Press Release 7/4/08

MAJOR RETAILERS JOIN NATIONAL STAFF DISMISSAL REGISTER

With staff theft and fraud in the retail industry resulting in an average annual loss of £497 million, Action Against Business Crime (AABC) have championed an initiative to reduce losses attributed to staff dishonesty.
(Well, you know if the pay wasn't so crap...?)

AABC has been working in association with Hicom Business Solutions, to develop a national register of staff who have been dismissed for dishonesty. The National Staff Dismissal Register (NSDR) is supported by a number of key retailers including Harrods, HMV, Mothercare & Selfridges and by Reed Managed Services; one of the UK's leading providers of outsourced staff. The register has been developed to hold details of individuals who have been dismissed or have left employment whilst under investigation for acts of dishonesty toward the company including theft of money or merchandise, falsification or forgery of documents and causing damage to company property. This information is shared with other members of the register who are able to access the national system to search for details of an applicant, ensuring both cost saving through reduction in losses, and a more efficient recruitment process.

The NSDR involves the collection and sharing of personal information and therefore falls under the regulation of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Regular communication with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ensured that the processes of the NSDR comply strictly with the principals laid down in the DPA which establishes the framework for the sharing of personal information.
(Yeah, but there not going to be very worried about that since the ICO has now power to prosecute- only to offer some friendly advice)

Retail provides many opportunities to dishonest employees. (So will just forget all that stuff about the potential for people to turn over a new leaf, make a new start etc- one strike and you're out). Investigation of dishonesty is time consuming and costly and will be of limited deterrence if future employers are unable to properly identify potentially dishonest staff to ensure that they are not able to obtain employment by evading internal vetting processes.

For dishonest employees who have not been convicted or cautioned for their dishonesty there is currently no central location where further checks can be made concerning an applicant’s previous employment history. The current system of employment references is too easily circumvented by dishonest applicants and can result in previously dismissed staff being employed again by another retailer without knowledge of any past conduct. (Ohhh fuck off you tight fisted cunts. Have none of you ever read a Christmas Carol?)

The NSDR provides a secure web-based portal using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which protects data access and encrypts log-in to allow members to access data as part of their staff recruitment process. The application and database are held on separate servers with firewall and Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) separating application and data for further security.

Mike Schuck, chief executive of Action Against Business Crime said, ‘We are very pleased indeed to have launched the NSDR and look to it providing an increasingly valuable service to help retailers reduce losses by dishonest staff. With the increasing sophistication of internal dishonesty, we need to ensure the industry has the most effective tools at its disposal to help reduce losses.’

For further information please contact:

Mike Schuck (Chief Executive)
Action Against Business Crime
Second Floor,
21 Dartmouth Street
London, SW1H 9BP

T: 020 7854 8956
e-mail:  Michael.schuck@businesscrime.org.uk
Web: www.businesscrime.org.uk


William Price (Director)
Hicom Business Solutions
Red House
Brookwood
Surrey, GU24 0BL

T: 01483 794850
e-mail:  william.price@hicom.co.uk
Web: www.hicom.co.uk/businesssolutions