Considering jumping ship and switching jobs or changing industries altogether?
Are you bored with your existing role and in need of a new challenge?
Maybe you’re in training and ready to start the world of work?
New horizons await.
But you might want to consider how to stay safe when searching for a new job online - surrendering your personal details to a plethora of job search websites might be a risky business.
And some jobs may have a list of additional legal requirements you may need to satisfy.
There’s a growing list of job roles that employ safeguarding procedures, especially when working with children and vulnerable adults.
You may need to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check your suitability for working in certain environments.
Don't panic.
Here’s our list of 10+ jobs that require a DBS check in the UK.
Some might surprise, but first…
What type of DBS check will I need?
According to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, everyone has the right to a second chance in life, and - under specific circumstances - the right to not disclose spent convictions and cautions.
Those who have completed prison sentences of up to four years have the right not to disclose their prison record once the full sentence and the rehabilitation period (sometimes referred to as "the buffer") has been fully spent.
However, there are exceptions.
The roles outlined in this article will require a DBS check.
Is there just one type of check?
There are three main types of DBS check.
The role for which you’re applying will dictate the one that you need.
You may require:
Basic Check
Available to everyone, regardless of their profession.
You can request a basic check for yourself, or an existing or potential employer may ask you for one.
An employer can only apply to see your criminal record if you give them consent.
The Basic Check includes details of any unspent criminal convictions.
Standard Check
Similar to the Basic Check, the Standard Disclosure includes details of unspent criminal convictions.
However, the Standard check also lists cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer.
Standard disclosures are often requested by employers in the legal and financial industries for roles such as accountants and lawyers, as a measure to prevent fraud and financial misconduct.
Enhanced DBS
Includes all convictions held on record: spent or unspent.
The enhanced DBS is required where you will be in direct (or sometimes indirect) contact with children or vulnerable people.
How do you know whether you need a basic or an enhanced check?
That’s simple.
1. Education
Education encompasses a broad spectrum of careers:
- Teaching staff (including teaching assistants)
- Caterers
- Care-takers
- Playtime supervisors/dinner ladies
- Administrators
- Receptionists
If you work in direct, unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable people, then an enhanced DBS is usually required.
2. Healthcare
Jobs providing care services to children or vulnerable adults, including healthcare professionals, usually require an enhanced DBS check.
The following healthcare roles require an enhanced check if working with adults and children:
- Doctor
- Nurse
- Pharmacist
- Optometrist
- Anyone working with patients without supervision, i.e. reception staff, caterers, cleaners, volunteers
- Social Workers
3. Care-home workers
The government’s definition of a vulnerable adult is a person who:
- Is aged 18 or over
- Requires support from community care services for mental-health; cognitive- or other disability; age-related conditions and illnesses
- Are unable to take care of themselves
- Are unable to protect themselves from exploitation or significant harm
Most care-home residents fall within this category.
Therefore anyone who works in direct, unsupervised contact with vulnerable adults needs an enhanced check.
4. Childminders and foster carers
While you might employ a family member or a friend to babysit a child, if you’re using a registered child-minder, you should expect that they have an enhanced DBS.
Likewise, foster carers inevitably find themselves in direct contact with vulnerable children and young adults.
Anyone applying to become a foster care will undergo through a stringent regime of safeguarding checks, including an enhanced DBS, before they’re approved as suitable for fostering.
5. Financial or legal professionals
Roles that require management of assets and personal information of others in financial or legal contexts may require a basic DBS check.
Financial services professionals working in roles for companies that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority may require a basic check.
These roles include:
- Solicitors
- Chartered legal executives
- Accountants
- Actuaries
6. Television crew (including background artists)
You'll probably be surprised by this one, but anyone working on a film or television set in the UK now requires a basic DBS check, regardless of whether there will be children or vulnerable adults on set.
Even background artists (otherwise known as “extras”) require a basic DBS check.
While not necessarily being a legal requirement, this safeguarding precaution is considered to be good practice and has been widely adopted in the industry.
7. Traffic wardens
Traffic wardens find themselves in direct contact with all walks of life during their daily duties.
Although they try to avoid it, they may well find themselves in conflict situations with the general public.
It has become widely expected, therefore, that they have a valid, basic DBS check.
Traffic wardens are exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, meaning that all spent convictions must be disclosed with recruitment DBS checks.
8. Vets and RSPCA staff
Those involved in animal welfare or responsible for euthanising sick animals require a basic DBS check.
These roles often call on interaction with pet owners, which may include children or vulnerable adults, as well as the actual animals themselves.
9. Working in Scrap Metal
Believe it or not, those applying for a licence to trade in scrap metal require a basic check.
If the basic disclosure reveals convictions of specific offences, the licence may not be granted.
10. Other Surprises
Many roles that involve interaction with the public require basic DBS checks, and you’ll be surprised by many of them.
These include:
- Any job involving the serving of alcohol
- Commissioners for the Gambling Commission
- Football and event Stewards
- Pest Controllers
- Members of the Master Locksmith’s Association
The list of jobs that involve some level of safeguarding or contact with the general public is increasing, and the expectation to provide or give consent for a DBS check is becoming the norm in many industries.
Summary
Thanks Jagriti!
There are some surprising ones in there, especially working with scrap metal.
Although, DBS checks are done for the safety of others so it's actually a really important step in the recruitment process.
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