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Everyone’s got their own story about a run-in with a traffic warden, getting a ticket which they felt was unfair, or being targeted after being 5 minutes late returning to their car. Traffic wardens – or Civil Enforcement Officers to give them their correct name – have to try to keep our cities running by making sure people aren’t parking where they shouldn’t. It’s not an easy job but can be a good employment option for people who like being outdoors, want to keep fit and don’t mind dealing with the public.

Part of the fall-out from the revelations about abuse by overseas aid workers was concerns raised about the potential for abuse to be repeated in charity shops up and down the UK. Many of the larger charities pride themselves on being inclusive, and welcoming volunteers who are under the age of 16 or classed as vulnerable adults. So, what is the current situation in the UK, and should you be asking if your local charity shop staff are DBS checked?

It’s fairly common knowledge that people applying for jobs in schools or care homes will need to undergo police checks to make sure that they are suitable for the job. This checking is done by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in England and Wales, PVG in Scotland, and AccessNI in Northern Ireland. Aside from the standard roles in teaching and healthcare, there are some more unusual roles which require DBS checking too.

If you’re the sort of person who spends your weekend in your pyjamas bingeing on Netflix boxsets, have you ever wondered whether you could be doing a bit more with your time? Why not get off the sofa, pull on a pair of trainers and get out in the fresh air? There are dozens of sporting organisations across the country which are just crying out for help, and volunteering will get you out in the fresh air, meeting new people and perhaps improving your own fitness levels too.

If you’ve recently applied for a position which requires DBS checking, then one of the main concerns many applicants have is what exactly will happen to the form when it is returned, and who in the company might have access to details listed on the form. Information shared on a DBS check (or on a PVG check in Scotland or an AccessNI check) falls under the Data Protection Act, and the obligations on employers are about to become even more restrictive.

There are several parts to the DBS application process, culminating in having your form issued. The first part of the process is confirming your identity, both to make sure you are who you say you are, and that the checks are carried out on the correct person. This is especially important if you have a relatively common name such as Karen Brown or Stephen Smith; there may be dozens of other people with your name living in the UK. In order to prove who you are and where you live, you’ll be asked to provide documents to verify your identity. There is a set list of documents which must be provided, and applicants aren’t allowed to deviate from the list.

If you’ve been looking at making a move into working with the Police, you’ve probably seen the term NPPV. NPPV stands for Non-Police Personnel Vetting and applies to people who are working with the Police but who aren’t police officers. This could cover roles such as CCTV operators, administration staff, people working for the Immigration Service and police management personnel. The type of vetting which people have to go through to become a police officer is much more in-depth than even an enhanced DBS check.

Would it surprise you to learn that an estimated 25% of the UK population have some sort of criminal record? Around 10 million of us have had some sort of brush with the law in the past, so the chances are that if you’re employing people to work in your business, you’re going to have some applicants who have a criminal record. But is this necessarily an issue?

We all make mistakes at work. Nine times out of ten these mistakes are fairly minor, don’t impact on our lives to any extent and are easily remedied. But what happens if the Police have made a mistake on your records and a DBS check which you expected to show no crimes and convictions comes back showing offences which you know you couldn’t possibly have committed?

Seems like a very straightforward question, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, there’s not a straight or simple answer to this one, and it will depend on the circumstances, the type of employer and the type of role being undertaken.