I notice that a lot of employers state on their advertisements that CRB checks are to be paid for by the applicant, in other words the jobseeker. At £61 a time this is like a tax on starting work, and for many people on the dole, who have no savings, to get a job would mean a large payment, almost a week's dole money. I think this is grossly unfair. If CRB checks have to be done, then the employer should pay for it or they should be done free so that no-one has to pay for them. What was originally a system for protecting children and vulnerable adults in the wake of the Ian Huntley affair has become a money-spinner for some and a rip-off from the point of view of the person who has to pay the fee, which in many cases are unemployed people who are hardly in a position to pay it. In particular it seems to be mainly two-bob employers, like those paying the minimum wage or just over (like my former employer), who require the applicant to pay for the check to be done. This may not be a lot to pay if one is going to earn a good salary but with the minimum wage being just over £6, it is hard to see how anyone who has just signed off the dole to start work can afford to pay this fee.
So I have written to my MP, Douglas Carswell about it. I don't expect anything to change because although I think our MP is a good MP (even if he is a Tory whom I didn't vote for!) trying to get a straight answer out of the Minister of a Department, who in this case will be either Chris Grayling or Iain Duncan Smith, is like trying to get blood out of a stone! I have written before on matters relating to Jobseekers Allowance and get the standard response, which they probably write to everyone who complains. But it makes me feel better!
I have suggested that CRB checks are more flexible, that where CRB checks are done, people who are going to be earning £12k or under should not have to pay for their checks to be done, that where checks are paid for by the applicant, there should be the option of paying the fee in instalments interest-free, or that the fee can be offset against tax, and that CRB checks are zero-rated for VAT. This would take a substantial amount off the fee. The Government says it wants to cut red tape for business but how about cutting red tape for employees and jobseekers for a change?
Voluntary organisations such as time banks and small charities are also required to pay a fee although it is reduced to an administrative fee of about £10 but even this can add up over a period and could lead to the closure of cash-strapped voluntary organisations, which a lot of organisations are now thanks to cuts in government spending.
I have also signed an e-petition at Number 10 for all CRB checks to be done free, which is surely the simplest solution to cut down on red tape. Go to my Twitter page for the link:
https://twitter.com/#!/Gessum
So I have written to my MP, Douglas Carswell about it. I don't expect anything to change because although I think our MP is a good MP (even if he is a Tory whom I didn't vote for!) trying to get a straight answer out of the Minister of a Department, who in this case will be either Chris Grayling or Iain Duncan Smith, is like trying to get blood out of a stone! I have written before on matters relating to Jobseekers Allowance and get the standard response, which they probably write to everyone who complains. But it makes me feel better!
I have suggested that CRB checks are more flexible, that where CRB checks are done, people who are going to be earning £12k or under should not have to pay for their checks to be done, that where checks are paid for by the applicant, there should be the option of paying the fee in instalments interest-free, or that the fee can be offset against tax, and that CRB checks are zero-rated for VAT. This would take a substantial amount off the fee. The Government says it wants to cut red tape for business but how about cutting red tape for employees and jobseekers for a change?
Voluntary organisations such as time banks and small charities are also required to pay a fee although it is reduced to an administrative fee of about £10 but even this can add up over a period and could lead to the closure of cash-strapped voluntary organisations, which a lot of organisations are now thanks to cuts in government spending.
I have also signed an e-petition at Number 10 for all CRB checks to be done free, which is surely the simplest solution to cut down on red tape. Go to my Twitter page for the link:
https://twitter.com/#!/Gessum
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