I'm sorry, you've made the wrong decision.
Here are some points that you need to consider. You should have included these in your reflective activity.
- You should realise you made a mistake when you allowed Mary to start working before you had received her PVG record. You have potentially put residents at risk from harm.
- Now the police have arrived in the workplace to charge Mary about an incident you should not allow her to continue working. By not recognising the significance of behaviour outside work you are making another serious mistake. Allowing her to continue working places residents at risk of further harm and when news of the police investigation comes to the attention of your employer your suitability to be a social service manager will be called into question. Mary should be suspended and her suitability for the post investigated. During the investigation you must take responsibility for your mistake.
- As a social service manager you have a duty to make sure people are suitable to enter the workforce. The SSSC Code of Practice for Social Service Employers states that you should check criminal records and other relevant registers before confirming appointments.
- When you allowed Mary to start work before the necessary checks were complete you were not meeting the standards expected of a manager.
- You should discuss your mistakes with your manager and take steps to make sure this does not happen again. You should identify any training needs you have and act on these. You need to revise your recruitment process and have a robust system to make sure all employees complete the necessary checks before they start.
- You need a better understanding of what the PVG scheme is for and the importance of engaging with it correctly. You should spend time researching the available information and learning resources that explain the PVG scheme.
- You also need to review how you plan for and deal with staff shortages. Ask for guidance on this from your manager, HR advisor, Care Inspectorate officer or Disclosure Scotland.
When Mary was selected for the job, you should have told her that she could not start work until you had received her PVG record. Find out more about why this was the right option here.
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