Category: DBS News and Advice

If you’re living or working in Northern Ireland, you’ll know that although there are lots of things which are the same as in the rest of the UK, there are lots of differences too in the education or legal sectors. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is separate from the Police elsewhere in the UK, and one of the other main differences which affects workers in Northern Ireland is the process for getting checks done by the Police when you’re applying for a job in teaching, hospitals or any other roles dealing with groups termed as “vulnerable”. The body which does this in Northern Ireland is called AccessNI.

Being accused of a crime and having to go through the whole process of police interview, going to court and sitting through a trial can be traumatic. It’s easy to think that a “not guilty” vote at the end of the trial draws a firm line under the whole matter. With DBS checks carried out as standard on a wide range of professions working with children and other vulnerable groups, one of the main worries is that the fact that you were accused and the matter went to trial could show up on any future DBS check which your employer carries out. Is this a legitimate concern?

Our society is becoming increasingly more open with information, and most of us are aware that we can request to see our medical records, or check our credit records to make sure that the information which has been held on us is accurate. Most of this access to information is covered under the Data Protection Act, under a process called a subject access request. This right also extends to information which is held by the Police on the Police National Computer which isn’t just a record of convictions or arrests – it also contains intelligence information which the Police may act on at some point in the future, and details of witnesses or any traffic accidents you have been involved in.

If you’re applying for a job which requires a DBS check, it sometimes comes as a surprise that the application to the Disclosure and Barring Service for a background check is made by the person concerned, not the employer. The employer may pay for the check depending on the policy, but the application form is filled in by the applicant, and when the certificate is issued, it is posted to the address that the applicant has given them. Depending on the circumstances, it could be days, weeks or even months until the applicant needs to show their DBS certificate to the employer. So, what happens if it gets mislaid or lost in the interim?

Thousands of people in the UK undergo the process of DBS checking annually, or the similar PVG checking in Scotland or AccessNI checks in Northern Ireland. This process is all about giving future employers or voluntary organisations information about your criminal record, and to flag up anything on your police record which might have an impact on your suitability to work with children or groups of vulnerable adults. The first part of this process is to prove who you are so that the employer can be sure that the checks are being carried out on the correct identity, and proving where you live so the information can be tied together and your certificate can be posted to your home address. DBS has strict rules about what sort of documents are acceptable as proof of your address.

Agreed – working in a bank isn’t perhaps the most glamourous occupation. It has perhaps the reputation for being a bit boring, but could applying for a job in the banking industry be the perfect career move? Here are some of the pros and cons of careers in financial services or banking.

Also sometimes known as a TA or Classroom Assistant, the job of a teaching assistant is to help the teacher in the classroom. They undertake a wide variety of roles such as listening to children read, preparing resources and supporting children who require additional help with their work. Working as a teaching assistant is attractive for people who want to work term time only and work closely with children’s education without the responsibility of becoming the class teacher. If it all sounds interesting, here’s what you should know about training as a teaching assistant.

There are over 1.6 million people working in the care sector in the UK, either in nursing or residential homes, or going into clients’ own homes and providing care for elderly people or those living with a disability. This number of carers is only going to rise as the UK population ages, and many agencies are struggling to recruit enough trained and committed staff to meet their needs. If you’re considering a career as a carer here’s what you need to know.

There’s nothing quite like a courtroom drama for tension and intrigue, and although you might be clear about the roles of the judges and the lawyers, what are all of the other people in court doing? There is a wide range of people who are employed in courts and getting a job in the court service can mean interesting work, meeting people from all walks of life and regular working hours. Here are some of the roles which might be available.

When you’re browsing job adverts in the UK, you’ll see that it’s common practice for employers in certain sectors to ask for DBS checking. There are only some jobs which require DBS, which is a type of police check to make sure that people who have previously been suspected or convicted of crimes to have this flagged up when applying for a job. The aim of the scheme is to protect vulnerable groups such as children or the elderly from exploitation or abuse. It’s hard to argue with the idea behind the scheme, but in practice it can cause some worries, especially for people who have had minor brushes with the law in the past. One of the most common issues is with driving offences, from minor offences such as speeding or careless driving, through to more serious offences like drunk driving or causing death by dangerous driving.