Safe recruitment guidance - Disclosure and Barring Service checks

When an applicant has a criminal conviction - risk assessment

It is recognised that in order to appoint on merit, and to comply with legislation, we must consider  candidates for employment from the broadest range possible, which includes ex-offenders.   

Obtaining a job is an essential part of successful rehabilitation. Further information on the  Rehabilitation of Offenders Act can be found in Appendix C and refer to the Council’s guidance - The Suitability of Ex-Offenders.   

Anyone with a criminal record should not automatically be ruled out of any appointment process. If,  through the recruitment or pre-employment process it comes to light that a candidate has a

criminal conviction or caution, the recruiting manager must discuss the matter with the successful  candidate and complete a risk assessment, which will form part of the process for considering their  suitability for employment.   

Criminal conviction and offence information provided on a DBS certificate is often very limited,  providing the offence category and sentencing / penalty information only. It does not provide context to the incident. For example, “Sexual Offences” can range from urinating in the street to  indecent assault, rape and other very serious offences.   

When an individual has a criminal conviction and needs a risk assessment, they are encouraged to  be open and transparent about it. Where possible, individuals should look to provide any additional  evidence which can corroborate their description of events and provide more details about the

seriousness of the incident. For example, to support their case, the individual may wish to provide  the police incident report or court information etc.  This is especially encouraged in cases where  the individual has received more than a caution as a sanction.   

Once the manager has completed the risk assessment details, it should be considered by the  Assistant Director or Head teacher. An offer of employment will be withdrawn if the risk assessment indicates the appointment is unsuitable due to the nature of the incident in question, or if an applicant concealed or failed to disclose a relevant criminal conviction. The Assistant  Director / Headteacher has responsibility for making this decision following advice from People  Management / HR Provider, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or Position of Trust Lead.

The risk assessment can be found in Appendix D in the PDF version of this guidance.

All Assistant Directors will have received appropriate training, updated on an annual basis on  carrying out risk assessments and assessing an individual’s suitability for employment where there  is cause for concern about that individual working with children and/or vulnerable adults.

Failure to disclose a criminal conviction

The failure to disclose an unspent conviction could be seen as a deliberate attempt to gain employment by deception, and as such would result in the withdrawal of any conditional offer of  employment.

It is important to note that there are a number of criminal offences in place to deter and prevent  barred people from working in regulated activities. These offences can not only be committed by  individual workers but also by the employers and employment agencies who give barred individuals access to regulated activities.  

If a manager or a Headteacher becomes aware that an offence has been committed then they should seek advice from HR/their HR  Provider/LADO immediately as it may be appropriate to refer the matter to the police.   

Types of DBS checks

There are three types of DBS clearances which return different levels of information about a person’s criminal background and/or ability to work with children and/or adults. 

These are:

• standard DBS
• enhanced DBS
• enhanced DBS with barred list check

See Appendix E for more detail

It is a criminal offence to undertake a DBS check when there is no requirement for one. 

Not all roles that involve working with children or vulnerable adults require a DBS check and  employers can only request a barred list check against specific roles. It is therefore essential that the correct level of DBS check is identified against the role to ensure the appropriate safeguards are in  place and no-one is checked unnecessarily.

The DBS requirements of roles within council are held centrally against the post details within ITrent.

Considering the need for a DBS 

Senior Managers in conjunction with HR or HR Provider should consider whether a role needs a DBS check in the following circumstances:

• when a new role is created   
• where the activities undertaken within the role change
• when there is a change in frequency of certain activities (for example, the role now involves working with children more than once a week or more than three times a month when previously this was undertaken on an ad hoc basis)
• When the role’s work base changes (for example, where an office based admin role is relocated to
• work in a care home or school)
• When a line management role has a new responsibility and now supervises individuals that
• require a DBS check and/or will be undertaking regulated activity

Regulated activity is activity that you are not permitted to undertake or seek to undertake if you are barred from working with children and/or vulnerable adults. Additionally, line managers should  receive the same level of check of those within their team, provided the employee(s) they directly  manage or supervise carry out their activity on “the front line”. The regulations outlining what  activities are regulated can be found in Appendix E.

Assessing the level of DBS check needed

If a DBS is thought to be needed in the circumstances outlined above senior managers must take  steps to assess the level of DBS check required.  In the first instance, they should do this by completing the on-line eligibility assessment tool (GOV.UK).

This tool covers most roles, however if further clarification is needed, Senior Managers can refer to  the regulations relating to regulated activity and the DBS workforce guidance which outlines the  circumstances a check can be made. This information can be found in Appendix E.

Further advice can be sought from HR or the HR Provider if needed. 

If there is still a question about DBS eligibility, Senior Managers should contact DBS customer services for clarification. 

Email: CustomerServices@dbs.gsi.gov.uk 

Any response received from the DBS regarding the DBS eligibility of a post should be forwarded to HR.   

The DBS eligibility must be indicated on the post specification for the job and this information should be signed off by the Assistant Director or Headteacher. The information should be sent to HR, Payroll and Recruitment Admin or HR Provider who will record the DBS eligibility against the role within iTrent or equivalent School Management information system.

Requesting a DBS Check

DBS checks will be undertaken as part of the recruitment process or the three yearly rechecking  process. If a new DBS check is required for reasons other than this, line managers or head teachers  must inform the HR, Payroll and Recruitment Admin or school provider who will initiate the checking process.   

Handling DBS Certificates   

Under no circumstances, should managers copy, scan, transcribe or email a DBS certificate. This  is unlawful practice and if this occurs, the incident will be recorded as a data breach. If the DBS  certificate contains criminal offence information, managers should discuss the incident(s) with the individual and complete the risk assessment (Appendix D), with the individual, for relevant AD to review.

Only in limited circumstances, should managers retain an individual’s DBS certificate. In the  majority of circumstances, it should be sufficient to view this certificate, even where the certificate  contains offence information. If a DBS certificate is retained by any officer involved in the DBS  decision making process, there are a number of provisions that officer needs to follow in order to  ensure that data is handled correctly. These are outlined in the DBS Data Handling, Use,  Storage, Retention and Disposal procedure.

Managers should inform the HR, Payroll and Recruitment Admin via the ticketing system of any officer (other than themselves, or the owner of the DBS certificate) that has viewed or stored the DBS certificate so  this information can be held centrally.