After mandatory SIA Licensing in England and Wales, Scotland is about to follow.
As of November 1, Scots security businesses that operate within the designated security roles will need to have appropriate licenses for their staff. How do you stay in control of your business, stay legal and profitable? ask Innovise.
This challenge has to be faced by both the big operators and the small businesses in the same way. Both will likely need to establish cost-effective ways of meeting the regulatory requirements, and both will want to consider automated options which mean staff will not be burdened with manual screening and licensing of their staff. Some firms are using the exercise as the excuse they needed to get their ship in order and look at their business holistically, whilst others are taking a more laissez faire approach.
The administrative costs of screening staff to BS7858, applying for their licenses and keeping a check on when they expire as well as making sure that existing staff haven’t had their licenses revoked without the employer knowing is not only a headache but costly too.
It isn’t just the cost of doing the work, it’s the huge financial implication of not doing it as the story below testifies. However, the solution may not be as far away as you think. Innovise reports that it has developed a system called PASS that handles this, enabling companies to enter candidate details once and then screen them, order their license application forms, track the progress of that form, inform you when the license has been issued and monitor expiry of the license. It also monitors the SIA web-site and notifies you of anyone working for you whose licenses have been revoked or suspended.
Graeme Hughes of Innovise says: "We have been providing simple technical answers to this problem across England and Wales for a long time now. We provide a bolt-on software solution called PASS – Personnel Automated Screening Software. It’s very cost effective and we can build up our system from simple screening tools to fully blown security solutions which will integrate with proprietary payroll systems, while time managing rosters, time and attendance, absence management etc. We always welcome the opportunity to show how easy it is for us to help any business, be it the largest or the smallest security company in Scotland"
What will happen to those who don’t get their business in check?
In South Wales at the beginning of the year, a man was ordered to pay £11,000 for rostering door staff that did not have the appropriate SIA licenses. The judge noted that these were serious offences. But will this trend continue? The quick and easy answer is yes! Why regulate if you are not then going to enforce the regulations?
Jennifer Pattinson, SIA head of investigation for Scotland said: "SIA licensing will ensure that those working in positions of trust in the private security industry are trained, qualified and fit for their role. I urge those working in the private security industry in Scotland to start their licensing process now. When November does arrive, be licensed and be legal."
The Scottish Executive agreed to allow the SIA to regulate Scotland in March 2003. SIA licences have been compulsory for door staff across England and Wales since 2005.
SIA Regulation is a positive step
There are many benefits for all with the upcoming changes. A single licensing body means that guards who wish to move between roles in England and Scotland for example need no longer have separate applications. This also opens up the possibility of Scottish firms bidding for more work south of the border and potentially growing their businesses very quickly. It also means that all work is now done on a level playing field. Previously, an English company applying for contracts in Scotland, may have had all the burden of a business which had to comply with SIA Regulation in England and Wales, but was having to bid against Scottish counterparts who did not have these overheads. This made them either less profitable if they won a contract, or priced them out of contention to begin with. SIA Acting Chief Executive Andy Drane, says "This is good news for security companies, security operatives and the public."
