To think that 'Word' should realise that 'staff' can be plural as well as singular.

[MammaTJisWearingGold]

I am doing some coursework, in between MNin, and am doing my 'Placement Practise'. I have to write about policies and procedures at work. Every time I put something like 'All the staff have been through enhanced CRB before starting employment' it tries to correct me and tell me it should be 'All the staff has' or 'All the staffs have'. I have had to write about things the staff have to do a lot and that green wiggly line is beginning to get on my nerves!

'The staff is required to be CRB checked' is correct, surely? The staff is always singular, same as the herd of cows mentioned upthread. It's not an American/UK issue either, I think it is simply taught more effectively in the USA.

"Staff is" in UK English implies that it is singular, "staff are" implies plural. "Staff is" is untidy English and therefore "member of staff is" is a much better way of saying it...clarifies you meant singular

You wouldn't sat singularly "you has got to get over here" you would say "you have got to". Gah!!! AND for plural you do not say "yous have got to"...

Random I'm afraid it is a US/UK dialect distinction. In the UK, is/are after a collective noun are interchangeable (like I already mentioned, my friend at the Oxford English Dictionary clarified this for me). In the UK, we say 'Coldplay are my favourite band' not 'Coldplay is...'. Same for team names.

see now, I'd say 'Coldplay is' because it's singular. But there is a big difference of opinion on this thread!

Not exactly a difference of opinion, just a difference in dialect between US and UK English :) listen to an English person talk about an English team; they'll say, 'England are in front' rather than 'England is in front'.

Won't they say "England are losing"?

Bilbo yeah, more likely...

Here is the Wikipedia link to US/UK treatments of collective nouns: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English#section_2

Erm, turn the grammar check off? It's pants anyway. Hth.