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Strategy documents are, on the whole, somewhat dull. Sometimes however, having a look at a strategy document gives clues about where an organisation might be headed over the next few years. This is certainly the case with the DBS strategy document recently released which lays out the organisation’s plans for the next five years, running up to 2025.

Many of the delays in the DBS system are down to human error. Mistakes which we make completing the form or providing our documents can cause big hold-ups in the certificate arriving, and in the worst-case scenario, can mean your application is rejected outright.

You hear people about passing and failing things all the time – exams, driving tests, credit checks, and DBS checks. You’ll even see it in job adverts, where recruiters say that appointment is conditional on passing a criminal records check. The problem is that this language isn’t really accurate and paints a false picture of how the system operates in practice.

One of the main DBS myths is that only people who are going to be working with children need checks into their criminal record. Although it’s certainly true that most people who will be working with kids will need an enhanced DBS check, there are lots of other groups of workers who need to go through the process too.

It’s common to see jobs advertised which state that applicants need to complete a disclosure check. There are a few steps before you get to that stage though, one of the most important of which is to verify your identity.

The surge of volunteers stepping forward to help the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic came as no surprise to people who work in the UK voluntary sector. Even before the pandemic hit, 20 million of us were giving up time on a regular basis to volunteer for a cause close to their hearts.

It’s natural to be a little concerned about what might be revealed on a disclosure certificate. It’s not a procedure which most of us go through every day, and few people understand the intricacies of the system. To add to the confusion, the way in which information is presented has changed several times over the years.

Starting a new job means lots of filling in forms with things like bank details so you can get paid, and your P45 from your last job to ensure that your tax is in order. If your new position needs a police criminal records check too, then there’s a bit more paperwork which you have to complete before you can get your certificate in the post.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in the UK dates back to 1975, way before the creation of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or its predecessor, the Criminal Records Bureau, or CRB. One of the core components of the 1975 was the idea of “spent” convictions.

One of the most common myths around references is that it’s illegal for an employer to give you a bad one. This isn’t actually true, and with more employers checking carefully into the backgrounds of the people they employ, it’s important to know the position around giving and receiving references, and why employers might want to check.