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Policies

Policies and Code of Practice

How disclosure information is handled, how to complain, and the documents you're entitled to see.

Our policies at a glance

AccessNI Code of Practice

Every AccessNI registered body, including umbrella bodies, must comply with the statutory Code of Practice. AccessNI audits compliance. All applicants are entitled to see the Code. Our applicant information leaflet sets out what applicants should know before they apply.

Read the AccessNI Code of Practice (opens in a new tab)

Access Compliance Group is a private company acting as a registered body and umbrella body. We are not AccessNI or part of government.

Secure handling of disclosure information

This summarises our written policy on the secure handling, use, storage and retention of disclosure information, which the Code requires us to hold.

  • What we receive. AccessNI issues the certificate to the applicant only. We don't receive or keep a copy.
  • Access. Only our signatories, and only as far as their duties require, see applications and uploaded identity documents in the nidirect system.
  • Handling. It is a criminal offence to pass disclosure information to anyone not entitled to receive it. We don't.
  • Use. Disclosure information is used only for the purpose it was requested for, with the applicant's consent.
  • Retention. Where an employer views a certificate, they must not keep the information after the recruitment decision is made, and never for more than six months. We don't photocopy or scan certificates.
  • Disposal. Anything that must be destroyed is destroyed securely. We may keep a record of the date of a certificate, the applicant's name, the type of check, the role and the certificate's reference number, but not its content.
  • Identity documents. These are uploaded to nidirect and destroyed by AccessNI 90 days after the certificate is issued.

Recruitment of ex-offenders

The Code requires us, and every organisation we countersign for, to have a written policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders and to give it to applicants who ask. In summary:

  • A criminal record is not, in itself, a bar to working with or for us.
  • We ask for a check only where the role is one the law allows, and say so when the role is advertised or offered.
  • Anything a certificate shows is considered against the role: what the offence was, how long ago, and whether it is relevant.
  • The applicant is given the chance to discuss what a certificate shows before any decision is made.

Complaints procedure

If you are unhappy with our service, tell us. It costs nothing and won't affect your application.

  1. Tell us. Email info@accesscg.co.uk with your name, your ACG reference if you have one, what went wrong and what you would like us to do.
  2. We acknowledge it within three working days.
  3. We investigate and reply in full within 20 working days. If we need longer we tell you why and when to expect an answer.
  4. If you are still unhappy, ask for a review within 20 working days of our reply. Someone senior who was not involved in the original decision looks at it again and gives you a final answer.

Some complaints belong elsewhere:

For client organisations

You need your own versions of the secure handling and ex-offender policies before we process applications. AccessNI publishes samples you can adapt:

Applicants and client organisations can ask us for a copy of our full written policies.

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