Getting the HR function right for safeguarding is vital not only to prevent people joining the organisation who are unsuitable to work with children and communities. It is also necessary to have robust procedures that allow disciplining staff or others who breach policies and codes of conduct. This requires integrating safeguards into the whole employment cycle, and introducing or adapting disciplinary and grievance procedures to respond to Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct breaches. Organisations need to remember that safe recruitment applies not just to staff but also to how volunteers are engaged as well as other individuals the organisation contracts to support their work, for instance consultants.

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Recommended reading

Want to learn more about safe recruitment?

We have selected a few resources which will help you make your recruitment practices safer.

Don't have time to read all the resources? Then listen to the RSH webinar Robust or Risky Recruitment, which discusses how recruitment can be strengthened as a safeguarding prevention measure.

Are you looking for some tips or advice on how to integrate safeguarding across the recruitment cycle? This RSH tip sheet Safe recruitment covers general safe recruitment practices for civil society organisations (CSOs) in development and humanitarian settings.

Do you want to include questions that consider safeguarding in your interviews and reference checks but don't know how? The Bitesize: Safeguarding interview and reference check questions can help you!

Looking for a comprehensive guide and set of tools on integrating safeguarding across your HR systems? This set of tools is practical and "ready-to-go" for busy HR professionals.

Check out the Safeguarding-Sensitive Human Resource and Organisational Systems tool by Action Against Hunger and Interaction.

Ethical recruitment, staff care, rapid / surge recruitment and supporting partners in their HR system development are all detailed in the CHS Alliance guidance HR good practice for surge response.

This practical checklist from the PSEA network in Lebanon provides practical guidance on what to do during all stages of recruitment.

Do you know what the Essential principles of staff care are and how to put them into practice in your organisation? If not, then this guide developed by the KonTerra group and released with InsideNGO and DisasterReady.org is for you!

 
 

Safeguarding Essentials