Safer Recruitment 
Guidance for 
Applicants  
 

---

Safer recruitment is a set of practices to help make sure MOJ staff and volunteers 
are suitable to work with children and young people. It is a vital part of creating a 
safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keep children safe from 
harm. 
Safer Recruitment applies to all staff, contractors, and volunteers in YOI’s for under 
18s and Women's Prisons with mother and baby units who work with children. 
Our safer recruitment processes mean that the safety and welfare of the child is 
paramount at every stage of the recruitment process and therefore we adopt 
rigorous scrutiny in our pre-employment check and throughout an employee’s 
lifecycle.  
Safer Recruitment: Safer Working Practices Policy Framework - GOV.UK  
Plannning to 
Recruit 
Managing 
Leavers and 
Recruiting & 
referring 
Vetting 
information  
Identifing & 
Induction & 
managing 
probation
concerns 
Supervising 
& managing 
 
Working Together to safeguard children legislation states: 
Governors/Directors of Prisons and Young Offender Institutions & Directors of 
Secure Training Centres (STCs) must have safe recruitment practices and ongoing 
safe working practices for individuals whom the organisation or agency permit to 
work regularly with children. i 
It is a stipulation in all job descriptions for roles in scope that:  
‘All staff have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of 
children and vulnerable young adults. The post holder must undertake the 
appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they 
understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.’ 
The recruitment and selection process for positions working with children, young 
people and vulnerable adults is rigorous and incorporates thorough pre-employment 
checks. If you are successful, the following checks will be completed, vetting checks 
are only signed-off once a rigorous assessment has been made about the suitability 
of the prospective employee. 

---

These checks include (but are not limited to): checks of criminal records vetting to 
obtain the correct level of security clearance; Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) 
certification; Barred List professional qualifications.  
Pre-appointment checks are important to identify people who may be unsuitable to 
work with children, young people, and vulnerable adults. Once an applicant has 
accepted their provisional offer, MoJ will commence the necessary pre-employment 
checks.  
In applying for a position within a secure setting, individuals are required to provide 
personal details, including current and former names, current address, and National 
Insurance (NI) number, along with information about any criminal offences committed 
in any country.  
All staff, contractors, and volunteers are required to complete the mandatory 
safeguarding training as part of the induction process to ensure they understand 
their legal responsibilities.  
Please note that the completion of our safer recruitment checks may take some time 
to conclude. The MoJ will not be able to offer you a start date until they are fully 
completed. You will receive communicate throughout the process and you will be 
notified once these have been completed.  
  
 
i Working together to safeguard children - GOV.UK 
 

---