The government is considering obliging schools and nursery schools to check whether its potential workers have sex crime records.
The government plans to include the requirements in a bill it expects to submit to parliament as early as this fall to prevent sex crimes targeting children.
Under the plan, applicants who want to work at schools or nursery schools will be required to submit a certificate showing that they do not have a history of sex crimes.
The plan is based on record checks by Britain's Disclosure and Barring Service. The introduction of a similar system is now under discussion at an expert panel set up by the Children and Families Agency.
Under the current law, those who have been sentenced to imprisonment without work or harsher penalties are not allowed to become teachers or nursery teachers. A history of sexual offenses may be added to the list of conditions for disqualification under the planned system.
The government also plans to make it mandatory for staff candidates at children's facilities, including those for children with disabilities, to submit a certificate of no sex crime record.
Cram schools and sports clubs will likely be excluded from the requirements because the country has no law stipulating duties for workers at such organizations. The government is considering giving certificates to such organizations if they conduct voluntary checks.
There are concerns on social media that people with sex crime records may apply for jobs that are not subject to the mandatory checks.
As of Wednesday, over 60,000 signatures had been collected online for an initiative calling for mandatory checks by all businesses involving children, including cram schools.