Government to heed BRC warning over excessive vetting checks

Tweet

Changes to the Vetting and Barring Scheme should mean retail staff who work in health-related shops - such as opticians and pharmacies - will not now be required to undergo excessive background checks.

The original scheme, devised by the previous Government, would have swept up around 100,000 shop-based workers in time-consuming and costly bureaucracy. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned the scheme was disproportionate and would have resulted in a £6 million cost for retailers.

The current Government has confirmed the Vetting and Barring Scheme is being reined in. It is intended to improve the protection of children and vulnerable adults, and will now only apply to people who come into intensive contact with them. On that basis, the BRC believes no shop-floor staff will be included.

The Government is due to release further details in the coming weeks. The position of medical professionals such as opticians and pharmacists, who also work in shops, remains unclear. The BRC opposes the duplication of checks carried out by their own professional standards bodies.

Director of Business and Regulation at the British Retail Consortium, Tom Ironside, said: "Having this scheme apply to retail staff never made sense. Assistants in a chemists or opticians have the same relationship with customers as staff in any other sort of shop. We're pleased at the new approach being adopted and look forward to confirmation that shop workers will no longer be subjected to disproportionate checks.

"Retail is the UK's biggest private sector employer. Keeping unnecessary bureaucracy and costs down makes it easier for retailers to maintain and create jobs.

"Persisting with extra vetting checks on professionals who are already screened by their own standards bodies would also be unnecessary."

Your name:
Comment:
	Enter the characters from the image above