Managing safeguarding allegations against staff
This session will focus on the options and next steps available to employers when they receive safeguarding allegations - particularly criminal allegations - about a member of staff.
Dealing with safeguarding allegations against staff is one of the trickiest personnel challenges education sector employers encounter. Join us as we explore what is required of you and we share our top tips for getting it right every time.
Schools and trusts must comply with the expectations set out in the DfE’s statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). However, understanding how to apply these requirements in practice is rarely straightforward, with employers increasingly finding the experience fraught with complications.
High risk, high stakes
Managing allegations against staff can entail considerable time and resources. The process can be trying for Management, HR and the member of staff concerned. The stakes are always high, often involving external agencies such as the police and the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). Getting it wrong can result in criticism from Ofsted, parental complaints, disgruntled trade unions and potentially litigation.
In this webinar, our team of expert employment lawyers and HR practitioners share how to successfully manage safeguarding allegations against staff. We consider the potential obstacles and help you find a route through them. We will cover:
- Identifying harm threshold and low level allegations, how to distinguish between them and respond correctly.
- Dealing with transferrable risk in connection with staff conduct outside work.
- How KCSIE interacts with your internal disciplinary procedures.
- How to avoid getting bogged down in the complications and delays arising from criminal investigations or prosecutions.
- When you should make regulatory referrals to the DBS and TRA.
- What you should (and should not) include in employment references.
- Occasions in which you can use settlement agreements.
Our people
Polly O'Malley
Partner
Sarah Linden
Senior Associate
Natasha Duckett
HR Consultant
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