Blog

Failure by police forces to carry out criminal record checks under Clare's Law checks is putting the safety of women at risk, according to a recent report. During a six-month period, police forces in England and Wales are said to have rejected over 20,226 requests for background checks on suspected domestic abusers, a move which could put women at risk.

There is no set law about how frequently an employer should renew DBS checks on their staff, whether basic, standard or enhanced DBS checks. Employers will develop their own policies based on other safeguarding measures, and the type of industry they are operating in. Usually, employers will ask for DBS checks to be repeated every 3 to 5 years.

There has been a dramatic increase in Right to Rent checks, with numbers soaring by 577% compared to the previous year. Right to Rent is a government initiative to check the nationality and immigration status of anyone who is thinking of renting a room or property in the UK.

The UK's largest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU), has repeated its call to introduce mandatory criminal record checks for all private home tutors working with children. They highlight the fact that all adults working with children in a school or voluntary setting need to have an enhanced DBS check, previously known as a Criminal Records Bureau or CBR check.

Companies go through the process of obtaining a DBS check for potential employees to make informed hiring decisions and find out a bit more about the people they are thinking of working with. The information shown on a DBS check or whatever level can influence recruitment choices, and once the certificate has arrived in the post the employer must decide how to proceed based on what it says.

Digital ID checks, which are also known as digital identity verification, are modern and secure methods of confirming an someone’s identity online. Instead of the old-fashioned methods of examining identity documents such as passport or driving licence in person, digital ID checks use technology to validate an individual’s identity by using many online trusteed databases.

Entering the IT job market can be competitive. Salaries are high, and there can be huge scope for promotion and rapid progress, especially when you have specialist skills such as in the field of cybersecurity. Working in the IT sector isn’t the first thing most people would say if asked to name jobs in which people might need a criminal records check.