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.
Fixed Penalty Driving Offences
There is a long list of offences which Police deal with using a system of fixed penalty notice. If you’re caught speeding, or driving through a bus lane, or into a box junction, you might receive a fixed penalty notice and three points on your driving licence. These types of offences are not criminal offences and therefore will not show up on any type of DBS check. However, if you are driving as part of your job, it is probably written into your contract that you inform them about any points you are given on your licence.
More Serious Offences
Driving offences will only be shown on a DBS certificate if they cross the border from civil motoring offence into a criminal offence which is dealt with through the court. There is a very wide range of offences which fall into this category, and include things like drink driving, driving without insurance or excessive speeding which results in you losing your licence. This is a complicated area of the law, and there is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion about what category a driving offence falls into. There is a lot of information online, and the general advice is that it is best to be open and honest with any prospective employer. They will have come across people with points for speeding, drink driving or parking offences before, and will treat any information you give them in confidence.
Filtering of Offences
To complicate matters further, the process of filtering applies to most driving offences which are serious enough to be show on a DBS form. Filtering means that after a certain period, and depending on how old the person was when the conviction was received, the conviction drops off the record and no longer requires to be declared. This filtering process doesn’t apply to the most serious offences. If you have received a conviction for causing death by dangerous driving, or reckless driving or similar then that will have to be declared. The decision about whether or not to employ you in the role will be down to the employer.
