As of 1 April 2025, the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 will update the rules around PVG scheme membership. PVG scheme membership will now become a legal requirement, and it is therefore imperative that businesses understand the new PVG scheme membership and their legal obligations.
The PVG scheme is a way to ensure that anyone working with children or protected adults is suitable for the role.
Individuals who are employed to do regulated work may be asked by their employer to join the PVG scheme. Once a member of the PVG scheme, Disclosure Scotland will carry out a criminal record check, the results of which can assist employers in determining whether or not the individual is suitable for the role. Disclosure Scotland keeps a list of people who are barred from working with children and protected adults, and this will be flagged in the checks.
Once a member of the scheme, Disclosure Scotland will continue to check an individual’s suitability to work with children and protected adults and if circumstances change, they can bar the individual from regulated work and will remove them from the PVG scheme.
Prior to the introduction of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020, PVG scheme membership was optional for individuals employed to do regulated work.
Regulated work in connection with children or protected adults will typically involve caring, teaching or supervising responsibilities, being in sole charge of the individual, having unsupervised contact with the individual or providing assistance, advice or guidance. Regulated work covers both paid and unpaid work, for example: a nurse; teacher; childminder; or girl guide leader etc.
Additionally, certain positions of trust, for example a trustee of a children’s charity, are considered regulated work, even though there is no direct contact with the child or protected adult.
The term ‘children’ simply refers to anyone under the age of 18. The term ‘protected adult’ refers to someone aged 16 or over who is receiving specific services, namely: healthcare; registered care services; community care services; or welfare services. An individual is only a protected adult whilst they are receiving these services.
Under the current rules, individual membership of the PVG scheme is not mandatory and it is up to the employer whether they wish to impose this requirement on their employees or volunteers.
From 1 April 2025, the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 will be implemented and will change several aspects of the PVG scheme.
PVG membership will become a legal requirement for individuals when carrying out a regulated role with children and protected adults, even if they are doing the role on a trial basis. There will be a three-month grace period from the implementation of the Act for all relevant individuals to join the PVG scheme.
From 1 July 2025, it will become an offence for anyone carrying out a regulated role to do so whilst not a member of the PVG scheme. It will also be an offence for organisations to offer any type of regulated role to an individual unless they have received a PVG scheme disclosure.
Committing either of the above noted offences could result in fines or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
It will continue to be an offence (as is currently the case) for individuals to seek, agree to do or carry out a regulated role if the individual is barred from working with children and/or protected adults, and organisations must not offer a regulated role to someone barred from that type of role.
The term ‘children’ will continue to refer to individuals under the age of 18, whereas ‘protected adult’ will now refer to an individual who is aged 18 or over and is receiving the services outlined above.
The term regulated work will be replaced by regulated roles, which will broaden the current framework and expand the scope of positions requiring PVG membership. Regulated roles will refer to roles where an individual has regular contact with or influence over children or protected adults. Regulated roles will be determined in broadly the same way as regulated work, but with additional clarifications so as to include sports and talent agents who deal with and represent children in recruitment, training or employment; and non-clinical health or hospice staff or volunteers who have unsupervised contact with patients.
The full list of activities that relate to regulated roles can be found within the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020.
PVG membership will be required of trustees, board members and management committee members in an organisation where one of their main purposes is the provision of benefits to children and/or protected adults.
As of 1 April 2026, PVG scheme memberships will be limited to 5 years and individuals will be required to renew their membership every 5 years in order to continue working in regulated roles.
In preparation for the incoming changes, it is important that businesses ensure that any paid or unpaid employees aged 16 and over in regulated roles are members of the PVG scheme.
Moving forward, businesses should consider reviewing, implementing and, if necessary, updating their recruitment and screening processes to ensure a robust mechanism for compliance. Businesses should also ensure they have a system in place to maintain accurate records of PVG memberships and regularly undertake audits to avoid any breaches.
For the protection of both employer and employee, job descriptions should be clear on whether the role is a regulated one and therefore whether PVG scheme membership is required.
Check out Disclosure Scotland’s website at www.disclosure.gov.scot for full details of the upcoming changes. Expert advice is available from our team of employment lawyers.
This update contains general information only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice.
Amy Campbell, Trainee Solicitor (Author of article): aca@bto.co.uk / 0141 221 8012
Laura Salmond, Partner: lis@bto.co.uk / 0141 221 8012
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