Category: DBS News and Advice

A lot of the information which has been written about criminal records checking refers to the Disclosure and Barring Service, or DBS. This is the records checking body which covers England and Wales, but if you live in Northern Ireland of Scotland, you will be dealing with a separate body. This is mainly down to the different legal systems between the separate nations which make up the UK. There is often no direct comparison between offences in Scotland and England, for example, and the terminology used varies wildly too. You don’t have any choice over which body will do your check as your home address determines which body you will use for your check.

If there’s one thing which has changed since the pandemic, it’s the explosion in next-day services. Retailers can deliver almost anything to your door within 24 hours, if you’re prepared to pay for express delivery. So, it can come as a bit of shock when this option isn’t available. If you’re thinking about taking a new job which requires a DBS check, what are the options for getting your check quickly?

Football has been back in the news recently, with the publication of a review into the crowd disorder at the final of the Euro 2020 tournament, held in London in 2021. One of the most common responses for any club or national team caught up in poor behaviour by fans is to issue a football banning order, preventing people convicted of football-related offences from attending matches. A new proposal involves extending these banning orders to online abuse.

A bit like the driving test or GCSEs, you’ll often hear or see people discussing passing or failing a DBS check. This is probably one of the biggest myths about the whole DBS system, and it’s worth taking the time to understand exactly why this isn’t a pass or fail scenario, especially if you’re job hunting.

The statistics about the numbers of candidates found lying on their CV are shocking, with around 56% of CVs thought to contain lies or exaggerations. Employers are well aware of what’s going on, and so many will ask for extra checks on applicants, involving chasing up references or running social media checks. One of the easiest things to lie about is qualifications, as until recently it hasn’t been standard practice for employers to ask candidates to show A-level or degree certificates.

Although it’s often said that the British are world experts in queuing, the reality is that nobody likes being kept waiting. It’s bad enough waiting for a delayed train or a delivery from an online retailer, but when you are waiting for paperwork to arrive before you can start a new job, the frustration is even more intense. Police criminal records checks, also known as DBS checks or Disclosure Checks, are essential for many roles, and although employers will have their own policies, often they will refuse to let you start work without the certificate in your hand.

Disclosure and Barring Service checks, also known as criminal records, checks or disclosure checks, are taking longer than usual to come back at the moment, mainly due to ongoing pandemic delays. It can be frustrating to experience lengthy delays when you’re waiting to start a new job, and there’s nothing you can do about delays caused by DBS processes and procedures. There is however a lot you can do to ensure everything is in order before your form arrives at the DBS in order to eliminate delay caused by human error. But what are the most common mistakes people make when completing their disclosure forms?

If you’ve ever stared out of the window on a cold and wet British afternoon and wished you were somewhere warmer and sunnier, then you’re not alone. Thousands of British citizens emigrate each year, with many more making a temporary move for work, or on a gap year or sabbatical. Since the UK left the European Union, this has made moving overseas trickier, but not impossible. There’s a lot of paperwork to get in order depending on the country you are moving to. Most permanent emigrants need a firm job offer, health certificates, personal references and even a minimum amount of money in the bank. One of the most commonly asked for pieces of paperwork is a police certificate. Although these have a lot in common with DBS checks and certificates, there are a few important differences.

The language we use to discuss various work-related checks can take some time to change when the law moves on. This is perhaps why you’ll still hear people talking about List 99, even though this register is now managed by the Disclosure and Barring Service and is known as the Barred Lists. List 99 checks don’t apply to everyone, but if you are intending applying for a job which involves working with children, it’s something you might come across.

Disclosure checks are required for so many jobs that most people who are in the market for a new role are aware of their existence. Despite this, there is a perception that all disclosure checks are the same and will show exactly the same level of detail. That’s not actually the case, and there are in fact three different levels of DBS check. Enhanced Disclosure is the most detailed level of check which you may be asked to complete.