HR Industry News

Dismissal database threat for dishonest employees

— 9 May 2008 —

A database has been launched which will contain the details of employees fired for dishonesty at work. Any staff caught stealing, committing fraud or damaging company property can now be blacklisted on the database for up to five years, even if they have not been prosecuted.

The database has gone live, and companies who are members of the National Staff Dismissal Register (NSDR) can access the system to check details of job applicants.

The register was created as part of the Action Against Business Crime (AABC) partnership between the British Retail Consortium and the Home Office. AABC say that the database is compliant with data protection laws and that most entries will be removed after three years.

Chief Executive Mike Schuck claimed that the register is not a blacklist and that workers will also be able to check the information held against them. He went on to say that “nobody will go on for stealing a £5 T-shirt. But if they have stolen many £25 T-shirts and have shown a system of planning and conspiracy, they will finish up on the database.”

Liberty, the human rights group, reacted strongly to the database. Their legal director, James Welch, told the Times newspaper that “this scheme appears to ride roughshod over safeguards in existing laws which determine when possible criminal activity should be shared with potential employers. Further, it does not seem to offer any right to redress for the falsely accused.”

Companies that have signed up to the register include HMV, Harrods, Littlewoods, Mothercare and Selfridges. Mike Schuck maintained that the register is the best way to check employee disciplinary history, adding: “We are trying to police our own industry.”

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