Criminal Records Checks

Rumours started flying a week ago that the CRB was going to start charging for volunteer criminal records checks. Here we piece together the Chinese whispers - a newsletter from the CRB in June and then an article in Third Sector last week...

First the June CRB newsletter Disclosure News:

The CRB is committed to providing free checks for all applications that meet its criteria for volunteers. About 20% of applications received last year were for volunteer positions, representing a total saving to the relevant organisations of about £22.8m.

However, some customers are applying for free-of-charge checks for posts that do not appear to meet the criteria. The CRB is cracking down to ensure that a fee is paid whenever it is appropriate.

The CRB definition of a volunteer is: "Any person engaged in an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other approved out of pocket expenses), which aims to benefit some third party other than or in addition to a close relative".

It is sometimes assumed that, as the person is not directly employed or salaried the position is voluntary. However, if the person engaging in the activity receives a payment, in excess of expenses they actually incur, or benefits directly themselves, the position will not satisfy the CRB’s definition of a volunteer.