Anyone thinking about taking a job in a care home is required to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in England and Wales, or equivalent level checks through bodies in Scotland or Northern Ireland. These checks are specifically designed for individuals working in roles that involve supporting or caring for vulnerable adults or children, making them a legal requirement in the care sector. Given the regular contact with the elderly, it is impossible to work in a care home without undergoing a DBS check. The same level of checking is required for carers who go into clients’ homes to care for them there.
a DBS Check for Care Work
An enhanced DBS check for care workers provides a detailed background report into their criminal record, including:
- Spent and unspent convictions
- Warnings
- Cautions
- Reprimands
- Any other relevant police information which the DBS thinks is relevant to the position.
- Employers can also check whether an applicant is on a barred list for adults, which is a list of people whose criminal past means that they have been legally blocked from working with vulnerable adults by the courts. This level of detail is not available with basic DBS checks, or standard DBS checks.
How to Apply for an Enhanced DBS Check
Applying for an enhanced DBS check for care workers is straightforward and the process will usually start when a job offer is made. The process will be managed through the care home or agency you will be working with, as individuals cannot request standard or enhanced DBS checks for themselves. Each organisation will have their own internal systems, but for all applicants the process can be broken down into four key stages, which are:
- Complete an online form with your personal details.
- The care organisation or agency you are thinking of working for must then verify your identity and details. This is done by you providing some key identity documents such as driving licence or passport which can be cross checked against government databases.
- Once the application is submitted and verified, the information then goes off to the police forces in the areas where you have lived for checking. Typically, this takes around ten working days, but can be longer.
- The DBS certificate will then be sent directly to the applicant’s home address.
Can You Work in Care with a Criminal Record?
While having a criminal record may make getting a role in a care home mor difficult, it does not make it impossible. There is no blanket ban on people with criminal records working in the care sector, and the agency will make the decision based on your individual circumstances. As there are no hard and fast rules, things will depend on how long ago you committed any offences on your record, and the nature of the offences. The only certainty is that violent or sexual crimes will rule you out from care work, but not necessarily from other jobs on the market.
