4th September 2024
Your Duty to Refer
Volunteers and charities play an important role in today’s society and make an excellent contribution to enhancing the lives of children and protected adults. However, what happens when this goes wrong?
Would you know how to make a referral? If your organisation has individuals doing regulated work (people who work with vulnerable children and adults) you have a legal duty to report any harmful behaviour carried out by them to Disclosure Scotland.
You must make a referral when an individual has shown to have:
- harmed a child or protected adult
- placed a child or protected adult at risk of harm
- displayed inappropriate behaviour involving pornography
- displayed inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature involving a child or protected adult
- given inappropriate medical treatment to a child or protected adult.
And, as a result, your organisation has:
- dismissed the individual
- would or might have dismissed the individual but they left before you could do this
- has permanently moved the individual away from regulated work with children or protected adults.
There are different ways ‘harm’ can be defined. It’s important to remember that people can cause a risk of harm without doing anything directly.
Disclosure Scotland recently collaborated with CHAS on a Duty to Refer video, emphasising the significance of this responsibility within the care sector.
Need more information?
You can find guidance on making referrals on our website here. If you’re unsure whether to make a referral, contact our Training and Compliance team for help.