HR Compliance

Sorry for another off topic thread but there’s not much BFC related football going on.

My friend’s school sent out emails last week to all staff saying they are currently doing ‘HR Compliance’ whatever that means and to expect follow up emails asking them for information. Well, my friend, who has been working there nearly 10 years has just had an email saying that they never got a reference from the NHS job she worked at part time as admin. They said they have already contacted the NHS but, surprise surprise, the contact she listed no longer works there and is she still in touch with them/can she name anyone else who still works there. They also asked what the few months gap on her CV when she was 17 was for. She’s 50 in a couple of years, she doesn’t have a clue what she was going and does it really matter? Her colleague who has been there about 6 months has been asked to bring her marriage certificate in. She’s been married 16 years, it’s not like she’s changed her name since being there and all the DBS checks etc. have gone through just fine. She also provided ID when she started working there. Most staff have had similar ludicrous requests. Their plan is to ignore it and see what happens. What an absolute waste of time though! It wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting everyone’s pay wrong and focussed on sorting that out rather than this mad exercise.

 

Sounds straight out of the Pritti Patel playbook…

 

The only good thing is that my friend is definitely liked by management and it’s definitely not a pushing her out thing, plus almost everyone has had something similar. It’s more ridiculous than worrying.

 

Have the unions been consulted. It seems a little strange they are requesting this type of stuff as especially as it seems your friend provided the checks required at the time they were employed. Eg references which was a mistake on their part. I thought schools in particular would have chased that up . Have they been given a full explanation as to why they are being quizzed? And is it solely that particular school. ?
Wierd one if you ask me. Unless they've lost all previous records.

 

I’m not aware that anyone has contacted unions but I guess they might have. It’s schools belonging to one Trust. Normally stuff like this is prompted by Ofsted announcements so I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve said something around checking compliance and the Trust’s got scared.

 

Sorry if I'm a little naive. But weren't/aren't background checks done on people going into the teaching profession.
Have they also said what the consequences are if all questions can't be answered. I'm guessing not as it's an error on their part. As you say, It appears more ridiculous than worrying. Especially the question on the gap at 17. Unemployed would be the most obvious reply given they can't remember.

 

Yes, everyone has background checks and they are renewed every few years.

 

Just put down 'Rampton High Security prison' for the missing period that will rattle them

 

Sounds to me that somebody's messed up and some kind of system is throwing flags up which somebody inexperienced is trying to fix in a bit of a panicky manner!

That NHS reference one is particularly weird. I worked for a public sector organisation for a few years about a decade ago, and for various reasons needed to get a reference from them last year. Even if my line manager of the time were still working there (I have no idea), that always comes from HR, and that's who I contacted. A reference in this context is just a statement which lays out the facts - when you worked there, what your job was, perhaps a few other things. This feels like they're trying for a character reference, and getting that for anything except a job that you're currently in is really strange! I'd definitely be inclined to either ignore it or raise an issue, but I'm betting that some kind of software screwiness is behind it and it just needs a bit of common sense applying.

 

As a slight aside and out of interest, have anybody else's HR departments rebranded themselves as 'People and Culture' or is it just ours? It only took them forty odd years to realise human resources was a repugnant term. Now everything is right on. We don't have staff. We have team members.

 

Could be an employer whose wanting to make cuts in staffing costs looking for cheap reasons to get rid of expensive staff without the need for redundancy payments. It wouldn't be the first time that an employer as done something along those lines.

 

If I were your friend I think I'd be giving the name of her present line manager, who, it would appear may have up to 10 years experience of employing her! Should that be deemed not acceptable, I'd be pretty confident of her succeeding in any claim for unfair dismissal.

 

It sounds to me, that previous information wasn’t either checked or recorded. And that they are trying to update it and make it right.

The issues you gave are historical failures, not current ones.

I suspect they’ll see what they can collate together and take from there.

It’s frustrating and may seem pointless. But I get why they are doing it. Hopefully they’ll come to a common agreement where old references etc aren’t available/applicable.

 

Just an update on this. My friend ignored the request and got an email a few days ago saying ‘URGENT - must reply by Wednesday’. They didn’t say what would happen if she didn’t reply by then. She’s just given the name of a colleague at the same school for a character reference which I personally think is a bit daft and wouldn’t be accepted but I’d have ignored it, or asked for more information on why they wanted it and what the consequences would be. One staff member who has worked at various schools within the Trust for 10 years has been asked to bring in her birth certificate, marriage certificates (x2), divorce papers, passport and a list of every job she held in Poland (her birth country although she has been here over 20 years and has Indefinite Leave to Remain) and in the UK. I’ve asked if she contacted her Union but most of the people she knows (including herself) isn’t in one. Some of them are but she doesn’t know if they have contacted them or not.

Meanwhile, overtime isn’t being paid correctly (or sometimes at all) and her friend has been waiting over 2 months for a new contract after changing job role and hours following a successful interview. This friend’s hours were reduced by 30mins a week (all above board and was part of the job role change) but they’ve been paying the old number of hours. When she asked for her new contract again they fobbed her off with ‘soon’ and said they will have to take the extra money out of her pay at some point - but won’t say when.

It’s all a bit mad.

 

During lockdown (as I was self employed) I got a job in a nursing home. I had nearly 3 years left on my advanced DBS from working in primary schools. Had to get another as I could have murdered someone in the 2 months prior, which I get. Left after my short term contract finished and got a job as caretaker at a primary school. Had to reapply again which took 2 months when they wanted me start straight away as they wouldnt accept my current one. But there's folk who get work who are wrong un's ......... Know that they've got to be totally careful like. I even offered to do job for free til It came through. No kids in school as it was summer holidays.

 

It was the Personnel Department for donkeys years before some clever wag decided to change it to Human Resources

 

Human resources. Were supposed to be unbiased. In disciplinary issues. It's now more or less become Management support. No compassion. Lack of personality.
Much better to deal with when it was personnel dept. As were management tbf.

 

Overpayments have to be repaid. But usually negotiated as to the payback period/terms.

 

All the more confusing when their professional body is the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.