AML Employee Screening Policy (Dec25)

Introduction

The Eric Whitehead Partnership is committed to ensuring that all staff are appropriately screened to assess their risk from an anti-money laundering (AML) perspective.

Purpose

This policy forms part of the firm’s wider strategy to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering legislation. The aim is to establish the level of risk which prospective and current employees pose to the firm from an AML and financial fraud perspective.

Checks are to be carried out on prospective employees to verify their identity and background and on current employees to ensure they are completing AML training and handling AML aspects of files appropriately. This policy also highlights that any concerns regarding an employee’s personal financial circumstances which may make them a higher risk individual are to be documented and considered carefully before continuing with the employment.

Scope

This policy applies to all prospective employees and current employees (including Managers & Directors) and should be read in conjunction with People Management Procedures. The checks required under this policy are to be recorded in the HR files and are to be undertaken in addition to the checks required by the People Management Procedures.

Responsibility

Timothy Halliday (MLRO/COLP) has overall responsibility for this policy and will ensure that an annual review is conducted to verify it is in effective operation across the firm. Heads of Department will have day-to-day responsibility to ensure the policy is being adhered to and the Employee Screening Assessment is completed, both when a new employee joins the firm and is updated on an annual basis thereafter.

Legislative requirement to screen employees

By reference to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (‘MLR’):

Where appropriate with regard to the size and nature of its business, a relevant person must carry out screening of relevant employees appointed by the relevant person, both before the appointment is made and during the course of the appointment

For the purposes of the above paragraph “screening” means an assessment of:

(i) the skills, knowledge and expertise of the individual to carry out their functions effectively;

(ii) the conduct and integrity of the individual.’

A relevant employee is an employee whose work is:

(i) relevant to the relevant person’s compliance with any requirement in these Regulations, or

(ii) otherwise capable of contributing to the

(aa) identification or mitigation of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing to which the relevant person’s business is subject, or

(bb) prevention or detection of money laundering and terrorist financing in relation to the relevant person’s business.

Record keeping

Detailed contemporaneous records must be kept at all stages of the screening process for all employees referred to in this policy as evidence of compliance with the MLR.

The following checks are required for all prospective/new employees, including managers, fee earners and support staff:

Check	Information required/ Reason	Guidance
References	From the most recent employers (more if the employment was for a short period).	This may be limited to job title and dates of employment but should still be sought to verify the employment history. References may also be useful for checking the prospective employee’s past history of conduct and integrity. Do they raise any concerns? If in doubt, call the previous employer to clarify matters.
CV/ Qualifications	Spot check of educational record and previous employments which is to include contacting at least 1 educational institution (for qualifications obtained in the last 15 years) or requesting sight of original or verified copies of educational/ professional qualification certificates to verify qualifications are valid.	Look for gaps in employment history – have these been explained? Search for the educational institutions, qualifications and employers referred to online to verify their existence – are there any red flags to suggest CV fraud which need to be investigated further? Does what you know about the individual and their experience from the interview stage accord with the information provided in the CV?
Identity evidence	1 form of photo ID – driving licence or passport	Approval should be sought from Timothy Halliday to accept any other form of ID evidence.
Criminal record/ Standard DBS check/ Disclosure Scotland, Access NI or equivalent	To check the potential employee’s criminal record. A risked-based approach should be taken to establish whether a basic, standard or enhanced check should be carried out.	A basic check should be carried out on all potential employees. https://www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-criminal-record *The basic check is not to be carried out for employees who are to be employed in the Accounts department or in financial management roles – see below for enhanced check for these individuals.
Adverse media checks	To check for any concerning media coverage of the individual that would suggest they may pose an AML risk.	Use internet search engines.

Additional checks – accounts department employees and those in financial management roles

The following checks are required specifically for all prospective employees who are to be employed in the Accounts department or in financial management roles and for current employees moving into a role within these departments:

Check	Information required/ Reason	Guidance
Criminal record/ Enhanced DBS check	An enhanced check which shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, final warnings and information held by local police.	Any concerns should be discussed with position/name]and authorisation sought to continue with the employment.
Credit history	A credit report to form a view of the individual’s financial situation and whether they have committed fraud.	Any concerns should be discussed with position/name and authorisation sought to continue with the employment.

Additional checks – fee earners

The following checks are required in addition to those required for all prospective employees as set out in the first table on page 2, for those employed in fee earning roles:

Check	Information required/ Reason	Guidance
Regulatory check	To validate the individual’s practising status	Check the relevant register of the applicable regulator. Does this raise any concerns?
Regulatory checks – SRA and SDT checks for disciplinary action (Or equivalent checks with other regulators)	To check an individual’s regulatory history disciplinary record.	For those in the legal profession, preliminary online checks can be carried out via the following websites: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/register/ which allows you to look up the records of the solicitors and law firms which the SRA regulate. (NB only some decisions made since June 2008 are published on this site. Most decisions remain on there for three years.) https://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/judgment-search-results#judgment-list Where concerns are raised, the SRA will need to be contacted (SRA contact centre telephone 0370 606 2555) for the most up-to-date and complete picture of an individual’s regulatory record. Any concerns should be discussed with Timothy Halliday (MLRO) and authorisation sought to continue with the employment.
Test of knowledge/skills as pertaining role, particularly in relation to AML/ risk management	To assess if the individual is up to date with AML training/ may pose a risk to the firm from an AML perspective

Locum Solicitors/ fee earners

The following checks are required for Locum Solicitors/ fee earners who will have access to client funds:

Check	Information required/Reason	Guidance
CV	Ascertain the veracity of the individual’s recent employment history as set out in their CV.	Check the last 2 roles on CV as a minimum – e.g. check that the firm exists and seek verification of their employment there (the Locum agency may be able to assist).
Regulatory check	To validate the individual’s practising status	Check the relevant register of the applicable regulator.
Regulatory – SRA and SDT checks for disciplinary action (Or equivalent checks with other regulators)	Check the individual’s regulatory disciplinary record.	For those in the legal profession, preliminary online checks can be carried out via the following websites: http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/ solicitor-check.page https://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/judgment-search-results#judgment-list Where concerns are raised, the SRA will need to be contacted (SRA contact centre telephone 0370 606 2555) for the most up-to-date and complete picture of an individual’s regulatory record.
Identity and criminal record checks	To be carried out by the Locum agency	Required before the employment starts.
Test of knowledge/skills as pertaining role, particularly in relation to AML/ risk management	To assess if the individual is up to date with AML training/ may pose a risk to the firm from an AML perspective

Ongoing monitoring of existing employees

The following checks are required for all current employees and are to be carried out on an ongoing basis during the course of the employment:

Check	Information required/Reason	Guidance
AML training	An awareness of the laws covering AML and the firm’s internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance.	AML training relevant to an employee’s role and responsibilities should be undertaken on induction and a refresher course at least annually. Training records to be reviewed by MLRO.
Updated AML training as appropriate	Familiarity with the updated AML provisions and any updates to internal policies and procedures and how this will impact on their job role.	To be undertaken as and when changes to the AML regulations/ CDD requirements are introduced. *This is in addition to the annual finance training which those working in the Accounts department or in financial management roles are required to undertake.
Appropriate AML checks carried out on files	To include CDD and KYC checks, risk assessments and source of wealth and funds checks.	*Required for fee earners or onboarding teams only. To be kept under review on a yearly basis as part of the appraisal process.
Any concerns regarding personal financial situation	An overview of the employee’s financial situation should this involve significant debts, a declaration of bankruptcy or an attachment of earnings order.	*Mandatory for accounts and financial management staff. To be kept under regular review by Heads of Department and concerns noted in the Employee Screening Assessment. Concerns should be brought to the attention of Timothy Halliday and consideration given to the suitability of the employee for their specific job role.
Criminal records check	To verify that the employee’s criminal record remains consistent with pre-employment checks. A risked-based approach should be taken to establish whether a basic, standard or enhanced check should be carried out.	The SRA recommends that criminal record checks are carried out on all employees on an ongoing basis. Basic checks should be carried out against all employees, aside from those working in the Accounts department or in financial management roles, who require enhanced checks. https://www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-criminal-record
Annual appraisals	To verify that the employee’s skills, knowledge and expertise remain sufficient for them to carry out their role effectively.	The SRA recommends that firms take a holistic approach to screening employees, using existing measures such as annual appraisals to verify compliance with the MLR. Have any concerns been raised about an employee’s suitability to undertake work covered by the MLR?
Has any disciplinary action been required?	The background and decisions made for any disciplinary action taken internally, particularly which involve the mismanagement of funds and dishonesty.	Concerns should be brought to the attention of Timothy Halliday

Concerns regarding AML risks

Any concerns regarding the results of any of the checks required under this policy should be brought to the attention of Timothy Halliday (MLRO) as soon as practicable if the concern is deemed to pose a high risk to the firm. Should Timothy Halliday (MLRO) be unavailable, Elizabeth Collins (Deputy MLRO) is to be notified instead. The necessary follow-on course of action must be agreed, and authorisation sought from the person reported to for the employment to continue.

Review of this policy

This document will be reviewed at least annually by Timothy Halliday (MLRO).

December 2025

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