Ellee Seymour

Staff accused of theft or damage at their workplace are to be named and shamed on a new database which is due to be launched later this month. It could mean they find it impossible to find future employment.

What is shocking about this is that they can be named and shamed regardless of whether they have been convicted of any crime –and bosses can access it when vetting potential employees.

It is an Orwellian nightmare which has been dreamt up by the National Staff Dismissal Register and companies that have signed up include Harrods, Selfridges, Reed Managed Services and Mothercare. By the end of May they will be able to check whether job applicants have faced allegations of stealing, forgery, fraud, damaging company property or causing a loss to their employers and suppliers.

Trade unions and civil liberties campaigners are warning that it leaves workers vulnerable to the threat of false accusations and is open to abuse by employers who could bear staff a grudge. An employee may not even be aware they have been blacklisted or have any right to appeal.

While I do not condone any kind of criminal activity and sympathise with companies who have been victims of office crime, I do not believe that a person who has not been convicted of an offence by a court of law should be named and shamed in this way.

Doesn’t the Criminal Records Bureau already provide employers with the information they need? Is this really necessary?

My sister is in the retail trade and the problem she has is not with dishonest or troublesome staff, but getting enough police interest to prosecute shoplifters.

I’m really worried about this, and remember, mud sticks.