Recruitment

Each parish should review and update its recruitment processes to meet safeguarding standards. This can be done by whoever the PCC appoints (normally the Parish Safeguarding Officer).

The Church of England have put together some safer recruitment and people management guidance.

To help improve your recruitment process, the Church of England have provided some templates which you can use if helpful. These can be found on the Church of England templates and resources page, under the heading ‘Safer Recruitment’.

In addition to the templates on the Church of England website, below are some further resources and information:

  1. A DBS check should be carried out, where applicable, once a candidate has been offered a role but before starting in that role.  More information is available on our DBS pages.
  2. Foreign applicants: ‘If a candidate/applicant etc. for a position that is eligible for a DBS check is coming from overseas who either has never lived in the UK or spent a period of time (i.e. lived abroad), the person making the appointment should request an additional check and ask the applicant to obtain criminality information (also known as a certificate of good conduct/character) from his/her relevant embassy/high commission (or police force)’ (see the House of Bishops’ Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance at paragraph 2.10) and Overseas DBS.
  3. Applicants who have lived or worked outside the UK for 6 months or more in the last 5 years need to undergo the same checks as all other staff applicants.  As much information as possible should be obtained in the form of references (e.g. from any relevant overseas employer(s)) including verification by telephone as part of the decision making process about whether to use applicants who have lived abroad.
  4. Probationary/settling in period, supervision and regular review can be made part of the process.  See the House of Bishops’ Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance at paragraphs 2.13 and 2.14).

Visit the Church of England website for more templates and resources.