Jasmine Birtles
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How do you know if you need a DBS check?
MoneyMagpie team
2nd Aug 2019
Here at MoneyMagpie, we like to keep in contact with our readers. One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is from people wondering: “Do I need a DBS check?”
It’s a good question as it’s not always clear who needs one and who doesn’t, particularly when it comes to volunteering, so we’ve put together this handy guide for job hunters and potential employees.
Here is how you can find out if you need a DBS check.
What is a DBS check?
Criminal record checks have been around for some time helping employers to find suitable people to work with children and vulnerable groups. However, this process has become increasingly complicated and lengthy so the government has replaced the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check with the one from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and carries out the functions previously undertaken by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) for England and Wales and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The primary role of the DBS is to help employers in England and Wales make recruitment decisions by issuing criminal records checks and to prevent people from working with vulnerable groups who may not be safe to do so.
Amongst these vulnerable groups are children, babies, the elderly, people with learning disabilities of any age or people with other mental health difficulties.
The main function of the DBS check is to provide an answer to the employer or organisation with whom you’re volunteering to the following question: “Do you have any criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings?”
Usually, you only really need a DBS check if you’re planning on working with vulnerable people and children, however other jobs might also demand it and this is becoming more and more common.
A DBS check will determine whether or not an individual is on one of two barred lists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: one bars people from working with children and the other with vulnerable adults.
When a check has been processed by the DBS the individual will receive a DBS certificate illustrating whether they are cleared to work with particular groups.
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974, criminals who have served a prison sentence of less than two and a half years and do not re-offend during a set ‘rehabilitation’ period after their release may have their conviction spent, which means it doesn’t show up any more and is no longer relevant when the person is being considered for most jobs. It’s quite complex so you can read more about the DBS filtering system here.
If you have unspent convictions – meaning you are still serving your probationary ‘rehabilitation’ period following sentencing – this can cause issues. However, if this is the case, it’s up to the employer whether this is or isn’t a problem. With work being seen as an essential part of prisoner rehabilitation, this is becoming far less of a barrier in current times. For example, Manchester’s ‘The Clink’ restaurant exclusively hires prisoners from HMP Styal as staff to rehabilitate them.
Do i need a DBS check?
Generally speaking, if you plan on working with or around children or vulnerable people you will need a DBS check. Employers may wish to look at the DBS eligibility guidance list which runs down most roles that are eligible for a check. However, the guidance isn’t comprehensive, and you should contact the DBS directly if you’re unsure.
If you’re the person being checked, your potentially new employer will give you a form to fill in and return to them along with documents proving your identity such as a passport, current driving licence and proof of address. You can find more information on what documents are accepted here.
How do DBS checks work?
Your employers will apply to have a check done on your behalf but then the certificate will be sent to you, not your employer. These checks can take up to 8 weeks to complete from filling out the form, so if you’re working in a care role it’s important to bear this in mind. You won’t be able to start working till the check is completed.
Depending on the level of the check, the cost varies with a standard check costing £26 and an enhanced check costing £44. Some employers will ask you to pay these fees. However the norm is for employers to pay these costs.
However, if you’re applying for a DBS for a voluntary role, there are no associated fees regardless of the level of check needed.
Employers will only arrange a DBS check on a successful job applicant. If the applicant is found to be unsuitable, the job offer can be withdrawn so save yourself the time and stress and be honest on your applications!
These are the basic steps for an employer who wants to perform a DBS check:
- Get the application form from DBS or your umbrella body.
- Ask the candidate to fill in the application form (N.B. make sure you have everything exact in this form because if you get any of your former addresses wrong it will be sent back you will have to go through the whole thing again – it’s very annoying!)
- Send the application form to your umbrella body or DBS.
- If your organisation is registered with DBS the counter signatory has to sign the form. DBS will send you a certificate.
What is the Disclosure and Barring Service?
So now you have a better idea of what a DBS check means to you but you’re still thinking you want more detail. Well never fear, Money Magpie’s here to oblige.
We’ve covered some of the following in what the DBS means to you but here’s a quick breakdown of the kind of work the DBS does.
Disclosure
Once the DBS is complete the applicant will give this certificate to their employer so that they can make an informed decision about hiring you.
You can find out here what kind of information the DBS searches through.
The certificate will contain sensitive and personal information so there is a code of practice for recipients. This ensures that this information remains confidential and you know the information is being handled fairly and used properly.
Referrals
Referrals are made to DBS when an employer or organisation believes a person has caused harm or poses a future risk of harm to vulnerable groups, including children.
Barring
An employer or volunteer manager is breaking the law if they knowingly employ someone in a regulated activity with a group from which they are barred from working.
The DBS do try and make the baring decisions as fair as they can be, looking into each individual case.
There are two main ways a case can reach them.
Autobars
There are two types of automatic barring cases where a person has been cautioned or convicted for a relevant offence:
- Automatic barring offences (without the right to make representations) will result in the person being included in one or both barred lists by DBS, irrespective of whether they have, are, or may in the future engage in regulated activity
- Automatic barring offences (with the right to make representations) may also result in the person being placed on one or both barred lists. This will be subject to whether DBS believes that the person has engaged, is engaging or may in future engage in regulated activity, and the consideration of any representations they make
Referrals
As mentioned above, this is put forward by an employer or organisation rather than the individual.
A registered body is an organisation that has the right to ask the questions that are exempt under the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act or can countersign on the behalf of another organisation which is itself entitled to ask these questions.
Basically they’re in charge of making sure that your application is kosher and will countersign it once they’ve processed it to say that all your information is genuine.
Before they do this they will:
- Check and validate the information you give them
- Make sure you are who you say you are
- Check that your application form is correctly filled in and that you haven’t told any porkies
Make sure that the application process complies with the DBS’s code of practice.
You can find out more about how to make a referral to the DBS in this booklet.
What’s the difference between the CRB and the DBS?
The DBS replaced the CRB in December 2012 to make the process more efficient and simpler.
The DBS has a new system which, for the first time, enables individuals to apply to have their criminal record check kept up to date, and employers are able to go online to see if the information released is still current and valid.
The new online service costs £13 a year to keep your criminal record up to date. This means you can take the certificate with you from role to role, within the same workforce, without having to apply for a new one each time. We highly recommend this to people who are working on short-term contracts.
When subscribing to this service, you would only have to seek a new criminal record check if the system tells you something has changed.
How do I get a DBS check?
You can’t do a criminal records check on yourself. For individuals who are self-employed, getting a DBS check is difficult but not impossible.
You can find a local DBS umbrella body on the Gov.uk site here. For a fee, one of these agencies will do it for you.
In Scotland, if you need to run a check on yourself, you can get a ‘basic disclosure’ with details of any unspent convictions from Disclosure Scotland.
You can also get checked through an organisation you belong to, like your church or a sports club, whereby they act as your third party.
If you cannot get your hands on the DBS check, a good alternative is a Subject Access Report which you can obtain by filling out a form online or going down to your local police station. The report costs £10 and shows anything that is on your record. It should take around four weeks to process. However, be aware that this is not always good enough.
For example, many psychologists are technically self-employed but work with children under contract with NHS/Social Services. For them, a basic check is ineffective as a safeguarding measure so they need to have had an full enhanced check to do the work they do.
How much do DBS checks costs?
As mentioned earlier, here are three types of check each with a different price.
| Type of check and cost | What it will check for | How long it normally takes |
| Standard – £26 | Spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, final warnings | About two weeks |
| Enhanced – £44 | As above – plus any additional information held locally by police forces that’s reasonably considered relevant to the post applied for | About four weeks |
| Enhanced with list checks – £44 | As above – plus a check of the appropriate DBS barred lists | About four weeks |
For volunteers it’s free of charge.
However, on top of these charges you will pay administration fees to the agency which will vary according to the different registered bodies, but are usually in the region of £20 plus VAT.
N.B. DBS checks are only valid in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
For Scotland you must get your check done by Disclosure Scotland. All checks carried out cost £25.
The current system makes the Rehabilitation of offenders Act worthless, it encourages discrinination for millions of innocent people and is against Article 8 of the human Rights Act (privacy)
We now live in a police state where the state actively discorages people from volunteering, employment, education or breaking the cycle of crime because they approved ammendments in September 2009 to list all information held on a person to any employer who requests it meaning there is now no such thing as ‘spent convictions’ the ROO Act is now pointless.
Big Brother has officially taken over!
Hi Angela,
I have put a post on here dated 21/6/11. Why haven’t either of my 2 convictons for theft (fined in 1979) or my Caution for theft from 97 shown up on my Standard Disclosure? I was very worried but am also confused by what you have written. It all seems to be so abitrary.
I’m 57 & need a CRB check to be able to help at my son’s school to go on outings & help with reading in class. I was found guilty of possession of a small amount of canabis when I was 25, will this stop me getting a positive CRB?
Thanks
Unless your incident involved children this will not be a problem.
hi i was arrested when i was between 13/15 i cant remember exactly it was for shoplifting i have been working with children and young people since i was 18 i,m now 32 i wanted to know what comes up because prior to 2008 i must of had loads but nothing come up i think but since 2008 the new law says everthing will come uo on my crb is that true
i am currently at university doing a degree in health and social care. i have just recieved my CRB back and im disgusted with it, i have never been to court or convicted of anything. i was last arrested in 2008 for theft by finding. i found a mobile phone in a night club and never handed it in. on my CRB it says theft from a person which is not correct not once i have taken anything from an individual, i took this mobile phone from the floor not from a person!! had i have seen someone drop the… Read more »
I have applied for care assistant for people with special needs. I had a warning a few years back for drunk and disorderly when I was having a few problems. Will this show up on ehanced disclosure and go against me?
Apparently it depends on the level of the warning! It probably won’t be a problem. It’s only going to be difficult if the warning was for something really serious.
Hi I have graduated and managed to get a graduate position in IT within the financial industry, after a month in industry my employer did a CRB check and it came back positive. I was not aware of the CRB as I thought the fine that I paid was all that happened, after all the CRB is of parking my car using my mums disabled badge. As my mum was not with me when I parked the car I was sent to court and was told to pay a fine. I did raise the fact that my mum was ten… Read more »
Hello Muzzy. I have asked our CRB specialist and she says: “I think an individual can challenge the content of the CRB (how to details on their website). So if the info is wrong, he should be able to get the reference removed. As far as I’m aware, if he was guilty (as far as the law is concerned), he cannot get it removed from his CRB record. His best recourse may be to challenge if the offence is relevent to the job – it wouldn’t be for most posts here – or, indeed, if the employer had the right… Read more »
You mention in your article that the CRB can last for up to 3 years however this is incorrect. The CRB states on their home office website that ‘Each CRB check will show the date on which it was printed. However CRB checks do not carry a pre-determined period of validity because a conviction or other matter could be recorded against the subject of the CRB check at any time after it is issued.’ Some organisations and councils have decided that after 3 years they will reapply for new checks but it is not a legal requirement with either the… Read more »
I have applied to two different agencies now for Care work and MLA work, they have not fixed me up with any work yet. I need a job seriously so have not relented on my job search, I am about to apply to another agency for training and they have asked me to pay for another CRB check. This will be my 3 CRB is 4 months, (even the officers who check criminal records should be tired of my name -all my CRBs come out well). Is there anything I can do about this till I get a suitable job?
It’s unfortunate but you will have to be patient. Nothing you can do. The past applications will make future ones process quicker. Just be sure to enter all the correct names and addresses as in previous applications or it causes delays.
How long do reprimands remain on the system?
Hi,
When my son was aged 10 he was questioned about a sexually incident he was not charged now he is 19 and needs a CRB check would this show up on his check, and stop hinm refering football matches
Either a caution or conviction show on a CRB check, the age of your son at the time and the fact he was just questioned would lead me to believe he will have no issue.
Good afternoon,
I require a little assistance please, I received a caution at the age of 15 in 2004 for criminal damage (arson) after foolishly setting fire to a bin through carelessness. I am now 22 and have applied for an apprenticeship at a nuclear power station. So do I need to declare this spent conviction? And will it prevent me getting the job?
After 6 years a caution is removed unless its an enhanced crb chack and due to the fact you were 15 at the time, people understand when you are a teenager you do dumb things, be they accidental or premeditated, FUlly Disclose it to be seen to be honest but it shouldnt go against you.