Appendix 5: Safety Screening Assessment Instructions & Form

EMPLOYMENT SAFETY SCREENING ASSESSMENT FORM

This form is to be used to assess police records identified as part of the organisation’s employment safety screening process. It recommends whether or not an application for employment is progressed.

Please refer to the instructions on page 4 to assist in the completion of this form.

SECTION 1: APPLICANT DETAILS

Applicant Name: XXXXXXX
Alternative Names: XXXXXX
Date of Birth: XXXXXXX
Gender: Male Female

SECTION 2: ROLE ASSESSMENT

Position Applied For: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Reference Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This role is considered: High risk Medium risk Low risk
Explanation of role risk assessment:
The primary focus of this role is to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

SECTION 3: ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION RECEIVED

Details of information/record received (do not copy criminal history information contained in the police check results onto the assessment form verbatim. Provide a summary only):
Please confirm with the applicant the details of their criminal history information and detail any considerations below.
Considerations:

SECTION 4: DECISION

4.1.
I confirm that I have undertaken an assessment of the advertised role, the applicant’s police record, referee reports and all other relevant information in line with the safety screening policy and that based on this assessment I recommend that this application for this specific job be:
Progressed Not progressed
Recommended by:
Name: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Role:
Location: (Address)
Date:
Signature:
Comments:
XXXXXXXXXX (confirm whether hiring manager/chair person), has had a conversation with the applicant XXXXXXXXXXXX relating to the charges and he/she would like to employ XXXXXXXXXXX.
Supported by:
Name: XXXXXXXXX, (Hiring manager/chair person)
Date:
Signature:

Please provide a copy of this page to your respective payroll officer. Please note, there should be no mention of the conviction anywhere on this page.

Applicant Details

Applicant Name: XXXXXXX
Alternative Names: XXXXXX
Date of Birth: XXXXXXX
Gender: Male Female
4.2.
Employment Status: Approved Not approved
I confirm that a discussion has taken place with the Victorian State Government department which funds this organisation about the proposed decision to employ/not employ this person.
CEO of Organisation:
Name:
Title:
Location:
Date:
Signature:
Comments:

After all sections are completed, please return to:

Human Resources for confidential storage as per Appendix 5 of the Safety Screening Policy.

EMPLOYMENT SAFETY SCREENING ASSESSMENT FORM INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

Employment safety screening information is collected with the applicant’s informed consent. If there are any Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCOs) an assessment must be carried out.

The assessment is carried out using the Safety Screening Assessment form (Assessment Form) to consider information received from the police check against the role to be filled. Using this information, the relevant person makes a recommendation whether or not to progress the application for employment. The safety screening assessment process and the actions of the decision makers are guided by the Safety Screening Policy which sets out principles that must be followed. Please refer to the policy for these.

RISK

The decision whether or not to progress an application for employment is made by assessing the risk that someone with a certain police history would pose if they were employed in a particular role. Employing an inappropriate person in a particular role may result in undesirable conduct such as abuse of clients, fraud or theft or wilful disclosure of sensitive information. The risk results from the combination of a person with an inclination to harm, with a position offering them the discretion or independence to cause harm.

The following definitions of risk are used:

·  High risk is defined as a situation (information/job role) that poses or allows for a significant risk to the organisation’s clients, staff or sensitive corporate information. Examples are: abuse or injury to clients, major jeopardy to client safety or welfare, major theft or fraud, major lawsuits or major breaches of protocols or regulations, or subjecting a activity to major review

·  Medium risk is defined as a situation (information/job role) that poses or allows for a greater than average risk to the organisation’s clients, staff or sensitive corporate information. Examples are: jeopardy to client welfare or safety, theft or fraud, lawsuits or breaches of protocols or regulations

·  Low risk is defined as a situation (information/job role) that poses or allows for a no greater than average risk to the organisation’s clients, staff or sensitive corporate information.

While this assessment process provides a useful structure to break down and identify risk factors, it does not eliminate the need to apply good judgement.

PROCESS

1.  In the event of a DCO, the results need to be reviewed by the funded organisation manager, (this can be the HR Manager) in order to carry out the assessment.

2.  The funded organisation manager then needs to contact the Hiring Manager, providing details of the alleged incident. The funded organisation manager then follows with an email using the email template below. This contains sample questions which the Hiring Manager must ask the applicant. This means that the police history information is never transmitted by email, unless encrypted.

3.  After the Hiring Manager has spoken to the applicant, they must advise the funded organisation manager carrying out the assessment, confirming if the details of the incident are correct and whether the applicant is disputing the allegations.

4.  The funded organisation Manager then completes the Assessment Form. Section 4.1 should be countersigned and dated by the Hiring Manager/Chair person, while Section 4.2 requires the relevant CEO of the organisation to sign off.

5.  When the Assessment Form is fully completed and signed off, it should be returned to the Human Resources Team for confidential storage.

COMPLETING THE ASSESMENT FORM

Section 1: Applicant Details

This section identifies the applicant.

Ensure that all formal and alternative names are noted. Formal names are names legally recorded such as on a birth certificate or passport. Alternative or informal names are assumed names or aliases by which the person is also known.

Section 2: Role Assessment

This section assesses the job that is being filled, its work characteristics and requirements, particularly in the context of the organisation’s values and attributes a risk rating to the role. This is important as the overall risk of employing a person with a particular history can only be made within the context of the role that is required to be performed.

Indicate, by ticking the appropriate box, the risk rating for the role. The chairperson of the interview selection panel may be best placed to complete this section. An explanation of the rating must be given. The following information will assist in determining the risk rating.

High risk roles

Some roles are automatically rated as high risk because of direct and unsupervised contact with vulnerable clients. Also, any Information Systems roles involving access to highly sensitive corporate information and data.

Medium risk roles

Medium risk roles include, but are not limited to, the following:

·  Roles with direct access to sensitive corporate information. (e.g. certain roles in information services)

·  Roles with high-level authorities or decision making. (e.g. financial delegation of greater than $50000)

·  Roles with responsibility for practice quality.

Low risk roles

Low risk roles include, but are not limited to, the following:

·  Administrative roles with no client contact and with decision-making limited to immediate work area.

Section 3: Assessment of Information Received

This section assesses the information received about an applicant and attributes a risk rating to that information. The funded organisation manager completes this section.

Details of information received – provide a summary of information. Do not copy police history information contained in the results from NSS onto the assessment form verbatim, provide a summary only.

Applicant confirmation of information received – The Hiring Manager should contact the applicant to confirm that the police history details actually belong to the applicant. Other information, as listed below under ‘risk rating,’ will need to be discussed in order to conduct the assessment of risk.

If the applicant disputes the alleged incidents, refer to the Victoria Police website and search for Criminal History Information Dispute process).

Considerations – Should include explanations of the incident as provided by the applicant.

Risk rating - Indicate, by ticking the appropriate box, the risk rating for the information received.

Consider the following, in consultation with the applicant, when assessing the information received:

·  Type of incident/matter and the penalty imposed.

·  Circumstances that gave rise to the incident or matter.

·  Circumstances of the incident, including the presence of vulnerable clients, involvement of violent behaviour.

·  Age and age difference between the applicant and the alleged victim (if any) when the incident occurred.

·  Whether the incident or matter had occurred on more than one occasion.

·  Period of time since the matter occurred.

·  Explanations by the applicant and rehabilitative activities undertaken (this will require a discussion with the applicant).

·  Whether the role and work environment presents similar triggers that could lead to a recurrence of the behaviour.

Ensure the information received is fully recorded, including the source, date and circumstances of incidents, outcomes and response by applicant.

Explanation of risk assessment – Provide justification of the risk level attributed to the information received.

Section 4: Decision

This section provides for the decision concerning the application, i.e. whether or not the application for employment will be progressed.

Section 4.1

Funded organisation managers will be responsible for the assessment of police checks. Assessments will be made in consultation with the Chairperson of the panel. This protocol has been developed to promote a consistent and systematic assessment process across the organisation.

An application for employment is ‘not suitable’ to be progressed in the following situations:

·  Roles where the information received is rated as high risk.

·  Roles with a high or medium risk rating AND where the information received is also rated high or medium risk.

An application for employment can only be progressed where information is rated as medium or low risk AND the role has a low risk rating.

The following table summarises when an application for employment can be progressed and when an application for employment cannot be progressed based on the risk ratings.

ROLE RISK LEVEL / INFORMATION RISK LEVEL
High / Medium / Low
High / NP / NP / P
Medium / NP / NP / P
Low / NP / P / P

NP = Not Progressed

P = Progressed

Recommended – This section must be signed by the funded organisation manager.

Comments – Any relevant information regarding sign off (e.g. any explanation if a delegate is unavailable to sign off on the recommendation).

Section 4.2

Approved / Not approved – This section must be signed by the relevant CEO of the funded organisation regardless of whether a decision to employ the applicant has been recommended.

Comments – Any relevant information regarding sign off (e.g. any explanation if the CEO of the funded organisation is unavailable to sign off on the recommendation).

The assessment form is returned to the Human Resources team for confidential storage.

STORAGE OF INFORMATION

Unsuccessful Applicants

The assessment form should be stored for six years, following the completion of the selection process, in a confidential file. It can then be securely destroyed.

Successful Applicants

The assessment form should be stored indefinitely in a confidential, registered file. It must not be retained as part of the applicant’s personal file.

Please be aware that copies of completed assessment forms containing a summary of police history information should not be saved electronically on the organisation’s network.

Police History Information

Any police history information which has been printed off in hard copy or is available electronically should be securely destroyed after three months.

DECISION TO EMPLOY

The organisation is required to keep a record of how any police history information affected the decision to employ for both unsuccessful and successful applicants. Therefore, it is important that after the assessment process has been completed, the decision to employ is captured in the personnel file.

To protect privacy, no details of police history information should be entered (a statement of whether the police history information did or did not affect the decision to employ is sufficient).

Email template to be used by funded organisation managers to Hiring Managers, providing them with sample questions to ask the applicant in the event of a DCO.

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Hi XXX

As per our discussion, I would like to clarify the process for assessing the criminal records match for XXXXX.

Given the details of the criminal record, you need to contact the individual to;

- confirm that the record is theirs

- discuss explanations of the incident

- circumstances that gave rise to the incident or matter

- any rehabilitative activities undertaken

Please record the response of the applicant and forward to me via email. In addition, I require a copy of the position description in order to determine if the role and work environment presents similar triggers that could lead to a recurrence of the behaviour.

If you have conducted any reference checks then they can also be taken into consideration when making an assessment. Therefore, please also detail any comments from referees in your email to me.

Once I have this information, I will complete the assessment form as per the standard instructions and in consultation with you, make a recommendation as to whether the application should be progressed.

Please call me if you have any questions

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DISPUTE ABOUT POLICE HISTORY

If there is a dispute, refer to the Victoria Police website and search for Criminal History Information Dispute process.

Some helpful tips for handling disputes

1. Attach any evidence or documentation that may assist to resolve the dispute i.e. an airplane ticket that shows the Applicant was in a different location / country at the time the offence was committed.

2. Do not provide the same information as was originally included in the check request. This will only produce the same outcome. The police agencies require different and additional information to assist in separating the Applicant from the police history information.

3. Do not advise the Applicant to attend a police station for a fingerprint comparison check straight away. If the police agencies require a fingerprint comparison check, they will advise the agency which undertook the police check.