[David12]

I'm starting up a general domestic cleaning recruitment agency. I was wondering what are good questions to ask in an interview to make sure a cleaner knows what they are doing?

How important is it to have recruits police checked? If I don't is it possible that I could be sued if something criminal happens in a client's household?

Cheers,

Dave

[Kenny_Dobson]

Hi

Its not compulsoray to vett your staff but I do recomend you do this if only for peace of mind as a lot of  clued up burglars will use you as a means of entering without breaking if you know what I mean!
Last year a freind of mine employed an office cleaner (lets call him colin the crook)in a prestigous block that speciallised in computer equipment, there were 2 other cleaners working on the premises and after a while colin asked for more hours and as the block was just round the corner from where he lived said freind gave him extra hous as one of the cleaners was leaving.Anyway to cut a long story short the premises had an annual shut down and said freind was asked to do a blitz clean carpets  etc.Colin being the loyal servant at the time and knowing the layout of the buildinh having worked there for a while now managed to persuade freind into giving him the keys for the weekend to carry out the clean.The weekend came and went, and so did colin with approx £500k worth of equip the police were called and raided his flat but colin gave a false address on his application and as his wages were paid by bacs they tracked him down to where he was living in devon under another name working for another cleaning company in ather prestigious block!When they found out who hhe really was they also found out that colin was a career crim who had a record of doing this before.
So my advice would be to do a check! Corporate and civil security are the best yo will find them on the web.

[littlejack]

A simple way to police check applicants is for them to pay a small fee (used to be around £3) but may have gone up, they can then apply for their own background check from the CRB which they will gladly copy for you.

OR  NOT!!

[domestic.diva]

A simple way to police check applicants is for them to pay a small fee (used to be around £3) but may have gone up, they can then apply for their own background check from the CRB which they will gladly copy for you.

OR  NOT!!

I have been struggling to get an straight answer via e-mail from CRB regarding a check for myself, how do I go about getting both a police and CRB check?

[Musicman]

I understand that it is a breach of the Human Rights Act to ask someone to obtain a Police check (probably a waste of time anyway as they only seem capable of filling in forms properly if its a speeding offence).

These left-wing, tree-hugging, can't get a proper job, do-gooders really screw up society don't they!

The CRB check takes about 6-8 weeks to come through and is costly. You either have to pay several hundred pounds to enable you to do it direct, or go through an agent (someone who has already paid) which will cost you around £20-£50 per check depending upon which agent you use.

[Kenny_Dobson]

I agree with musicman,It's not the cheapest of procedures at about £30 a pop but if working around sensitive areas its worth every penny.

Wiz

[The Great One]

Hi

We have just had to police check our staff for the waterless valeting site.

It costs £10.00 and they pay for it themselves. If they don't want to pay for it then they obviously don't want the job.

Go along to police station and ask for some police check forms, they are free. give them to said staff, ask them to send off and pay for it, 4-6 weeks later they have it.

Regards

Martin

[domestic.diva]

I understand that it is a breach of the Human Rights Act to ask someone to obtain a Police check (probably a waste of time anyway as they only seem capable of filling in forms properly if its a speeding offence).

These left-wing, tree-hugging, can't get a proper job, do-gooders really screw up society don't they!

The CRB check takes about 6-8 weeks to come through and is costly. You either have to pay several hundred pounds to enable you to do it direct, or go through an agent (someone who has already paid) which will cost you around £20-£50 per check depending upon which agent you use.

Thanks for the advice.  Where do you find an agent?

Is it worth getting one for yourself when starting up in business to add to your references and gain credibility? E.G. in your ad say CRB checked?

Cheers
DD

[littlejack]

I would say it is worth getting yourself checked.  
It could provide the re-assurance to get you the job, after all, would you want strangers in your property?  

CRB and Police check is the same thing. CRB carry out check on an agency basis.

I dont think it's a breach of human rights   (at least not yet)   after all...   security guards, teachers, taxi drivers  are all vetted to name a few, in fact ...all people who have unsupervised access to kids have to be checked.

You can bet your customer would try & sue if one of your staff did something untoward on their property.

[Musicman]

Domestic Diva - try www.crb.gov.uk for more information, you may need to contact them for information about the agancies (there is a web-site I have used but cannot remember it).

I haven't applied for one and it has never affected my business (in fact staff vetting is incredibly rarely brought up by a potential client) but I only do commercial work so cannot really advise on domestic.

Littlejack - in the context of this thread the two checks are totally different.

The police check we are talking about here is the one where the individual approaches the police and obtains what is fairly basic information about convictions (I think in the last 5 years).

The CRB check is carried out on behalf of the employer and is far more thorough, and I believe that there are different levels depending upon the amount the employer is prepared to pay and the sensitivity of the working environment. For example anyone working with children should have the greatest level of checking and covers aspects over and above criminal activities.

It is the CRB check that teachers, security guards, nursery staff etc are subject to rather than the basic Police check.

It is not a breach of the HR Act to carry out a CRB check, and it is also OK for an individual to volunteer to obtain a police check. However while working for a large cleaning company I remember receiving a memo stating that no longer could the company ASK an individual to obtain this certificate as it was considered a breach of the Act. As I am not 100% sure of it you will notice that I stated that I understood it to be the case rather than saying it was.

I hope this clarifies everything.

[domestic.diva]

Domestic Diva - try www.crb.gov.uk for more information, you may need to contact them for information about the agancies (there is a web-site I have used but cannot remember it).

I haven't applied for one and it has never affected my business (in fact staff vetting is incredibly rarely brought up by a potential client) but I only do commercial work so cannot really advise on domestic.

Littlejack - in the context of this thread the two checks are totally different.

The police check we are talking about here is the one where the individual approaches the police and obtains what is fairly basic information about convictions (I think in the last 5 years).

The CRB check is carried out on behalf of the employer and is far more thorough, and I believe that there are different levels depending upon the amount the employer is prepared to pay and the sensitivity of the working environment. For example anyone working with children should have the greatest level of checking and covers aspects over and above criminal activities.

It is the CRB check that teachers, security guards, nursery staff etc are subject to rather than the basic Police check.

It is not a breach of the HR Act to carry out a CRB check, and it is also OK for an individual to volunteer to obtain a police check. However while working for a large cleaning company I remember receiving a memo stating that no longer could the company ASK an individual to obtain this certificate as it was considered a breach of the Act. As I am not 100% sure of it you will notice that I stated that I understood it to be the case rather than saying it was.

I hope this clarifies everything.

Thank you kindly for your advice, off to search!

DD  

[littlejack]

Misicman,    I am sure you are right in what you say.
The H.R. act is a minefield. I wish I was a lawyer. I think there is enough info on here now to help with the original question.

I read in paper the other day that a job ad requesting "bright and bubbly" staff is age discrimination.  LOL

There coming to take me away  ha  ha