Staff working with vulnerable people face a lottery when it comes to who pays for an essential check needed to do their jobs, says UNISON.
Employers have a legal duty to carry out criminal record checks on frontline public sector workers. A recent survey from the union found that more than four in ten (42%) are passing on the cost of that to their employees.
UNISON believes this means almost two and a half million frontline public sector workers are paying for their own criminal record checks.
Women (74%) and the lowest paid (85%) make up the majority of people working in jobs that require the checks, the research found.
However, UNISON can find no pattern to explain why some employers cover the cost and others – often facing the same recruitment and budgetary pressures – force staff to foot the bill.
According to the survey, over two-thirds (69%) of staff who do not currently pay for the disclosure and barring service check would be put off applying for a job where they would have to meet them cost themselves.
Employees complain about being forced to pay for a new check if they get promoted or move within the same organisation.
UNISON said the law should be changed so employers cannot pass the cost onto staff. The fee was waived during the pandemic for health and social care applicants and the union said government covering the cost for all public sector workers made sense during the current recruitment crisis.
UNISON assistant deputy general secretary Jon Richards said: “People already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis should not be forced to pay to work. Most staff who need these checks earn below the national average and money docked from their pay is cash they can ill afford to lose.
“Criminal record checks are vital and bosses have a legal duty to carry them out. The law should be changed to stop rogue employers from docking money for work essentials such as these checks from their staff.
“Such a seemingly small change would make a huge difference to the tens of thousands of staff who currently have to pay for their own checks. People are being put off applying for jobs and even going for promotion because of the cost, which is no good for them or their employers.”
A cross-party group of MPs will discuss the report’s findings at a parliamentary roundtable event on Tuesday 5 December. MPs, including chair of the home affairs select committee Dame Diana Johnson, will hear directly from frontline public sector workers at the event in Room U, Portcullis House from 12:30pm-1:30pm.
Notes to editors:
– The full report is available here
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Dan Ashley M: 07908 672893 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
The article Frontline staff face lottery when it comes to essential criminal-check costs first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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