Disclosure Checks for Organisations and Individuals

SPAEN can carry out enhanced disclosure checks both for organisational staff and on behalf of PA Employers who require their potential Personal Assistants to be checked against the relevant registers, those being: Disqualified from Working with Adults at Risk Register and the Disqualified from Working with Children Register.   SPAEN is a Registered Body with Disclosure Scotland to enable Self Directed Support Recipients to access Disclosure Scotland to ensure safe recruitment practices.

What is a disclosure check?

There are 3 types of disclosure check, depending on the type of job.

Basic Disclosure – Basic form of check, and is availablle to anyone for any purpose.  All employers are free to ask prospective employees to obtain this.  It shows convictions which are “not spent” this means a conviction which has been made within the last ten years.  This can be obtained easily by payment of a fee and can be carried out over the internet.  The employee can arrange this albeit it does not provide an employer with sufficient information to employ someone in a post of personal assistant.

Standard Disclosures – This form of check includes spent convictions in addition to the basic disclosure.

Enhanced Disclosure – The most comprehensive check and is aimed at positions that involve children and adults considered to be at risk.  In addition to the details included in Standard Disclosures, Enhanced Disclosures may contain non-conviction information which a Chief Officer or Chief Constable may choose to disclose if they believe it to be relevant to the position in question.

Why is a disclosure check needed?

For positions involving children it is a legal requirement.  For positions involving adults considered to be at risk it is advisable to have all the information at your disposal regarding a job applicant in order that an informed decision can be made regarding their suitability for the post.

How does it work?

Currently applications are made on a paper application form.  This is primarily because the two higher level Disclosures (Standard and Enhanced) require to be countersigned by a registired body.  The application is sent to Disclousre Scotland who carry out the checks and produce a certificate.  The disclosure certificate is issued to the individual employee and a copy sent to the registired body.  The information would then be given to the employer.

Identification Required

It is recommended that 3 forms of identification are produced, one of which should be photographic.  A passport or photo driving licience is necessary if held.  Proof of address is also required this could be a recent utility bill (no more than 3 months old).  Failure to produce the relevent documents on the day the disclosure application is due to take place would make it impossible for the procedure to be completed.

If you would like further information on the SPAEN Disclosure Service, please contact Marion Bisset on the office number or via email.  Marion's contact details can be found on her relevant page on the 'About Us' Section of the website.