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As the UK emerges from the Covid19 pandemic, the way we are all working is changing too. Many workers are yet to return to the office full time, and it’s becoming increasingly common for people to have a couple of part time jobs rather than one full-time job. Not all part time jobs will require the applicant to have a DBS check, but some might, and it’s important to understand the process before sending off your CV.

If you want to work in the UK as a doorman, security guard or in similar security-related occupations, you can’t do this without a SIA licence. The idea behind the licence is to raise professional standards within the industry, ensuring that colleagues, customers, and employers have security staff who are not violent or with a strong criminal past.

If you are in the process of applying for a job with a specific organisation, it can come as a bit of a shock when you’re asked to submit your DBS information through an entirely different company. There are many reasons why this might happen, and it doesn’t automatically mean that your employer is trying to scam you. It could be that they are using a third party “responsible organisation” to help with the administration of checks.

The Home Office has recently announced that pandemic-related measures to allow for remote checking of identities, which should have come to an end in September 2021, has been pushed back to April 2022. With recruitment being problematic in many sectors, and employers struggling to fill vacancies, these measures have been widely praised by business.

Many people assume that the “further education” sector refers to Universities, and other institutions which educate people who are past school leaving age. That however is only partly true. There are thousands of young people who leave school after their GCSEs aged 16 and go to college either to do further academic qualifications, or to study a practical course in something like hairdressing or plumbing.

Pre-pandemic, turnaround times at the DBS checks were improving. The stories of lengthy waits and people losing out on jobs because of their certificates being stuck in the system appeared to be a thing of the past. However, the latest figures appear to show that delays are again becoming commonplace, and the blame is being placed at the door of homeworking.

Since the Spring of 2021, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has been working closely with its partner bodies of AccessNI and Disclosure Scotland, and campaigning organisation JobsAware to raise awareness of scams operating in the jobs market.

A combination of the Covid-19 pandemic putting the brakes on driving tests, and the UK’s withdrawal from the EU at the end of 2020 has led to a huge shortage of qualified Heavy Goods Vehicle – or HGV – drivers. The shortage is the reason for gaps on supermarket shelves and why some big restaurant chains such as Nando’s and McDonald’s have had to close branches.

Wigan Council has become the first local authority in the UK to demand private hire and hackney cab drivers in their area sign up for a DBS Update account. If drivers refuse, they are to be suspended until their registration is complete. Drivers have until 1 December 2021 to register for the DBS Update system.

Safeguarding is a word you see used all the time, but do we really understand what it means? Safeguarding in a DBS context is about taking steps to protect the well-being, health and rights of children and vulnerable adults. Organisations which come into contact with vulnerable adults should therefore have in place safeguarding policies to ensure that members of staff know what they should be doing in terms of protection.