The move is part of legislation covering more than 500,000 temporary workers including office staff and actors. The rules are expected to come into force during the summer and are the first reforms in this area for 20 years.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the new regulations will offer 'stronger protection' for parents using nanny agencies. Employment and equal opportunities minister Margaret Hodge described the reform as 'excellent news for parents'. She added, 'Agencies will have to take all reasonable steps to ensure that nannies are suitable for working with children. They will have to offer parents copies of at least two references.'
However, the regulations state that if an agency takes 'all reasonably practicable steps to confirm that the work-seeker is not unsuitable for the position concerned' but is unable to obtain copies of their qualifications and references, it has to tell their prospective employer.
David Lane, chair of the Institute of Childcare and Social Education, said, 'If a nanny agency is good at the moment, will this make any difference? And likewise if a nanny agency is bad. It is questionable whether this new regulation will have much effect.'
Tricia Pritchard, professional officer for the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses and a campaigner for a national register of all childcarers including nannies, pointed out that only 30 per cent of nannies in Britain are hired through agencies, the other 70 per cent finding placements through advertisements or word of mouth. She said, 'By regulating agencies and not individuals, the Government is failing to protect the majority of children, whose parents do not go through agencies. A national register of all childcarers is the only way to protect children, parents and genuine childcarers and give nannies the long-overdue professional status they deserve.'
A DTI spokesman said, 'The new regulations require agencies to take all reasonable steps to ensure a worker coming into contact with children is not unsuitable. When the Criminal Records Bureau opens this summer agencies will have a ready means of establishing whether a worker has any unspent convictions. References must also be obtained and copies offered to the prospective employer.'
The Department for Education and Employment is to issue a new code for nanny agencies next month to complement the regulations.
