CRB/DBS Checks

[JoAnneNH2o]

Hi

I wonder if anyone would be able to help me. We have a plumbing and heating business and have decided it may be a good idea to get CRB checks for our employee's. Something someone suggested might make a good selling point as you're in customers houses alot.

So, does anyone know how this can be done. From what I have read on the website, you can only apply for them for certain job roles and 'plumbing and heating engineer' doesn't fall into the catergories. Or will our employees need to do it themselves?

Many thanks.

 

[Beachcomber]

Good idea - might also be worht seeing if your area is part of the Buy With Confidence scheme.

For crb info, try here:
http://www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk...tePages/Disclosure Certificates Guidance.aspx

I seem to remember applying to a company called 'Disclosure Scotland' for mine (although I'm not in scotland)

 

[JoAnneNH2o]

Good idea - might also be worht seeing if your area is part of the Buy With Confidence scheme.

That's great thanks, I shall look into that.

 

[Jeff FV]

I'm not sure of the details, but I believe that (in about mid June this year) the system changed such that DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service checks, which have replaced CRB checks) are now portable.

i.e. If you have a DBS check from one employer, it can now be used/transferred to new employers and you would only need one DBS check. Whether or not an individual can now apply, I don't know, but I think the aim of the change is to make the DBS check 'belong' to the individual rather than the employer.

J

 

[Homer J Simpson]

The only thing with this is what if you find one of your staff has a record. If your contract doesn't state anything about a criminal record (or even allow you to do the check) how can you:-

Enforce a CRB check on your staff in the first place
Deal with any criminal records that show up (it would probably be unfair dismissal to sack them as a result of the CRB check)

 

[jbazely]

It is correct that you would not be able to apply for an Enhanced or Standard level check upon your staff for a general plumbing and heating engineer, through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) as there are very strict eligibility criteria about Job Roles etc. If you carry out work in schools/hospitals/care homes there are circumstances where you can request these levels of check.

To apply for either of these types of check you need to go through an Umbrella Body (such as DDC Ltd) unless you intend to 150+ per year. Individuals are unable to apply for a check upon themselves. For these checks the DBS now offer the 'Update Service' which potentially allows an applicant to take the Certificate with them between roles, however there is still a process to undertake to ensure that the Certificate is genuine, the Certificate belongs to the individual, it matches the level required by the new employer (if you view something you are not allowed to then you would be in breach of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act), nothing has changed on the Certificate and you have the applicants consent to run an 'Update Service Check'. There is also the fact that the subject of the check needs to sign up to the Update Service and pay £13 per year.

Disclosure Scotland offer the Basic level check that anyone can apply for, this includes the employer if they have permission from the applicant (employee). Alternatively you can ask the applicant to apply themselves direct to Disclosure Scotland, and bring you the document.

As for asking your employees to apply for a check (or you apply for them) you can introduce them into your workforce but it does make it harder if this is not included in the original offer of employment. I would recommned that you use a Basic Disclosure as a method of vetting your employees before they join but it can help to decide which jobs you hand out to which employees.

For general advice and information about Disclosures you can go to:

(google Due Diligence Checking Ltd)

or for some guidance on how to introduce them into your organisation go to:

look at the 'HR Guidance' section of the above website.

 

[honey9]

i would like to appreciate you for sharing such a great info with us

 

[Talay]

If you think about it, then Google, then pick up the phone, you can get everything you want irrespective of any stipulations as to when you can and can't laid down by the overlords.

 

[promdressers]

I recently started to do some contract work or a major heating company, who demanded a basic CRB. I used Disclosure Scotland. It was extremely efficient, and cheap. Some colleagues used a more expensive service, and had so much trouble. Two guys had their details lost, and had to reapply.

I would wholeheartedly recommend them :

disclosurescotland

 

[jbazely]

For Basic level checks I would also recommend going direct to Disclosure Scotland and applying online. They issue the Certificates for the whole of the UK.

If you're not doing a high number of these then there is no point using an Umbrella company such as mine, to ensure the forms are completed accurately and returned by staff members. Some organisations within the industry are not as honest when it comes to this fact and will happily charge very high fees for a poor service.

 

[paulears]

Do you work in homes and have restricted or unrestricted access to children?

Unless you do - what on earth is the point in a DBS process. There is a list of examples where a DBS check is required
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/249326/DBS_guide_to_eligibility_v2.1.pdf but plumbers and other tradesmen are not part of it. There is a restriction.

Before an organisation considers asking a person to make an application for a DBS check, they are legally responsible for ensuring that they are entitled to submit a check for the job role. This means that if you are a countersigning officer you must satisfy yourself that the position is eligible under the current legal provisions before you countersign each application form.

 

[jbazely]

The page linked to does not provide a list of Job Roles that 'require a check'. The opening pages state that the Annex shows the Legislation in place that allows an employer to request a check. Where a check is Mandatory the guidance will come from more industry specific Legislation.

It is up to the employer to decide, after they have completed a thorough Risk Assessment, if a role falls under Legislation and they are allowed to request a check. Within the guidance there is also the Legislation which allows a check of someone who met the previous Eligibility for an Enhanced level check (pre Sept 2012 changes). This includes anyone who has 'regular' & 'unrestricted' access to a 'Specified Place' which includes Schools, Further Education Colleges, Children's Hospitals etc. Regular and Unrestricted are also defined within the current guidance and again it is up to the employer to decide if the role they are offering meets this requirement.

I personally think that all the different levels of check can be used to great effect, when implemented correctly and for the correct reasons (I realise that I may be biased as a service provider in the industry). For Basic level checks as mentioned below it is an effective way of ensuring that someone being employed for a role, is suitable for that role. In most employment application forms there is a question relating to previous criminal convictions (unspent) and I do not think it is unreasonable to allow an employer the chance to independently confirm the answer to that question when they are placing trust in someone to undertake a role. In the example as mentioned by promdressers below, is it unreasonable for the Heating Company to confirm unspent criminal conviction information, before they send a new employee into someone's home?

 

[paulears]

In this country, private individuals and businesses are not allowed access to criminal records to check up on their staff. As I understand it, that is covered by the data protection act, and a number of others. Shops are not even allowed to post up photographs of people convicted of stealing from them! The DBS service was like the CRB check before it, designed for a specific circumstance.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

There are a small number of further exceptions, mainly due to security - so airline personnel may also have a check carried out for quite obvious reasons nowadays.

Making sure a plumber has no unspent convictions (remembering spent ones don't show up anyway) is a misuse of a system designed to protect vulnerable people!

You must also keep in mind that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 has also been around a long time now, and gives prospective or current employees lots of protection.

However, if your plumbing business does lots of work in schools - it's perfectly fine to do the checks, although in my experience, it's not that common. When I stopped teaching I became a visiting examiner and the advice from the exam board was that a CRB/DBS was NOT necessary, because standard working practice meant you NEVER allowed yourself to be alone with a pupil - Hell, in schools nowadays a kids asking for a confidential chat with a teacher has to do it with somebody listening and the door open!

On loads of occasions though, in the country and rural schools, you would be escourted to where you were going by a child on reception duty - which I always thought really funny - and I only got asked for ID on one single occasion. The worst bit though, after you have gone through the system recently, as I have, is that considering it's computerised, it's very, very slow - especially the Police Computer stage - and when it's finished you get what is in effect, and empty piece of paper!

 

[jbazely]

True. All levels of check (basic/standard/enhanced) require the consent of the applicant before the details can be submitted. An employer can require an individual to undertake the check as part of their recruitment process. It is important to ensure that this is clear when placing the job advert or at the interview stage, and normally the reason for the check i.e. the grounds or specific legislation enabling the request.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) was originally designed to protect those that had previous convictions by designating a period of Rehabilitation, after which they would not have to declare their convictions when asked (they are spent). The Exceptions Order passed a year later went further to define certain industries/circumstances where the role being undertaken meant that the entire conviction history should be made available to the employer.

The Basic level checks (through Disclosure Scotland) as discussed are very different to the DBS Enhanced and Standard level checks (DBS being an amalgamation of the CRB and ISA), and anyone can request them with the permission of the individual. There does not have to be any eligibility and only consent from the applicant. They reveal unspent criminal convictions as defined by the ROA and are designed as a means to allow employers to verify an employee's answer to the question 'Do you have any unspent criminal convictions? (i.e. this does not include anything that the ROA has classed as spent meaning the individual has been rehabilitated). For more on this topic you can read my website - DDC Ltd

I would disagree that Basic checks are an abuse of the system (if this was your point - sorry if I've misundertsood) as I feel it is fair for an employer to check someone's answer to the above question. I would agree that a company shouldn't request a Standard or Enhanced level DBS check which would reveal spent and unspent convictions, without a very good reason (such as working in schools/care homes/hospitals) where there is potential for harm. If they did this they would be in breach of the ROA.

As with all the systems put in place by legislation they need to be implemented correctly by those 'on the front line' to ensure they are not abused. Sadly there are a lot of 'cowboy companies' who will undertake the checking process with no real knowledge of the legislation in place or the risks involved, which makes it harder for reputable companies such as mine who look at the whole process and the reason for undertaking the check. I suppose this is the same in every industry though.

There are also local variations to how the legislation is enacted and interpreted, for example if you worked as a school examiner in Wales then you would need a check as they opted not to change. It's these small differences which make the industry quite a challenge sometimes, but one which I enjoy