Watchdog Employment Screening - August 2014

Part of Capita plc

WatchdogEmployment Screening

August 2014

News from employment screening and advisory experts Security Watchdog

In this issue:p4. Staff fraud on the rise p10. The importance of knowing your staff

p6. Delight through Excellence p11. Language test cheating threat to Sponsor Licence

Security Watchdog News

After many months of collaboration between Security Watchdog and the

Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), new guidance on

obtaining overseas criminal record checks and personnel security in offshore

centres has been published.

The guide provides advice for employers on how to obtain criminal record disclosures

on individuals in 63 countries (within the European Economic Area (EEA) and outside

of the EEA).

A second report published in April by the CPNI and Security Watchdog offers employers

essential advice on offshoring. Titled ‘Personnel Security in Offshore Centres’, it provides

guidance on background checking in 14 countries worldwide, and includes those countries that are

amongst the leading providers of offshoring and outsourcing services.

Ewan Tweedie, Director of The Advisory Bureau said: “It’s advisable to understand what the key laws or regulations that relate

to job applications are. There are a number of security screening measures that are available to employers planning to offshore

services. These take into account legal, practical and cultural sensitivities during the recruitment process and on an on-going basis.

Our report, written in association with the CPNI, will make it very clear to employers exactly what’s involved.

“The new Personnel Security in Offshore Centres Report will provide employers with the latest guidance on the critical legal

parameters that need to be taken into account when implementing security measures for international employees.”

Both reports can be downloaded for free at the CPNI’s website (www.cpni.gov.uk).

Essential new guidance on overseas criminal records checks

2 www.securitywatchdog.org.uk

Charity night raises £560 for poverty stricken childrenSecurity Watchdog held a

charity fundraiser to raise

money for a very worthy

cause. After a cake sale

during office hours, Security

Watchdog employees headed

out for a night of fun filled activities and managed to raise

£560 for the Mary’s Meals charity.

Mary’s Meals is a global movement that sets up school feeding

projects in some of the world’s poorest communities, such as

India and Malawi, where hunger and poverty prevent children

from gaining an education. The results of the fundraising will

make a difference to the lives of 55 children in these regions.

Security Watchdog client showcase day ‘Mitigating Risk through Innovation’We are currently hard at work behind the scenes preparing

for this year’s Client Showcase Day.

The theme will be ‘Mitigating Risk through Innovation’ and will be held on Tuesday 28th October at the Capita

offices in Gresham Street, London.

Speakers will cover key topics and provide an update on the

employment screening industry with an insight into future

developments.

Invitations are to be sent out in the coming weeks and we

hope that you will be able to attend what promises to be a

highly informative day.

Criminality Update

www.securitywatchdog.org.uk 3

The Supreme Court has ruled that certain past minor cautions and convictions should not have to be disclosed

during criminal record checks. The decision upholds an earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal, stating that certain

convictions should remain part of a protected private life and any requirement to disclose would be incompatible

with human rights legislation.

The case was brought to court after an unnamed man was refused a job because of two police cautions received aged 11. The

man had been DBS checked when he applied for a part-time job at a local football club aged 17 and later for a university course in

sports studies. An unnamed woman also challenged the checks after being refused a job in a care home eight years after receiving a

caution for shoplifting.

The Supreme Court judges said the disclosures the two candidates had been required to make “were not necessary in a

democratic society” and “were not based on any rational assessment of risk”. Following the Court of Appeal’s ruling, a system to

filter certain old and minor cautions and convictions from being disclosed on a DBS Disclosure Certificate was introduced by the

Home Office last year.

Under the new filtering system, cautions given to adults are removed from criminal records checks after six years, whilst cautions

to children are filtered out after two years.

The Disclosure & Barring Service

The Department for Education has changed the criteria for an individual to be classed as working in regulated activity with children.

The change affects the ‘frequency’ criteria that

an individual must meet to be classed as being in

regulated activity with children.

Frequency is now defined as an activity carried out by the same

person once a week or more, or on four or more days in a 30-

day period. The requirement for this activity to be at the same

location, or with the same children has been removed.

Typically this now incorporates roles such as general careers

advisors, school’s liaison for major employers, travelling

educational actors and service providers dedicated to the

educational and school sectors. General service providers e.g.

security or engineering contractors who may have schools

within their catchment but cannot guarantee attending sites

regularly, will remain outside of regulated activity.

The sender organisation would require the enhanced DBS

check to be carried out, and the host organisation would

obtain confirmation from the sender organisation that this

check had been carried out and that the person is suitable to

work with children.

Our criminality experts identified over 600

anomalies in all disclosure applications submitted

to the Disclosure and Barring Service in the first

quarter of 2014.

The highest percentage of anomalies for the quarter

related to ‘Driving a Motor Vehicle with Excess Alcohol’,

which accounted for 14.5 per cent of the total number

of anomalies, representing a 2 per cent increase from the

previous quarter.

‘Speeding Offence’ saw an increase of 9 per cent, the largest

increase on the previous quarter, and offences for failing

to comply to community order requirements and making

indecent photographs of children rose by nearly 4 per cent.

Our e-Bulk online disclosure system continues to process

DBS and Disclosure Scotland applications faster than ever.

Over half of all applications are being returned within 24

hours, whilst responses taking more than ten days have

dropped by 5 per cent.

The criminality report


Organisations need to be sure that any new

recruits are precisely who they claim to be after

the latest report from CIFAS revealed that employers are

most at risk from fraudsters at the recruitment stage.

In their report detailing employment fraud during 2013, CIFAS

revealed that there was an 18 per cent rise in confirmed cases

filed to their Internal Fraud Database committed by insiders or

an organisation’s employees.

The most commonly recorded type of internal fraud was

employment application fraud, accounting for over 50 per cent

of all cases, with many potential employees caught concealing

unspent criminal convictions.

In what should be seen as a sign that pre-employment

screening checks are catching fraudsters before they are

able to gain employment, cases of successful applicant fraud

dropped by 8 per cent whilst cases of unsuccessful application

fraud, where a falsehood was identified prior to the position

being offered and the application was rejected as a result, rose

by 70 per cent.

Some candidates mistakenly feel that there is little wrong

in ‘embellishing the truth’ in an attempt to appear more

employable than they actually are, particularly when they’re

faced with a high level of competition from other more

desirable candidates.

Concealing unspent convictions, dismissal from previous

employment, or adverse relevant credit history is usually

information that the applicant would rather withhold, fearing it

may hold them back when compared to the other candidates

they are in competition with.

Staff fraud on the rise

Other examples of falsehoods include using fake referees,

falsified documentation to support their application or stating

false education or professional qualifications, most prevalent

with graduate and first time job seekers.

As long as the employer has a rigid vetting procedure in place

this discrepancy will be uncovered, but still could represent a

significant waste of both time and resources on an undesirable

candidate who should not have been in the system to begin with.

It is clear that carrying out comprehensive vetting procedures

before a chosen candidate has been appointed should be a

priority. Some organisations have discovered that having a

screening policy in place deterred potential fraudsters due to

the thoroughness of the checks, making them more likely to

withdraw their applications as a result.

An employee who makes a fraudulent job application may not go

on to commit further fraud within the organisation, however this

person poses a significant risk to the employer, especially if they

are not qualified or deemed suitable for the job.

Fake job applications most common entry point for fraudsters

“ The most commonly recorded type of internal fraud is employment application fraud – accounting for over

50 per cent of all internal fraud cases. ”


Immigration watch

Following a consultation on proposed changes

to the Immigration Bill in the summer of 2013

the maximum penalty for employing an illegal worker doubled

at the beginning of May 2014.

This means businesses that employ individuals who do not

have the right to work in the UK will now face a fine of up to

£20,000 per illegal worker dependent on the level of statutory

excuse they can demonstrate.

Furthermore, if an employer knowingly employs an illegal

worker they may face a jail sentence of up to two years in

addition to an unlimited fine.

The Government is also increasing the maximum fine for

employers paying below the minimum wage from £5,000 to

£20,000 in an effort to deter unscrupulous employers from

taking advantage of individuals who, due to their immigration

status, are not protected by the UK legal system.

Further changes in relation to the

calculation and enforcement of the fine,

including measures to allow recovery

of civil penalties from directors and

partners of limited liability businesses

following failure to pay by the business,

will be announced later in the year.

A number of proposals to aid legitimate businesses are also

to be introduced including a reduction in the number of

documents an employer needs to check to establish a right

to work, and replacing annual follow-up checks for non-EEA

nationals with ones to coincide with the expiry of permission

to be in the country.

Increase in fine for employing illegal workers

“ Businesses that employ individuals who do not have the right to work in the UK will now face a fine of up to £20,000

per illegal worker. ”Romanian and Bulgarian immigration down despite lifting of EU work restrictions

The number of Romanians and Bulgarians working

in the UK has fallen by 4,000 since employment

restrictions were lifted in January, figures show.

There had been predictions that there would be a

flood of migrant workers entering the UK after the EU work

restrictions on Romania and Bulgaria were lifted on 1st January

2014, however these figures show that this has so far not been

the case, although the total figures are up 29,000 compared

with a year ago.

Bulgarians and Romanians gained the right to visa-free travel

to the UK in 2007 when their countries joined the EU, but

there were temporary restrictions on the kind of jobs they

could hold. These expired on 1st January 2014.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed that

140,000 people from Eastern Europe were employed in the

UK between January and March 2014.


Delight through ExcellenceClient and candidate experience

is at the heart of our service

offering. Our core values act to

underpin our “delight through

excellence” programme whereby all at

Security Watchdog are encouraged to

enrich and enhance our services.

At the core lies the Security Watchdog

operations team, the heartbeat of our

operation without whom there would be

no facility to “delight through excellence”.

At our Client Showcase Day last year we

held an open panel session where our

clients were able to liaise directly with

our industry experts to address their ideas and queries around our service, allowing us to better

understand how we can improve.

Their idea of the ideal candidate experience included zero duplication of data, speed and simplicity,

visibility and transparency, with clearer communication and guidance on workaround requests provided.

“ Our core values act to underpin our “delight through excellence” programme whereby all at Security Watchdog are encouraged to enrich and enhance our service offering. ”

Sara-Jane Bartle, Operations

Director for Security Watchdog’s

Alton office said: “Over the past

year we have seen the average SLA attainment rise by around

6 per cent. Although our aim is to achieve SLAs 100 per cent

of the time, in some cases there are outside factors at play

to prevent this, such as being unable to contact a candidate’s

current employer or indeed the candidates themselves.

“We pride ourselves in our ability to innovate, and in a move

to counter difficulties in contacting the candidate and increase

SLA attainment, we have introduced SMS texting as a new

channel of communication. After much research we found

candidates might be unwilling to answer calls received from a

number they don’t recognise, however would more than likely

read a text that comes through to their phone.”


The SMS text service has been trialled successfully on

a number of our client base, and so far we have found

candidates are responding far quicker than before. The service

is scheduled to be rolled out across all accounts during the

course of this year.

This innovation follows the Candidate Zone, which launched

last year. This is an online portal designed to assist candidates

in gleaning a further understanding of the screening checks we

will be performing on them. This is a forum designed to work

in conjunction with their screening packs, where they are able

to ask questions on any part of the screening process that

they are unsure of.

As well as the feedback received during

the Client Showcase Day, a survey was

circulated to all of our client base in early

2014 in order to glean information on our

successes and areas for improvement, and

the results centred mainly on proactivity

and communication.

Security Watchdog always aims to be a

proactive operation. Encouraging a close

working relationship between our Client

Relationship Managers (CRMs) and the

clients within their portfolio ensures a

permanent point of contact who is always

on hand to address queries and handle

any changes that may be required. This is

not just over the phone; all CRMs should

have regular face-to-face contact with their

clients and this allows us to keep up to speed

with any projects or intensive hiring periods

that our clients have in the pipeline.

Providing this workflow information in advance allows us to

ramp up our operation accordingly. Knowing a client is going

to be sending over large numbers of candidates for a project,

or is expecting a large influx of candidates, we can pull in

additional resource to manage workloads.

The operational management team structure

in Alton has changed with the addition of two

experienced operations managers. Some of the

feedback we received was focused on escalations

during the screening process; by introducing a new

level of management we will be able to handle

each escalation more effectively. Our operations

managers are responsible for five service delivery

managers in Alton, with our Sheffield office,

which processes all our DBS checks, providing

additional support to our operational core.

Sara-Jane continues: “No matter how big or small the account

is, all of our clients are treated equally. We provide the

same personal service to all of our clients, whether they’re

sending through 7,000 files or just ten. Every client is assigned

a dedicated client relationship manager, service delivery

manager and screening team.”

“ We’re immensely proud of our people and the service we offer everyday - we never rest on our laurels. ”Susie Thomson, Managing Director, Security Watchdog


A Capita company promotion

Is low trust killing passion and engagement in your business?Here are some startling statistics:

• There are 53 per cent less sick days in organisations that are trusting of

their employees

• People are 87 per cent less likely to leave an organisation that is trusting

of its employees

• Out of a survey of 300,000 leaders in over 60 countries, 89 per cent of

people put ‘honesty’ as the main trait they wanted to see in their leaders

• The relationship with your boss is cited as the number one reason people

leave an organisation

A lack of trust within an organisation will have a detrimental impact on financial success

Scandals of mistrust come as no surprise to most of us, whether you’re the waitress in a bakery or the CEO of

a bank. The CIPD’s quarterly report found that only 36 per cent of employees trust senior leaders and 58 per cent

had adopted a ‘not bothered’ attitude at work. The symptoms of mistrust – hostile gossip, fruitless meetings and

incompetent leaders - are daily realities for many in the workplace.

Yet, high trust is a key characteristic of profitable and sustainable businesses. Trust not only provokes customers to buy,

it encourages employees to stay loyal and turns process-clogged organisations into collaborative machines.

It’s time we spoke up about the lack of trust in our organisations and took responsibility for change. Here are the three

steps we take at Blue Sky when turning rhetoric into reality.

Take the trust blinkers offStart noticing the unquestioned low trust behaviours that

happen within your business every day. Examples to look

out for include leaders talking the talk but not demonstrating

the competence or the character to live up to their senior

role; widespread grumbling behind the backs of colleagues; a

reluctance to make decisions; not owning up to mistakes and

making self-serving decisions.

Break trust down into its elementsSteven M.R Covey’s brilliant book ‘The Speed of Trust’

emphasises that trust is a behaviour rather than a trait. By

breaking trust into 13 characteristics, including talking straight,

righting wrongs, confronting reality, clarifying expectations and

practicing accountability, he demonstrates that trust is under

our control, and that it can be rebuilt, step by step – if we can

find a way to commit to it.

Get buy-in from withinFinally, trust has to become a priority truly embraced by

people at all levels of an organisation to ensure cultural change.

Naming the behaviours you identified in step one, and citing the

evidence that shows the impact of trust on the bottom line will

help win over cynics. With senior leaders as your champions,

you then need to ensure that trust coaching spreads through

the ranks. As role models begin to emerge, the groundswell of

trust will begin to grow.

To get started on the process, have a go at our online trust

survey; this will help you identify the levels of trust you

currently have in your team and help you pinpoint the specific

trust gaps that exist, to then focus your efforts on the right

behaviours to build a high trust team.

Email [email protected] for further information or call

01483 739400.


Financial Services Spotlight

In 2012, the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) became

law. The thrust of it is to implement

preventative regulatory oversight of the

financial services industry to avoid another financial meltdown.

Specifically it provides requirement of registration and

regulation of derivative SWAP dealers and major SWAP

participants and imposes stringent clearing and trade

execution requirements on standard SWAPs as well as

stringent record keeping and reporting regimes for SWAPs.

Proponents of Dodd-Frank believe that the Act will prevent

our economy from experiencing a crisis like that of 2008 and

protect financial institutions and consumers from the many

abuses that contributed to that crisis. Certain brokers and

lenders involved in derivative SWAP dealings had latched on

to the idea of making large sums of money and were willing

to subvert sound business practices in the assessment of

potential borrowers. As a result, these brokers and lenders

took procedural shortcuts and enlisted cooperative appraisers

to report inflated property values. In some circumstances,

documentation was manipulated to create the illusion that

the home was going to be owner-occupied, when, in fact, the

property was being purchased for the purpose of flipping it.

In others, documentation was falsified to show employment

and incomes that would make it appear that a borrower was

qualified when in fact he or she was not.

The Dodd-Frank Act includes consumer protection provisions

which will impact the manner in which some employers conduct

background checks on prospective and current employees.

Parties involved in SWAP dealings should have the necessary

background checks (criminality and financial probity checks) and

be registered with the DFA to avoid fraudulent activity.

Most employers conduct routine background checks and

occasionally request credit reports on prospective hires and

current employees. The Dodd-Frank Act will not impact

the currently existing obligations of these employers under

the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Several employers,

however, are considering credit scores of prospective and

current employees in assessing the propriety of placement

in financially sensitive positions – i.e positions in which

the employee will have access to cash, credit and financial

information and other valuable assets or data. These

employers can use financial probity checks to identify

employees who, because of current or historical financial

hardships, might be predisposed to misuse their access and

misappropriate the employers’ assets and data.

Peter Southgate, Finance Director at Security Watchdog

says: “We are at the forefront of employment screening

best practice for financial services institutions in the UK

and overseas. We understand the risks associated with

unregulated SWAP derivative dealings. Many of the leading

banks come to us for advice on the Frank-Dodd Act and what

necessary checks are required to mitigate risk. We will always

recommend the minimum checks that are role-specific.”

Dodd-Frank Act impacts on employer background checks


The importance of knowing your staff

The recent case of William Vahey has

reinforced the need for vigilant employment

screening procedures to ensure you really do know your staff,

especially those who have worked around the globe.

Vahey, a convicted sex offender in the United States, was

not only allowed to leave the country unsupervised after

two years on probation in 1972, but move freely from job to

job across the world, gaining employment as a teacher in a

number of prestigious international schools, including one in

the UK. Could the whole situation have been prevented with

just one look at Vahey’s criminal record?

All teachers working in the UK are subject to an Enhanced

DBS check, which shows both spent and unspent convictions.

However international equivalents (Certificates of Good

Conduct or No Conviction) vary in what they disclose,

although most report on an individual’s entire criminal

history. The problem is that these specific risk registers, such

as the sex offenders register, are country specific (or state

specific in the case of the US) and do not normally share that

information outside of direct police enquiries.

In Vahey’s case, despite the fact he was required to update his

information on the sex offenders register each time he moved,

he was never chased by the authorities when the updates

never came. And when the state sex offenders register was

put online in 2004, Vahey’s name was not included because

authorities discovered he was no longer living in California.

Upon appointment to Escuela Campo Alegre in Venezuela

in 2002, he was asked to provide a police record from his

country of residence. The only stipulation was that he had to

have lived there for five years. This allowed Vahey to present

his record from Indonesia, but with no documented history of

problems in the country, he was cleared to teach once again.

In 2009 Vahey went to work for Southbank International

School in London, which has approx 350 pupils from 70

countries, and was subjected to two UK criminal background

checks where he had not lived before.

The extent of his crimes were only uncovered when a maid

stole a hard drive from his Nicaraguan home and uncovered

photographs showing the teacher had molested hundreds of

adolescent boys in his trust during a career spanning ten schools

on four continents.

As a result of a lack in best practice vetting procedures, young

lives have been irreparably damaged. There could be future

financial damage with former students of Southbank International

seeking £1million compensation as a result of exposure to Vahey.

Ewan Tweedie, Director of The Advisory Bureau said: “If an

individual has a history of moving job roles and countries of

residence this is often for a very good reason. You have to ask the

question of why they are moving. What are they moving away

from? This is why it is essential that you take proper references

from previous companies to establish their reason for leaving.

Similarly, it is important to request criminal record checks

in each country that they have resided in for any length of time

(certainly long enough to commit a crime and go through the

judicial process).

Screening Focus

“ We would recommend media checks that are run on a global search

to highlight any adverse publicity attached to an individual anywhere in

the world, as a child sex crimes will invariably generate press coverage. ”Ewan Tweedie, Director of The Advisory Bureau


Since 2011 all overseas student visa applicants are required to

prove they can speak English at an appropriate level, but over

48,000 of the language tests taken have been declared invalid

or questionable following an investigation into systematic

cheating facilitated by organised criminals.

As a result, a number of higher education institutes have had

their Tier 4 sponsor licences suspended, including Glyndwr

University which had its licence suspended when it was

found that over 230 non-EU sponsored students had invalid

English test results - a figure that could rise to over 350 with

questionable results taken into account.

Whilst the language tests in this case are provided by a third

party company, who are currently undergoing a criminal

investigation, it is still the organisation holding a sponsor

licence who are liable.

Peju Ojemuyiwa, The Advisory Bureau’s senior OISC

regulated immigration consultant said: “It exposes the internal

processes of these institutions to the extent that it portrays

them as being incapable of being trusted to hold a sponsor

licence if such large quantities of fake tests can pass through

their systems.”

Attracting overseas students from outside the EU has

generated additional revenue for higher education institutes,

and around 100,000 students get their visas to stay in the UK

extended each year. Whilst Glyndwr University has the right

to appeal their suspension, having their licence revoked would

result in severe financial and reputational damage.

Mandatory language test cheating threatens higher education sponsor licences

Without a licence the university would have to find other UK

or EU students to fill the empty places, and recoup the lost

money in a climate where other higher education institutes are

currently recruiting aggressively. Reputational damage will also

occur as a consequence of bad practice, increasing the risk of

prospective students not applying in the future.

“The responsibility lies with the organisations to improve

their practices to ensure they have a robust process that

shows they can comply,” advises Peju. “But often these

responsibilities are held by someone who does not have UK

immigration responsibilities as part of their day-to-day work,

and so the risk that it slips through the net is heightened.”

Peju continues: “UK immigration is dynamic and ever changing,

therefore an organisation that will be on top of its sponsor

responsibilities must be constantly up to date with the UK

immigration law and updating their processes to ensure its

keeping up with any relevant changes.

“At Security Watchdog, we are naturally risk averse and

ensure we work with our clients to identify where these

potentials risks are so together we can create solutions that

are dynamic and lasting to mitigate and remove such risks

permanently.”

Headhunting for human resourcesBefore taking an executive or directorial position within a new

organisation, it is imperative that the individual is thoroughly

vetted against the highest possible standards.

A national legal services provider headhunted a director into

an human resources position via an executive recruitment

website in 2010. However, despite one candidate passing a

directorship check, further investigation into the performance

of the company demonstrated that despite truthfully claiming

to be a ‘national HR advisory consultant’, the company only

had three small clients and the candidate did not have the

experience necessary for the role.

Our client is now satisfied with the appointment, and the

director of human resources was later developed into a

director of operations role.

Why utilise the Executive Screening Package?• The most extensive pre-employment screening package

on the market

• 100% compliance with all relevant UK and international

employment and data handling legislation

• Ideal screening solution for executive and directorial

appointments

• Maximum risk mitigation and corporate responsibility

The Executive Screening Package

How the Executive Screening Package worksYour executive candidate will provide you with all the

necessary documentation required for us to perform the

check without completing an online form. We will liaise

directly with your HR or resourcing department in order to

obtain this information.

Our expert client liaison officers will verify the candidate’s

identity and right to work documents, perform an enhanced

financial probity check and obtain a criminal disclosure

certificate outlining any unspent criminal convictions under the

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974.

Our industry-leading screening executives will then verify

the candidate’s employment history over a ten-year period,

their highest academic or professional qualifications and

memberships, and we will conduct International directorship

checks and a media search. We carry this out using maximum

sensitivity and diplomacy.

Finally, the candidate will be referenced against international

sanctions lists, the Financial Standards Authority and, for

candidates coming into your business from outside the UK,

international criminality databases.

The results from the checks will be compiled into an Executive

Due Diligence Report, and we can be available to give

real-time support in the appointment decision.

The most comprehensive and thorough solution on the employment screening market, suitable for senior level hires

“ Security Watchdog’s Executive Screening Package is perfect for all new staff coming into an extremely sensitive operation. We would not settle for anything less. ”

Part of Capita plc

Head Office:Cross and Pillory House

Cross and Pillory LaneAlton, Hampshire

GU34 1HL

For further information on any of the articles, please contact us on +44 (0)1420 593830 or [email protected]

www.securitywatchdog.org.uk© 2014 Capita plc. Watchdog Magazine August 2014

Documents

Watchdog Employment Screening - August 2014