By Nathalie Potter, 8th November 2022
There are four levels of DBS (formerly CRB) checks:
- Basic
- Standard
- Enhanced
- Enhanced check with barred list
The type of employment will depend upon the level of check required. Employers may request basic checks in which the DBS would disclose information pertaining to previous convictions and cautions that are not able to be filtered. A higher level or standard DBS check would be required for roles within the financial sector (accountant, mortgage advisor or bank clerk etc), any job within the private protection sector (bodyguard or driver) and any job within the governmental or justice sector (court clerk, solicitor, barrister).
Any employment that puts you in direct contact with vulnerable adults or children (what is deemed “regulated activity”) would require an enhanced DBS Check. This includes but is not limited to the medical profession (doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists), the education system (teachers and teaching assistants), the care system (carers, domiciliary nurses, probation officers and youth/social workers).
Taxi drivers are subject to enhanced DBS checks, however, a bus driver would be subject to a basic check. A school bus driver, on the other hand, would be subject to an enhanced DBS check as this would be deemed to be regulated activity.
Disclosure of information on an enhanced DBS Check
When applying for a position within regulated activity, the Disclosure and Barring Service will request all information held on the Police National Computer in order to carry out an enhanced check. There is legislation that sets out whether cautions or convictions for certain types of offences can be filtered (not released) by the police but the following are types of offences that are always released to the Disclosure and Barring Service, whether you were prosecuted or not:
- Actual Bodily Harm
- Assault child or vulnerable adult
- Safeguarding offences
- Sexual offences
- Robbery
- Aggravated burglary
Referred for consideration as to inclusion on the Barred List
Should the DBS receive information from the police in relation to an arrest, or should they receive a referral from an employer in relation to safeguarding offences, the DBS will write informing you that they are conducting an investigation into whether you should be prevented from working in regulated activity and placed on one or both barred lists.
Examples of what can lead to a referral include, but are not limited to, the following safeguarding offences:
- Perceived abuse (physical or emotional)
- Perceived neglect
- Inappropriate contact with a child/service user
- Using unsafe manual handling techniques:
- Failure to report or document,
- Falling asleep
- Using inappropriate language
When the DBS have finalised their investigation they will write once again with their intended course of action. They may discontinue their case and offer no further action, or they may wish to place you on one or both of the barred lists. You will be invited to make representations on why you ought not be placed on one or both of the barred lists and it is at this point Olliers can step in and assist you. You will be given 8 weeks with which to provide representations and we suggest contacting us as soon as possible.
Specialist Disclosure & Barring Service Lawyers
If you decide to instruct Olliers, we would need to see the original Minded to Bar letter and any evidence the DBS have used against you in their decision to bar. Once we have considered the same we will arrange a conference in order to take your full instructions in relation to the same, then draft our representations based on the salient points. If you wish to deny the allegations against you, we would write the strongest of representations as to why there is no case to answer. If the allegations are accepted then we would provide mitigating representations to argue that it would be disproportionate to include you on one or both of the barred lists.
Should you wish to instruct please contact the Head of DBS Department, Nathalie Potter at nathaliepotter@olliers.com
