Anyone know about NSI vetting?

[Shuvi McTupya]

I have a mate (no, really) who got a conviction for a small amount of class A drugs (presumably Heroin) about three yrs ago. He ended up with a £60 fine so it was nothing serious.

Anyway, he is being offered a permanent position with a security alarm company as an installer but they tell him they will have to vet him.

He currently does jobs for them as a sole trader so he doesn't want to go through the vetting process if his drug conviction will be an issue.

So, does anyone know what the NSI (and crb) checks will be looking for , and is he screwed?

[Cyberprog]

He'd need to declare it, as it'll probably come up. As long as he's honest, they may not have a problem with it, but the only way to find out would be to have a conversation with the employer.

[Mattt]

From what I've seen of security checking processes, you'd be surprised what was considered not an issue - but you must be upfront with it.

[Shuvi McTupya]

he doesn't want to admit to anything that isn't going to be an issue..

[0000]

Natural, but not normally the way to pass vetting.

[Cyberprog]

Yep, only way to pass with convictions is to declare them upfront. Otherwise you are being dishonest as the vetting form will ask if you've had any convictions.

[ewenm]

One major point about the vetting process is to identify if someone is hiding something that could be used as leverage to influence them. Generally, if you're open about everything you'll be fine. Sounds like the OP's mate needs to be up front about his conviction rather than trying to hide it.

[944fan]

ewenm said:

One major point about the vetting process is to identify if someone is hiding something that could be used as leverage to influence them. Generally, if you're open about everything you'll be fine. Sounds like the OP's mate needs to be up front about his conviction rather than trying to hide it.

This. I have been through vetting a few times when working for the Police and MoD. A whole team of us had to be vetted and the vetting officer came to see us to explain the process. It was explained to us that vetting wasn't about finding out if someone had a criminal record but about finding and managing potential risks.

For example at the police we had to do financial checks, someone with serious debt problems was potentially at risk from accepting bribes. So that person might be subject to closer monitoring or even given assistance to sort their finances. it didn't necessarily mean they would fail vetting.

It depends on the view of the company, a drugs offence might not matter to them. But if your "friend" does not disclose something that could easily be found out then they will fail. Its always best to be honest. Anything you think you can hide will be found.

[Shuvi McTupya]

Thanks all,

My buddy came clean and it seems that it went well for him !