7 replies to this topic

[Chris347]

Hi All, 

 

I am with an SQF certified facility and we have recently been having a lot of issues with staffing. We use a mix of temporary workers as well as permanent employees. Since we have been having so much trouble getting people to come in we were thinking about not requiring a background check to be completed for the temporary employees. Just wondering if there is anything against doing this in SQF as I have not been able to find anything that speaks directly to it. 

 

Thank you, 

 

Chris 

[SQFconsultant]

You are correct, nothing specific on background checks.

 

Most of our clients run them on all employees  -  the better temp agencies will offer them as a part of their packages.

[Chris347]

Hi Glenn, 

 

So you do not see any issues if we temporarily do not require them before an employee starts?

 

Thank you, 

 

Chris 

[SQFconsultant]

Hi Glenn, 

 

So you do not see any issues if we temporarily do not require them before an employee starts?

 

Thank you, 

 

Chris 

 

I am sorry, Chris, I miss-understood your question. 

 

Just because it is not in the SQF manual, doesn't mean that you should not be doing so.

 

You have to take a look at how not doing this impacts your business, fellow employees and customers.

 

This is not something I would suspend if I was doing it all along - one client did offer bonuses to current employees when they referred people to be fellow employees and they found it easy to background check people that way.

[TimG]

Hi Chris, just a quick suggestion. Make sure that if you decide to pursue this change, you clear it with whoever handles your insurance (CoL, CoI for facility, etc.). In every facility I've been in recently, the Financial Controller sets the background check requirements and then pushes that through HR. Insurance requirements have been the impetus to those decisions.

[MlissaB]

Our company also uses temporary labor at a number of our facilities. The agencies we work with are required to do the background checks removing that task from us. Doing back-ground checks on employees that you know are short term was too much cost/time for us to keep it in our responsibilities.

[Karenconstable]

Don't forget that background checks can (should) be part of your food defense plan for the IA Rule (USA)  Inspections for the IA Rule compliance are supposed to be starting in March 2021. 

[Chris347]

Hi All, 

 

Thank you for your responses as this has been very helpful!

 

Chris