Category: DBS News and Advice

The NHS is the UK’s largest employers, and there are around 659,000 nurses working in hospitals and health centres up and down the country. Many nurses are involved in “bank nursing”, and this can be an attractive revenue stream for not only nurses but also other health professionals such as care assistants or pharmacists. Bank nursing isn’t the same as being employed full time though, and there are several important differences to be aware of before signing up to a bank.

The Metropolitan Police is one of the UK’s largest forces and covers most of Greater London. The Force hit the headlines recently when it was accused of cutting corners in its DBS checking process, with the inference that looser checks could be putting vulnerable children at risk. So what exactly has been going on?

The DBS checking system is constantly evolving and changing, and it can be difficult for both employers and workers to keep up to date with the latest developments. One of the most recent changes concerns the way in which employers have to check identity documents supplied to them right at the start of the DBS process.

Safeguarding is one of those buzzwords which seems to be everywhere. It’s often used in connection with children or vulnerable adults, but are we really clear what it means? If you’re applying for a job which requires an understanding of safeguarding, or are an employer who has to make sure you’re getting in right for your business, here’s what you need to know.

In 2018 it’s harder than ever to find a reputable job. Zero hours contracts, short-term contracts, shift working, low wages – all things which can make it harder to secure that well-paid job with great conditions and opportunities for progression. Unfortunately, and as in any market, there’s possibilities of fraud, both from the side of recruiters, and from the side of employees.

Every time there’s something in the press about the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), it’s usually in connection with children. There’s a lot of awareness about the importance of ensuring that people who volunteering or employed to work with under 18s are not a danger to them. Most people who are working in schools, as sports coaches or in other settings with children have an enhanced disclosure, which is a detailed check into their criminal record as well as showing up any cautions, warnings and other reprimands. There’s so much publicity around the issues with DBS and children that you could easily imagine that it’s only people who are working with children who need to have disclosure checks done, but this is not the case.

Gone are the days when housing associations and local Councils had their own team of maintenance people, responsible for both minor repairs and major building work in their properties. The number of Council properties has dwindled over the years, and many housing associations only manage a few dozen properties. Maintenance and repairs are still provided for tenants, but work is usually done by third party contractors – plumbers, electricians and joiners who have their own businesses and work for other clients too. Housing Associations and Councils have to do their best to make sure the companies they are using are reputable and do good quality work, but do their workers have to be DBS checked too?

Remember the two part driving licences? Up until March 2015, we all had two parts to our driving licence – the pink photocard bearing our photograph, personal details, signature and details of the classes of vehicle we were allowed to drive, and the paper part which carried details of any points which had been applied to the licence for speeding, running a red light or more serious driving offences. After March 2015 the paper driving licence part was scrapped, and any points which you get on your licence are now logged digitally on the DVLA computer rather printed on the piece of paper you carry around with you. It’s a simpler system, but does raise some problems when you’re asked to demonstrate that you have a clean driving licence – how do you do this if you can’t show your paper licence?

A recent report from Parliament showed that far fewer people had signed up to use the DBS Update service which had been hoped for. The reasons for this are unknown, but part of the reasons may be down to the fact that people don’t understand the benefits of DBS Update and can’t see how it might benefit them. Here are five of the reasons why you should consider paying the annual subscription to the service.

Think back to your teenage years. Very few of us have a clear career path set out at the stage of our lives when we’re sitting exams and having fun with our friends, and drift into doing degrees at University which play to our strengths, the subjects we were good at in school. Science types might end up on a pharmacy degree, learning all about drugs and how they work on the human body. But what sort of careers can you do with a degree in pharmacy?