Do you know what kind of background a person needs to have to be hired to work with children for the summer or longer?

The restriction on working with children is meant to prevent individuals who have been convicted or placed under compulsory treatment for crimes such as human trafficking, sexual offenses, or crimes related to prostitution and child pornography from working in professions involving children.

In order to prevent individuals subject to the restriction on working with children from working, being employed, or volunteering in positions involving children, it is important for employers to conduct background checks on new hires.

As of January 1, 2023, employers are also obligated to conduct regular background checks. This means that employers must recheck the backgrounds of current employees at least once a year. The obligation to conduct background checks also applies to the recruitment of temporary (seasonal) workers or volunteers, for example, in organizing children's camps, summer schools, and other leisure activities for children. The right to conduct background checks is among others held by parents and some other legal representatives of children.

The Estonian Ministry of Justice reminds parents, childcare institutions, and local authorities of the possibility to conduct background checks on individuals working with children. An online background check solution helps to determine whether a person is allowed to work with children or not.

Using a convenient IT solution, the background of individuals working with children can be easily checked through the criminal records register. This can also be done by a parent, for example, for a babysitter, a child's teacher, coach, or any other professional who directly interacts with their child in their work. To do this, one must log in to the website e-toimik.ee and select the section "Karistusregistri päring," where a query can be made based on the person's personal identification code regarding the restriction on working with children. The response will simply indicate whether the person has such a restriction or not. No other data regarding the individual or their possible convictions will be displayed.

Read more: Justiitsministeerium "Kontrolli tausta" (EST) ja Justiitsministeerium "Lastega tööle asujate tausta tuleb kontrollida" (EST)