Volunteers and Safer Recruitment

Difficult times often bring out the best in people and there has been a surge in community volunteering initiatives since the pandemic. However, keeping people safe and ensuring that robust safer recruitment procedures are implemented must always be a priority and churches should apply the same standard of safeguarding in this area.

What does safer recruitment involve?

• providing a job description and a person specification
• completing an application form (informal if preferred)
• completing a self-declaration of criminal history
• a face-to-face interview (or informal interview)
• checking references
• completing a DBS check
• having a trial period.

Which roles are eligible for DBS checks?

Please see paper S3 from Good Practice 6 here for information on URC roles eligible for a criminal record check.

Your church should also:

• Take advice from DDC (our DBS checking provider) or Belinda Herbert if unsure about DBS checks.
• Revisit your volunteer role descriptions and risk assess volunteering activities for potential for harm.
• Continue to apply for DBS checks on roles that require them and ensure that Workers do not start until a satisfactory clearance is received.
• Review your lone working policy and ensure protections are in place for volunteers if they are in the building alone or supporting people in the community on their own.
• Consider enrolling new Workers on the online safeguarding training for anyone undertaking a new role.
• Remember that Safer Recruitment is more than a DBS check!

Please ensure that you keep all records related to a person’s safer recruitment and store them confidentially.

Additional resources can be downloaded from here to support the Safer Recruitment process at your church:

SR1: Volunteer application form (PDF | 208kb) (Word | 35kb)

SR2: Volunteer reference request form (PDF | 207kb) (Word | 36kb)

SR3: Sample questions on safeguarding for interviews and discussions (PDF | 127kb) (Word | 35kb)

As well as guidance from the main URC Safeguarding page: https://urc.org.uk/safeguarding/safer-recruitment/