Safer Recruitment Policy

Al-Waris Foundation is committed to recruiting trustees, staff, volunteers, contractors and other representatives safely, fairly and proportionately.

Safer recruitment is an important part of safeguarding.

The charity will take reasonable steps to ensure that people appointed to roles are suitable for the responsibilities they will hold and do not present an unacceptable risk to beneficiaries, other volunteers, staff, donors, the charity or the public.

The level of recruitment checks applied will depend on the nature, responsibility and safeguarding risk of the role.

Al-Waris Foundation will not assume that a criminal record check alone establishes suitability.

Safer recruitment includes:

This policy applies, where relevant, to the recruitment or appointment of:

Not every check described in this policy will be appropriate for every role.

Checks must be proportionate to the risks and responsibilities involved.

Al-Waris Foundation will seek to ensure that recruitment is:

Applicants will not be discriminated against unlawfully.

The charity will have regard to the Equality Act 2010 and other applicable employment and equality requirements.

The Board has ultimate responsibility for ensuring appropriate recruitment and safeguarding arrangements exist.

The Board is responsible for:

Anyone involved in recruitment must:

The Designated Safeguarding Lead should be involved where recruitment concerns raise significant safeguarding issues.

Before recruitment begins, the role should be assessed.

The assessment should consider:

The recruitment process should then be designed proportionately to those risks.

Roles should have a clear written description where reasonably practicable.

This should identify:

For roles involving safeguarding responsibilities, this should be made explicit.

Where appropriate, recruitment should identify:

The minimum characteristics necessary to perform the role safely and effectively.

Characteristics that would benefit the role but are not mandatory.

Requirements must be objectively related to the role.

Recruitment advertisements should be accurate and should not misrepresent:

For safeguarding-sensitive roles, advertisements should make clear that appropriate suitability checks will be undertaken.

Applicants may be required to provide information including:

The charity should not request unnecessary personal information.

Application information must be handled in accordance with the Data Protection and UK GDPR Policy.

For higher-risk roles, applicants may be asked to provide a reasonable history of:

Unexplained gaps may be discussed.

A gap in history does not automatically make someone unsuitable.

The purpose is to understand the applicant's background where this is relevant to safeguarding or role suitability.

Recruitment may involve:

The level of formality should reflect the responsibility of the role.

For safeguarding-sensitive roles, questioning should explore matters such as:

Where appropriate, more than one person should participate in the appointment decision.

References should be obtained where proportionate to the role.

For roles involving significant safeguarding, financial or organisational responsibility, references should normally be sought before final confirmation.

Where possible, references should:

Personal references may be used where occupational references are unavailable, but their limitations should be recognised.

References must not be fabricated, altered or misleading.

Identity should be verified proportionately before a person is given significant responsibility or access.

This may include checking:

The charity should record that identity was checked without unnecessarily retaining copies where they are not needed.

Where Al-Waris Foundation employs someone in the United Kingdom, the charity must carry out legally required right-to-work checks.

The charity must use current Home Office requirements and not rely on expired or outdated procedures.

Right-to-work checks are separate from safeguarding checks.

Where a qualification is essential to a role, the charity may verify:

Qualifications should not be requested or verified where they are irrelevant to the role.

Where a role requires professional registration, Al-Waris Foundation should verify the individual's current status with the relevant body where reasonably practicable.

Examples may include regulated healthcare or professional roles.

Criminal record checks must be lawful and proportionate.

Al-Waris Foundation will not request a higher level of Disclosure and Barring Service check than the role is legally eligible for.

Depending on eligibility, checks may include:

The appropriate level must be determined based on the actual duties of the role.

A DBS check must not be requested merely because a role involves charity work.

Before requesting a Standard, Enhanced or Barred List check, the charity must establish that the role meets the legal eligibility criteria.

Where there is doubt, current DBS or government guidance should be consulted.

The charity must not deliberately structure or describe a role inaccurately in order to obtain a level of criminal record information to which it is not entitled.

Where appropriate and lawful, the charity may use the DBS Update Service to check whether an existing certificate remains current.

The charity must:

An Update Service check does not remove the need for wider suitability assessment.

A criminal record does not automatically exclude someone from working or volunteering with Al-Waris Foundation unless the law prohibits their appointment or the information creates an unacceptable risk.

Relevant factors may include:

Decisions should be proportionate and recorded where appropriate.

Al-Waris Foundation must not knowingly appoint a person to regulated activity from which they are legally barred.

Where a role involves regulated activity, the charity must understand and comply with the applicable barred-list requirements.

Where the legal referral conditions are met, Al-Waris Foundation will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This may arise where someone has been removed from regulated activity, or would have been removed had they not left, because relevant harm conditions are met.

A DBS referral is separate from:

Al-Waris Foundation will comply with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and applicable exceptions legislation.

Applicants must only be required to disclose criminal record information that the charity is legally entitled to request.

The old approach of requiring every applicant to disclose all spent convictions regardless of role must not be used.

Where an individual has lived or worked overseas and the role presents sufficient safeguarding risk, additional checks may be considered.

These may include:

The availability and reliability of overseas checks varies significantly by country.

Absence of an overseas criminal record check does not necessarily prohibit appointment, but any residual risk should be assessed.

People travelling or working overseas on behalf of Al-Waris Foundation may require additional assessment.

This may include:

People travelling overseas should not be given unrestricted authority over beneficiaries merely because they are volunteers or donors.

Trustee appointments require particular care because trustees have ultimate legal responsibility for the charity.

Before appointment, Al-Waris Foundation should consider:

Trustees should complete appropriate declarations on appointment.

Trustee recruitment must comply with the charity's constitution.

Before appointment, the charity should take reasonable steps to establish that a proposed trustee:

Appropriate checks should be repeated where required by law or where circumstances change.

Anyone involved in recruitment must declare relevant conflicts of interest.

Examples include:

A conflicted person should normally withdraw from the decision where appropriate.

Recruitment involving trustees, connected persons or related parties must also comply with the Conflict of Interest Policy and the charity's constitution.

Being related to a trustee or existing volunteer does not automatically prohibit an appointment.

However:

No individual should receive preferential treatment merely because of a personal connection.

Volunteer recruitment should be proportionate to the role.

A low-risk volunteer role may require a simpler process than a safeguarding-sensitive or financially responsible role.

Depending on the role, checks may include:

Volunteer status does not remove safeguarding responsibilities.

Fundraisers representing the charity must understand:

Where they are collecting from the public, they must comply with applicable fundraising rules and any permit or licensing conditions.

Contractors may require checks where they:

Contracts should include appropriate safeguarding, confidentiality and conduct requirements where relevant.

Where Al-Waris Foundation relies on partner organisations to provide people who will directly interact with beneficiaries, proportionate due diligence should consider the partner's:

Al-Waris Foundation should not automatically assume that another organisation has completed adequate checks.

The charity will not routinely conduct intrusive searches into applicants' private lives.

Where publicly available online information is considered as part of recruitment, this must:

Recruitment decisions should not be based on irrelevant private characteristics or lawful personal views unrelated to the role.

Appointment decisions should be based on:

Significant concerns should be documented.

No person has an automatic right to appointment merely because they previously volunteered or are personally known to trustees.

Where appropriate, an offer may be made subject to successful completion of checks.

These may include:

The person should not undertake duties requiring completion of a particular check until it is safe and lawful to do so.

Where exceptional circumstances require someone to begin limited duties before all checks are complete, a documented risk assessment should be undertaken.

Controls may include:

This must not be used to avoid legally required checks.

All new people should receive induction proportionate to their role.

Relevant induction may include:

People should know whom to contact if they have concerns.

People whose roles involve contact with children or adults at risk should receive appropriate safeguarding information or training.

Those with greater responsibility should receive more detailed training.

Training should be refreshed periodically.

See:

For significant paid or volunteer roles, Al-Waris Foundation may use an initial review or probationary period where appropriate.

This may assess:

Confirmation after an initial period should not be automatic where significant concerns remain.

Safer recruitment does not end when someone is appointed.

Appropriate supervision should continue throughout the person's involvement with Al-Waris Foundation.

The level of supervision should reflect:

People acting for Al-Waris Foundation must disclose relevant changes that may materially affect their suitability for their role.

Examples may include:

Such information must be assessed fairly and confidentially.

Where concerns arise after appointment, the charity may:

Protection of beneficiaries must take priority over convenience.

References issued by Al-Waris Foundation must be:

The charity must not provide a falsely positive reference merely to avoid dealing with safeguarding or conduct concerns.

Appropriate recruitment records may include:

Records must be handled in accordance with:

Only necessary information should be retained.

DBS information must be handled securely.

Access should be limited to authorised people.

The charity should not retain complete DBS certificates longer than necessary unless there is a lawful reason to do so.

Where appropriate, the charity may record:

Criminal record information must not be unnecessarily copied into general personnel records.

Recruitment data must be:

Applicants should receive appropriate privacy information.

See the Data Protection and UK GDPR Policy.

Recruitment decisions must not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics.

Reasonable adjustments should be considered for disabled applicants where applicable.

Selection should focus on genuine role requirements and suitability.

See the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

An applicant who believes a recruitment process was handled improperly may raise a concern under the Complaints Policy where appropriate.

Safeguarding concerns should be handled through safeguarding procedures.

Anyone involved in recruitment who believes:

should raise the matter through an appropriate governance route or the Whistleblowing Policy.

A recruitment failure that exposes beneficiaries or the charity to significant harm may require:

See the Serious Incident Reporting Policy.

This policy should be read alongside:

This policy will be reviewed:

Version: 2.0 Status: Approved Approved by: Board of Trustees Approval date: 25/08/2026 Next scheduled review: 24/08/2027