Firstly, this is about KITCHEN FITTERS working for B+Q, in PEOPLE'S HOUSE'S, not people working in the stores.
Secondly, how many times have we heard on the news about some criminal (usually a pervert), who wasn't checked up on properly, or wasn't stopped when he could have been?
Do you remember the case of 2 little girls who were killed by their school caretaker? I dont remember all the details, but IIRC, the police or council were criticised for not checking Huntley properly. Perhaps if they had, those 2 girls may be alive now. Are some of you saying that someone who applies for a school caretaker job shouldnt have to be checked? What about someone who cuts the grass at a school? What about the bloke who helps with a bit of DIY, or the lollipop man?
What then about the spark who is installing a new fire alarm? I personnaly have worked in a lot of schools, and I dont remember being checked at all, which in hindsight seems strange. I've also worked at RAF bases, police stations, and other goverment sites, and have been checked for all of them (including one where several people I know were interviewed, my financial history and social life was investigated). Did I feel uneasy, or worried about my privacy? No, of course not.
Now, I know some people will argue that working as a kitchen fitter is not the same as working in a school, and of course, to some extent they are right. However, the same opportunites are probably going to present themselves to a would be pervert as working in a school (I'm no expert on the subject, but it seems logical to me). They say that most children are abducted/molested/killed by someone the family knows, a workman who has spent a week in your house, and possibly time in friends houses may seem trustworthy, as well as someone a child would feel comfortable with.
Let me ask you this. If you KNEW that your kitchen fitter was a convicted pervert, would you honestly let him in your house? (I wouldnt). If the answer is no, are you then saying that you should be denied the right to know that said kitchen fitter is a pervert?
You cant check up on everyone, but I should think that you would expect a large company like B+Q to do these checks on your behalf. Wether it gets them more sales or not is irrelevant (but would be a good thing if it encourages other firms to follow B+Q's lead).
Now, dont get me wrong, I'm not some rightwing Mail reader who thinks that all imigrants should be thrown out of the country (just some of them), or that once someone commits a crime then they lose all rights for the rest of their lives, but I do beleive that the rights of the decent majority come along way ahead of criminals, and that 'we' need protecting as much as possible. CRB checks are, hopefully, one way of achieving this.
The point is that B&Q are acting in a criminal fashion by doing that, and therefore would fail the checks they are demanding.
They DO NOT have any lawful purpose for requesting such a check.
Why don't you require people to undergo a CRB check before entering the supermarket to purchase food to live? They may come into contact with children or other vulnerable groups there...
Whats criminal about carrying out a CRB check?
The lawfull purpose is to check on the history of people working in YOUR HOME. I ask again, would YOU be happy to have a 'criminal' in your house?
No offence intended, but I really dont understand the comparison between the supermarket/your home.
As for the post about the clown being sacked, I say good. Its pretty obvious (again) why someone may want to check on a childrens entertainer. If the idiot takes offence then tough.
