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Start my DBS check

 

Gone are the days where jobs were for life, and we all lived in small communities where everyone knew everyone else. Identity checking when starting a new job in the past often wasn’t an issue, you’d know the employer, or they’d know your parents, or someone in the company would be able to vouch for you. This is no longer the case, and it’s the responsibility of the employers to check who is applying for a job with them, and to make sure they are legally allowed to work in the UK.

 

Passport Checks

The most common way of checking whether people are legally entitled to live and work in the UK is to ask applicants to bring their passports to interview. Most employers make this a requirement for all applicants, whatever their nationality. Seeing a British passport confirms to the employer that the applicant has the right to live and work in the UK, as does a national identity card or passport from another European Union state. If the applicant has a passport from a country outside the EU, the employer has to check what visas and other stamps are in their passport to make sure that they have the right to work. There are stiff fines for companies employing illegal workers of up to £20,000 per worker so its in an employer’s best interests to make sure the documents are valid.

 

Other Types of Identity Checking

Identity checking is also the first part of the process in getting a DBS check. These are police record checks which are carried out on people applying for a whole host of different jobs, mostly working in healthcare or with children. The body doing the checks must make sure that the person applying is who they say they are. Applicants are required to supply various documents which prove their identity, which are checked by the person requesting the DBS check before submitting the forms to the police. Applicants have flexibility over what sort of documents they submit for verification and there is a full list of what can be provided on the DBS website.

There are two sides to this type of identity checking – verifying identity and verifying address. In order to prove your identity you’ll need official documentation with your personal details and preferably a photo such as your driving licence or passport. If the applicant doesn’t have a UK passport or driving licence, then those are acceptable forms of identity too. Some applicants may provide other identity documents such as a NHS or Army ID card, or student card. There is more flexibility over address verification documents, with the only requirement being that the documents are dated within the last three months. You can submit bank statements, credit card bill, utility bills or your driving licence as proof of your address too. You’ll need to show the original documents to the person processing your DBS application, photocopies will not be accepted unless they have been certified as true copies by the Post Office or someone like a lawyer or government official.