Category: DBS News and Advice

If there’s one industry which has boomed over the last year, it’s environmental health. Businesses across the UK are trying to get to grips with what it means to be “covid secure” and are looking for ways to continue to operate within the lockdown rules in place at any given time. The experts in this field are the nation’s environmental health officers, whose job it is to advise on the rules, and crack down on law breakers. If it’s a field which you’re interested in, what are the requirements for the job?

Many aspects of our everyday life have been enormously disrupted over the last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Some trials are being pushed back until 2023 or even later, over concerns about having courtrooms packed with jurors, lawyers, and press. For victims of crime, these delays are difficult to deal with. For employers and people applying for jobs though, there are other implications to the backlog in the justice system.

Brexit finally happened at the end of 2020, and the way in which we deal with Europe has changed significantly. One of the main changes from an employer’s point of view is around recruitment, with EU citizens no long having the automatic right to live and work in the United Kingdom. There is lots of information online about Right to Work, but even if someone does have the right to work in the UK, there is another level of checking which might be required. Many positions in the UK need a DBS check, or an inspection of people’s criminal records. British people who want to work outside the UK, or overseas workers who wish to work in the UK, will have to use an alternative path for their criminal records check.

Although your disclosure certificate doesn’t come with an expiry date, most employers will have their own policies about how often they want staff to go through the process again. This time period will depend on the employer and the type of work but is typically anything between three and five years. If you’ve already gone through the process when you initially started work, then you should have a rough idea of what to expect when it comes to renewal. It’s worth taking time to understand what you need to do though, as everything may have changed since the last time you applied for a disclosure check or made a CRB application.

Starting a new job in the UK used to be very straightforward – do well at an interview and you’d start the next day, collecting your wages in a brown envelope at the end of the week. Things have moved on a bit since then, and not just because most of us are paid right into our bank accounts. There are a whole host of checks which employers have to carry out when taking on new workers, from establishing their right to work in the UK to checking their academic qualifications. One of these checks which applies to a large number of occupations is getting a DBS check. But what is the point of a DBS Check?

The Covid 19 pandemic has changed working patterns for many of us, prompting decisions about changes of job, perhaps setting up your own business, or moving into the countryside for a simpler life. Other people have been pushed into making changes by redundancy or companies shutting down. Whatever the reason for you being back on the market and looking for a job, you may find lots has changed since the last time you went job hunting. Online application and interviews over Zoom are just the start of the changes; there are lots of other changes too. Don’t be surprised if you’re asked for your passport to prove you have the right to live and work in the UK. Depending on the type of work, you may also be asked to get a DBS check. This isn’t as scary as it might sound, and there’s lots of help to navigate through the process.

Millions of us get a DBS certificate through the post, and in nearly all cases, there is no surprise when we look at the information presented. A DBS check is a way of looking into the criminal record – if any – of someone who has applied to work. There are different levels of check with different levels of detail revealed, but what happens when a certificate drops through your letterbox with details on it which you don’t recognise?

One of the largest groups of people who need to have a DBS check are people who are employed in roles working with children. In fact, one of the most common DBS myths is that it’s only people who work with children who need a criminal record check at all. This is untrue; the group of people who need a check into their background is much more extensive. If you are working with children, then the chances are you’ll need a DBS check. If you’re new to the process, then don’t be daunted. Getting your certificate isn’t as tricky as you might think.

How long has it been since your employer asked you to complete a new DBS check? If you can’t remember, or think it was probably years ago, is this something you should be worried about? The topic of renewing and expiry of disclosure certificates is more complicated than it might appear. The good news is that it’s mainly the responsibility of your employer to keep up to speed with the rules and regulations in their industry.

Nobody likes waiting. In the internet age where we can access information around the clock and get an answer to any questions in seconds, any delay can be frustrating. This is especially the case when you have the opportunity of a great new job but have to wait for the paperwork to come through. Disclosure Checks, which are also known as CRB checks or DBS checks, are essential for a whole range of occupations where the employer wants to look into the background of staff. Depending on the role, you may not be allowed to start work until you receive your DBS certificate, so wanting to speed up the process is understandable. There’s no “fast-track” option with DBS checks, where you pay a bit more and get an express service. However, there are lots of things you can do to make sure you get your certificate sooner rather than later.