prior to the results of the CRB check.
The matter of the laptop was later dropped in court when no evidence could be brought against the former caretaker. However, new convictions of fraud were brought against him due to his dishonesty in the hiring process. It is not known what other crimes this career con-artist perpetrated during his seven months with full access to the school.
While it was unfortunate that the CRB check took so long to return, the school did not make any further attempts to discover who they had hired. While three references had been contacted, they did not reveal much about the man. A credit check, for example, would have revealed long gaps in unemployment during which the man was jailed. An employment verification would likewise have done much to scrutinize the man’s past and raise questions about employment gaps.
Ever greater delays in the CRB checking process provide an opportunity for conmen to gain employment at institutions where background checks are few. Were this school to have used a more in-depth background checking process, the matter of hiring a dishonest career criminal would have been moot.
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk.
The caretaker was not put in a position of authority over any school children, nor did his past crimes warrant him a place on the “List 99”, which bans individuals from working in a school environment. However, during his time at the school, he was given the master key to the school grounds and had access to all areas of the secondary school.
The man’s past convictions mostly centered around fraud and dishonesty, some of which landed him jail time. When a laptop went missing at the school in 2010, the man stopped going to work, sending in a series of sick notes and staying out of contact. This was prior to the results of the CRB check.
The matter of the laptop was later dropped in court when no evidence could be brought against the former caretaker. However, new convictions of fraud were brought against him due to his dishonesty in the hiring process. It is not known what other crimes this career con-artist perpetrated during his seven months with full access to the school.
While it was unfortunate that the CRB check took so long to return, the school did not make any further attempts to discover who they had hired. While three references had been contacted, they did not reveal much about the man. A credit check, for example, would have revealed long gaps in unemployment during which the man was jailed. An employment verification would likewise have done much to scrutinize the man’s past and raise questions about employment gaps.
Ever greater delays in the CRB checking process provide an opportunity for conmen to gain employment at institutions where background checks are few. Were this school to have used a more in-depth background checking process, the matter of hiring a dishonest career criminal would have been moot.
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Council Still Carrying Out Inadequate Background Checks on Teachers
Nine years after a school caretaker murdered two schoolgirls in Cambridgeshire, nearly two thirds of audited schools continue to conduct inadequate background checks. An audit of sixteen schools found that ten failed to carry out proper checks prior to allowing teachers and staff work with children.
The annual audit of CRB checks began after it became clear that the former caretaker had had allegations of sexual assault in his criminal past, and been hired just the same. The council has since made every effort to increase the security and hiring scrutiny of new staff at their schools, all to little avail.
The audits over the past year have been only mediocre, showing that some schools are not even conducting a 30 minute check to see if a candidate is banned from teaching. Other times, schools were not checking on provided references. This lack of scrutiny shows poor judgement on the side of the schools, and reflects poorly on the school board.
While teachers are able to begin work prior to completing a CRB check, they must have a ‘List 99’ check completed, which verifies they are not barred from working in a school environment. The fact that some of the audited schools did not complete these when required has led to the conclusion that there must be many other schools demonstrating the same behaviour.
Schoolchildren in the Cambridgeshire district are still at a significant risk due to the inadequate checks being performed by the individual schools. The audits began in 2004 after a caretaker, who used a fake name to get hired, slew two schoolgirls. Another incident like this cannot be allowed to take place again. Do you know who you're hiring?
For more information on proper background checks visit backcheck.co.uk
The annual audit of CRB checks began after it became clear that the former caretaker had had allegations of sexual assault in his criminal past, and been hired just the same. The council has since made every effort to increase the security and hiring scrutiny of new staff at their schools, all to little avail.
The audits over the past year have been only mediocre, showing that some schools are not even conducting a 30 minute check to see if a candidate is banned from teaching. Other times, schools were not checking on provided references. This lack of scrutiny shows poor judgement on the side of the schools, and reflects poorly on the school board.
While teachers are able to begin work prior to completing a CRB check, they must have a ‘List 99’ check completed, which verifies they are not barred from working in a school environment. The fact that some of the audited schools did not complete these when required has led to the conclusion that there must be many other schools demonstrating the same behaviour.
Schoolchildren in the Cambridgeshire district are still at a significant risk due to the inadequate checks being performed by the individual schools. The audits began in 2004 after a caretaker, who used a fake name to get hired, slew two schoolgirls. Another incident like this cannot be allowed to take place again. Do you know who you're hiring?
For more information on proper background checks visit backcheck.co.uk
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Convicted Molester Hired at NHS Trust
Employees at an NHS trust were shocked at the news that one of their managers had been previously convicted of indecent assault of his patients. The manager was previously a GP, when in 2003 he was sentenced to a yearlong jail sentence for assaults against seven women.
The man’s criminal history was only revealed when a victim made the discovery through an online website which listed him as working at the trust. After details of his past were revealed the man was sacked, however it is yet unclear how he was able to regain a position after his conviction.
As a temporary contractor, the man had been hired through an agency, which did not run a criminal check on him as his new position did not have him in contact with patients. The agency had asked him to disclose any previous criminal convictions, which he failed to do.
Without performing a verification, simply requesting that a candidate with a criminal past disclose his convictions is tantamount to asking for a lie. In this instance, the man had nothing to lose by lying about his past, as no due diligence on the legitimacy of his claims was undertaken. His hire has been a blemish on the NHS trust, and an affront to his victims.
Do you know who you’re hiring?
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk
The man’s criminal history was only revealed when a victim made the discovery through an online website which listed him as working at the trust. After details of his past were revealed the man was sacked, however it is yet unclear how he was able to regain a position after his conviction.
As a temporary contractor, the man had been hired through an agency, which did not run a criminal check on him as his new position did not have him in contact with patients. The agency had asked him to disclose any previous criminal convictions, which he failed to do.
Without performing a verification, simply requesting that a candidate with a criminal past disclose his convictions is tantamount to asking for a lie. In this instance, the man had nothing to lose by lying about his past, as no due diligence on the legitimacy of his claims was undertaken. His hire has been a blemish on the NHS trust, and an affront to his victims.
Do you know who you’re hiring?
For more information, visit backcheck.co.uk
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