would you employ a nanny/au-pair.....

[KemalsStilletto]

....without a CRB? I am looking to get out of my current job and get back into nannying. I have 5 years experience, a nice personality, very friendly etc, etc. There aren't many jobs in my area on the nannyjob website which come from parents, they're all from nanny agencies which need CRB checks and because I only get paid 40.00 per week in my current job, I cannot afford one so it's so hard me getting a nanny job with an agency!

uwila, you mentioned nannies from overseas - you're right, the British CRB check only picks up UK records. But many overseas countries have parallel systems and some of them are a lot more efficient and reliable than the UK one - New Zealand, for instance. I should think Canada - that's your new nanny's nationality, I think? - has a similar process too.

The difficult aspect for the UK is that - when I last dealt with this - individuals could not apply for the check - has to be done through an "authorised body", like ladymuck's church charity (BTW, ladymuck, thoroughly excellent and sensible advice). The outfit Civil & Corporate has as I remember lots of detailed info.

If you are applying for your nanny to be registered under the Childcare Approval tax scheme, then CRBs are done as part of the approval process.

and let's try that again: Civil and Corporate

Should say - I too have a CRB check done for me free - by Islington Council because I did some lunchtime reading support in a local primary.

Mine was done free too by the local authority while I was doing some volunteer work visiting an old lady. But, it took 8 months to come through!

hello everyone

would you consider someone without a crb check if you were satisfied they hadn't actually avoided the process? ime, many candidates who have only been privately employed (i.e. as a nanny/au pair v. in a nursery, as a teacher) don't have them as a matter of course.

i ask because we have someone who appears to be an excellent candidate with great references - no crb check though.

No - even if there were perfectly good reasons for its not having been done to date, I would make it a condition of the new job (I would employ, and start, subject to the check coming back clear). It's in everyone's interests, including hers.

hi binkie

thanks for your reply.

so you would start the candidate in the job before the crb check came back with the proviso that it would be immediate termination in the event of a dodgy result? or would you wait for the check to come back clear before the nanny could start?

thanks

just so i'm clear

It would slightly depend on circumstances, I guess - eg whether the job was sole charge, & whether there was any handover period. If I felt the CRB was genuinely just a formality, and there was other sorts of supervision around (eg we were having a handover period), then I would employ subject to the check coming back clear in due course. (And yes, of course, we'd say the job would terminate if it didn't come back clear - which then means you can always take a view if it comes back with something v small on it.)

It would be pretty unusual for someone to have immediate unsupervised sole charge, I suppose ... in fact I can't imagine starting employing anyone on that basis - but if that was essential, then as part of the protections I'd want the check back before it started.

Can't remember if this was said below, but the CRB check is part of the process if you want to be able to make use of the tax/NI savings scheme.

you can get a voucher for it in the job centre if you explain why you want it

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hello

any other views?

btw - i am resurrecting an old thread - kemal's etc is long gone akaik....

tia

Message withdrawn

I have the enhanced check and am happy to show it to parents along with my first aid cert and cv, refs.

I feel it was put in place to try and ensure another 'holly&jessica' incident is avoided and feel it is a work related expense.

Now i have recently married and are soon to move home i will be getting a new one that will show 'no record' in the spaces as did this one.

In South Africa we just get a police check that cheack for police records, violation etc against our fingerprints. UK agencies & parents have been happy with this although if I was in the UK more than 6 months I would apply for CRB.

K

some agenciess will do you a CRB without a charge if you get a job through them
(mine did)

phone agencies before you rule it out!

£4 an hour ,why dont you ask for a pay rise the min wage is £5.25. Moat agencies would pay especially if you explained the situation. I have had two cbr check's in the past three years as they only last a short while. Now as i am working in a school they need an updated one. KERMAL ????????? if you have been on the nannyjob website and asked this question ,you would have got a INTERESTING relpy.

£4 an hour ,why dont you ask for a pay rise the min wage is £5.25. Moat agencies would pay especially if you explained the situation. I have had two cbr check's in the past three years as they only last a short while. Now as i am working in a school they need an updated one. KERMAL ????????? if you have been on the nannyjob website and asked this question ,you would have got a INTERESTING relpy.

(blush) ooppss pressed it twice.

no but i would consider reimbursing or paying for half of it for the right person

Sorry but I wouldn't put my child with anyone I didn't know with or without a CRB. At the end of the day all they have to say is that they have obtained a CRB there is no legal requirement for them to show you the document, there is no time limit/expiry date on them which means that if they do show you one there is nothing to say if they have been convicted of anything since obtaining the document. Also being cynical a clean CRB just means that they have never been caught doing anything wrong.

I was going to say never in a month of Sundays but on reflection if I was wadded I think I might get help for night time (middle of the night time )