Those who get a job in school must today provide a registry extract to show that they have not been convicted of certain serious crimes. This also applies to employment in social services when working with children and young people.
Now, a government inquiry proposes to expand the regulations.
There have been reports of how the elderly have been exposed to crime in home care or that gang criminals have worked with children and young people in a way that a decent society cannot accept in any way, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) at a press conference.
Also check in the suspicion register
Inquirer Charlotte Svensson, former head of the Customs Agency, proposes the possibility of checks also for jobs in home care, elderly care or personal assistance.
These groups are particularly vulnerable due to their dependence on care and care staff. A registry check can be a way to protect users, she says.
The inquiry also proposes to expand the control for work with children to more crimes, such as serious child abuse, obstruction of justice and drug offenses.
The checks should not only be possible in the criminal record register, but also in the suspicion register – but only if charges have been brought.
Another proposal is that municipalities should be able to make checks when hiring for critical functions, such as certain management positions or those responsible for land allocation, procurements or large economic values.
These checks should be made by the Security Police and cover both the criminal record register and the suspicion register.
No ongoing checks
In a notable Chancellor of Justice case, Södertälje Municipality was criticized for regularly checking staff against the criminal record register. This was also part of Charlotte Svensson's assignment to investigate.
But she makes no proposals to allow regular checks. As labor law stands today, the employer cannot take action unless it involves very serious crimes or crimes related to the workplace.
And then the employer finds out anyway, for example, because the person is detained and does not come to work, says Svensson.
There is no reason to make that kind of privacy-violating measures.
But Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer wants to move forward with the issue of ongoing checks.
There are a number of complicated labor law issues to take a stand on. We will return to this in the near future, he says.
