Buy With Confidence - Criminal Records Disclosure

1	Introduction
1.1	The Buy With Confidence scheme is committed to encouraging high business standards, and to promoting an environment in which consumers can buy goods and services safely. For this reason, applicants and members of the schemes are asked to provide information in relation to criminal records.
1.2	It is a condition of membership that Basic Disclosure certificates are provided for some personnel. This document provides guidance about what is required.
2	Who Must Supply Basic Disclosure?
2.1	Basic Disclosures are required for any personnel who carry out work in domestic homes (including gardens). This includes, but is not limited to, sub-contractors as well as permanent and temporary staff.
2.2	A sub-contractor may, at the scheme operator's discretion, be exempted from the requirement to provide a Basic Disclosure if they are supervised at all times by a senior employee of the business who has provided a valid Disclosure Certificate to the scheme operator. For example, a home maintenance business may occasionally need to use a Corgi-registered engineer to work with a gas appliance. The business may choose to provide a basic disclosure certificate in relation to the engineer if they intend to use them frequently, or may prefer to ensure the engineer is always supervised while at the customer's home. It would not be acceptable for the engineer to be left at the customer's home unsupervised at any time if they have not supplied the required Disclosure.
2.3	A director, partner or proprietor of the applicant/member business is required to sign a declaration form to certify that they will follow this policy and to update the scheme operator as appropriate. If the signatory does not ensure that the Disclosure policy as set out in this document (or a subsequent, amended document) is upheld, they may be held liable for loss or damage to customers, or to the scheme operator.
	Please note that some members of Buy With Confidence (who were previously CustomerFirst members) do not currently have CRB checks but will be required to complete checks retrospectively. Please contact us if you require further information
3	Basic Disclosures
3.1	A Basic Disclosure (termed as a "criminal conviction certificate" in Part V of the Police Act 1997) is the lowest level of Disclosure and is available to anyone for any purpose, on payment of the appropriate fee. It contains details of convictions considered unspent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 or state that there are no such convictions. This type of Disclosure is only issued to the applicant. It is not job-specific or job related and may be used more than once.
3.2	Basic Disclosures can currently only be obtained from Disclosure Scotland. They are valid throughout the UK. The cost of obtaining a basic Disclosure is currently £20.00 per person.
3.3	This is the cost charged by Disclosure Scotland and no fee is added by the scheme operator. The cost of obtaining Disclosure is to be borne by the applicant or member business, and will not be funded by the scheme operator. These fees were current at the time this document was released - please check the website for any changes in cost. www.disclosurescotland.co.uk
4	Other types of Disclosure
4.1	Other forms of disclosure may be accepted in place of a Basic Disclosure, at the discretion of the scheme operator. Standard or Enhanced Disclosure issued by the Criminal Records Bureau, will usually be accepted (NB the applicant/member is asked to note the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and Data Protection Act when obtaining this information or sharing it with any third party, including the scheme operator).
4.2	In order to be accepted as current, any disclosure provided must have been issued no more than 12 months prior to being received by the scheme operator.
5	New Staff (including sub-contractors)
5.1	Members of the scheme are required to supply the Scheme Operator with Basic Disclosures for applicable new staff. The Disclosure should be sent to the Scheme Operator not more than 30 days from the date that the staff member is employed / contracted.
5.2	It is strongly recommended that members of the scheme make reference to the Basic Disclosure requirements in their recruitment information if they think it may apply to their staff/sub-contractors. If the existence of a conviction is made known to the Scheme Operator, guidance may be provided as to whether, and how membership would be affected by recruiting the applicant concerned.
5.3	Members are asked to ensure that all personal information is treated in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and to operate in accordance with relevant employment legislation including the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
6	Personnel Previously Residing outside the UK
6.1	Applicable personnel who have resided outside the UK for a period of 12 months or more in the last 6 years may be required to supply different or additional information. Please contact your Scheme Operator for more details if required.
7	Updates/Renewals
7.1	You may be required to provide new disclosure certificates for applicable personnel once three years have passed from the issue date of the original disclosure (or sooner if there is reasonable cause for so doing).
7.2	If you become aware of the arrest, caution or conviction of any person working for or on behalf of your business, you must inform the scheme operator as soon as is reasonably possible.
8	What if a conviction is recorded on the disclosure certificate?
8.1	A balanced judgment will be made having regard to factors such as:- The nature of the offence Its relevance to the post, position or profession in question How long ago the offence took place The person's age at the time Whether it was an isolated offence or part of a pattern of offending What is know about the person's conduct and character before or since
8.2	At the Scheme Operator's reasonable discretion, it may be possible to agree a course of action which will allow an application or membership to continue. Examples of appropriate action could include: Change of duties for the staff member/sub-contactor concerned Further Disclosure to be carried out periodically Additional supervision arranged Detailed information about the circumstances to be obtained from the courts or other relevant body
8.3	If there is a perceived risk to customers or to the integrity of the Scheme, the disclosure may be deemed adverse. An adverse disclosure may mean that a application is refused or, if the business is already a member, membership may be terminated or suspended.
9	Appeals
9.1	If a Scheme Operator deems a disclosure to be adverse, and you believe the decision to be unfair, you are entitled to make an appeal in writing for the decision to be reviewed. You (or the person subject to appeal) may be asked to supply additional information or to attend a meeting as part of the review process.
10	Privacy
10.1	Disclosures and accompanying information supplied to us will be treated confidentially, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and any other relevant legislation. Only staff within the Trading Standards Service will have access to the information and it will not be used for any other purpose than is stated. The information will not be passed to any third party organisation unless this is required by law.
10.2	The original Disclosure certificate(s) will be retained for a short period while under review. This period will not normally exceed 6 months and may be much shorter. After review, certificates will be returned by standard post, or on request by recorded delivery. Only the minimum necessary information will be retained thereafter and will be kept in a lockable storage facility.
11	Other Sources of Information:
Information Commissioner's Office (Data Protection): 08456 30 60 60 or www.ico.gov.uk
Disclosure Scotland : 0870 609 6006 or www.disclosurescotland.co.uk
Criminal Records Bureau: 0870 90 90 811 or www.crb.gov.uk
Citizen's Advice Bureau (Employment Law): www.citizensadvice.org.uk (no general number)