Workers accused of theft or damage could soon find themselves blacklisted on a register to be shared among employers. It will be good for profits but campaigners say innocent people could find it impossible to get another job.

To critics it sounds like a scenario from some Orwellian nightmare.

An online database of workers accused of theft and dishonesty ¿ regardless of whether they have been convicted of any crime ¿ which bosses can access when vetting potential employees.

But this is no dystopian fantasy. Later this month, the National Staff Dismissal Register (NSDR) is expected to go live.