Sacked Workers To Be 'Blacklisted' And Named On National Register

Whilst the Orwellian nightmare of the novel ‘1984’ may not have quite reached far into british society as yet, it is certainly upon us with the blacklisting of ex-employees on a new national website due to go live by June.

Known as the National Staff Dismissal Register (NSDR), it will consist of an online database of workers accused of theft and dishonesty, regardless of whether they have been convicted of any crime, the data will no doubt not stop at just the issue of theft.

Any dispute with an employer, justified or not can then be detailed. So if someone has made complaints regarding health and safety problems at work and the employer does not like it, there is nothing stopping them from blacklisting that employee by having them added to the database.

The BBC News website reports today that major companies including Harrods, Selfridges, Reed Managed Services and Mothercare have already signed up to the scheme. By next month they will be able to check whether candidates for jobs have faced allegations of stealing, forgery, fraud, damaging company property or causing a loss to their employers and suppliers.

Causing a loss to their employer covers such things as fines for health and safety infringements, representing workers during strike action; the list under this category could be endless.

The BBC report goes further:

"Workers sacked for these offences will be included on the register, regardless of whether police had enough evidence to convict them. Also on the list will be employees who resigned before they could face disciplinary proceedings at work. The project has attracted little publicity.”

Apparently trade unions and civil liberties campaigners are warning that it leaves workers vulnerable to the threat of false accusations, whilst the BBC quote TUC policy officer Hannah Reed as saying that while criminal activity in the workplace can never be condoned, she fears such a system is open to abuse.

"The TUC is seriously concerned that this register can only lead to people being shut out from the job market by an employer who falsely accuses them of misconduct or sacks them because they bear them a grudge. Individuals would be treated as criminals, even though the police have never been contacted.

The Criminal Records Bureau was set up to assist employers to make safe appointments when recruiting staff to work with vulnerable groups. The CRB already provides appropriate and properly regulated protection for employers. Under the new register, an employee may not be aware they have been blacklisted or have any right to appeal."
 
James Welch, the legal director of human rights group Liberty, is also quoted:

"This scheme appears to bypass existing laws which protect employees by limiting the circumstances when information about possible criminal activity can be shared with potential employers."

Further facts reported in the BBC article regarding the planned national database of workers blacklisted, show that the Labour Government is in full support of such a database.

The register is an initiative of Action Against Business Crime (AABC), a partnership between the Home Office and the British Retail Consortium.

Set up by Surrey-based firm Hicom Business Solutions, the database will allow employers to search for potential workers by name, address, date of birth, national insurance number and previous employer. Records on individuals - accessible online via an encrypted password system - will be kept for a five-year period and can include photos.

Whilst the claim is that people are protected by the Data Protection Act, Mike Schuck, chief executive of AABC, told the BBC that theft by members of staff costs the British economy billions of pounds each year and rejects the notion that the register is a blacklist, and that all participating companies will be obliged to abide by the Data Protection Act and that workers named on the database, maintained by AABC, will have the right to change their entries if they are inaccurate.

Experience has already shown the massive problem people face having their names removed because of inaccurate and sometimes false information held by financial institutes and credit reference agencies. It can take months and in the mean time the individual’s financial circumstances suffer greatly. The same will happen with those falsely accused or the subject of inaccurate information, when trying to find employment.

It will be only a matter of time before 'Blue chip' and all major UK companies have access to the database and feed information into it.

With the Union Conference season being well under way, there will be many Trade Unionists wishing to raise this issue during policy debates.

Full story on BBC News website here

Source: BBC News

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