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Bar work, retail or part-time office work is where you’ll find most office workers, and these positions rarely require a criminal records check. However, if you are a student who is considering taking part time work in healthcare, trying to get some work experience in a school, or even working as casual staff in the Royal Mail, you might need a DBS check.

The January 2021 revelation by the UK government that coding errors on the Police National Computer meant thousands of records were deleted went largely unnoticed, as it came in the midst of the post-Christmas lockdowns and waves of coronavirus infections. However, in July 2021 the policing minister gave more details, and told parliament that over 200,000 offences, relating to over 112,000 people had been accidentally deleted from the system.

Some paperwork will be employer-specific, and others, like police criminal records checks, will depend on the sort of work you will be doing. However, the most basic form of checking, the Right to Work Check, applies to everything. So, what’s it all about?

Getting a DBS check is a standard part of many job applications, especially for people working in healthcare or with children. There are many reasons why an applicant, or employer, might want to withdraw a DBS application which is already underway.

Most people associate DBS checks with education and healthcare, but these are far from the only sectors where some level of criminal records checking is required on some employees. Financial services companies such as banks, building societies and insurance companies have to be very careful about who they recruit, as in this sector there is potentially the opportunity for fraud or theft.

On the DBS certificates for the two most detailed levels of check, the police may disclose convictions and cautions which are classed as spent in other situations. Although it’s essential to disclose this level of detail in order to safeguard the vulnerable adults or children who the employee might be working with, it also raises some issues about confidentiality.

Are you a trusting type of person who takes everyone at face value? Many of us are, and don’t like to go through life thinking of everyone we meet as a potential scammer or criminal. Employers though can’t take the risk of relying on their gut instinct or first impressions when it comes to taking on new employees.

We all know that there is a huge shortage of drivers at the moment, and anyone with an HGV or even a standard driving licence is in high demand. Although finding a driving vacancy might be straightforward, that doesn’t mean you can walk straight in, pick up the keys and start work right away.

People who want to work in a wide range of occupations might be required by law to have a disclosure check, but there is also a less-detailed check which is open to everyone. Although it doesn’t give as much information as the other levels of checking, there are still lots of reasons why employers, self-employed people and workers might consider a basic DBS check.

We think we’ve come across pretty much every myth there is around DBS checks and certificates. Some of the conspiracy theories around checking are easily debunked, but there are lots of other myths which persist on social media and are not so easy to disprove. Part of the confusion stems from the regular changes in terminology, so you’ll still see people talking about CRB checks when they actually mean DBS checks.