In these unusual and challenging times many organisations are currently preparing for their annual general meetings and will elect new trustees. For many, these have been significantly delayed due to Covid. We've put together some pointers for those processing these types of check to help you know when are how to check so that your organisation can stay up-to-date and compliant with the Charity Commission.
How do I know which trustees are eligible for a check?
The Charity Commission states that “whenever there is a legal entitlement to obtain a DBS check in respect of such a trustee, a check should be carried out".
Trustees of a charity that carries out work with children or vulnerable adults are eligible for an enhanced disclosure (normally without a check of the barred list). The trustee themselves does not need to work with children or vulnerable adults themselves in order to be entitled to this check – they are being checked because of the work of the charity.
Don't forget that if you are a member with us and have any questions about eligibility you can use our online eligibility guide to help with decision making.
What do DBS Recruiters need to do?
- When processing checks for Charity/PCC Trustees the 'workforce' selected for Trustees will depend on which groups of people the charity works with. For most churches ‘child and adult workforce’ should be selected.
- In the church of England, PCC Members are trustees of the charity. It is therefore usual for a church to check all PCC members, but as this is a matter for local determination and you should seek clarification from your Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor.
- In the 'position applied for' field on the DBS application form, the applicant should enter either ‘Charity Trustee’ or ‘PCC Trustee’ in the case of a Church of England Parish church. (Please don’t enter the word ‘member’ in this field as the DBS will flag this with us and it could cause a delay to the application.)
For those new to processing checks or for anyone wanting a refresh on processing checks online and eligibility, our training webinar is a good place to start giving you a complete overview of the process from start to finish.
As always our Disclosure helpline remains open to answer any questions you may have.
