Police National Computer (PNC) Check

AP007

I have seen a job advertised and right at the bottom of the spec is says

All applicants who are offered employment will need to apply for and provide a satisfactory Police National Computer (PNC) Check before their appointment is confirmed.

Don't all checks have to be done by the company? Especially since I have no record or any dealings with the police.

ohreally

They are in effect asking you to provide a subject access request (at your cost) and supply it to them.

I wouldn't encourage the reptiles.

AP007

ohreally wrote: »

They are in effect asking you to provide a subject access request (at your cost) and supply it to them.

I wouldn't encourage the reptiles.

But to pay god knows how much for a statement that will have nothing on it seems pointless to me and at my cost. What a cheek.

Reptiles? You are talking of the company? A big hotel.

DavidT67

Agreed, a employer shouldn't be asking you to provide a PNC SAR.
They, if they are entitled to, should make a DBS check, (previously called a CRB check) only once they have formally offered you a position.

AP007

DavidT67 wrote: »

Agreed, a employer shouldn't be asking you to provide a PNC SAR.
They, if they are entitled to, should make a DBS check, (previously called a CRB check) only once they have formally offered you a position.

I guess its to stop people with a record applying?

I doubt I will even get an interview but its says an offer will be made and not confirmed till the PNC is given to them.

mountainofdebt

I think they've got a PNC confused with a DBS check.

Many -if not all jobs - within certain sectors are subject to a DBS check but a PNC????

stix62

It all seems ok to me. They say they don't require the PNC check until an appointment has been confirmed / a position formally offered, and being a big hotel I expect you're likely to come into contact with children and vulnerable adults etc and so meeting the criteria for having a DBS check carried out.

I suppose the plus side to this is a PNC S.A.R will cost £10 whereas a basic DBS is nearly triple that - isn't it?

'I guess its to stop people with a record applying?'

Well, it puts me off applying for some jobs, but not all. If possible I'd research if that particular 'company' had a policy on such matters and take it from there

AP007

stix62 wrote: »

It all seems ok to me. They say they don't require the PNC check until an appointment has been confirmed / a position formally offered, and being a big hotel I expect you're likely to come into contact with children and vulnerable adults etc and so meeting the criteria for having a DBS check carried out.

I suppose the plus side to this is a PNC S.A.R will cost £10 whereas a basic DBS is nearly triple that - isn't it?

'I guess its to stop people with a record applying?'

Well, it puts me off applying for some jobs, but not all. If possible I'd research if that particular 'company' had a policy on such matters and take it from there

Not in the back office I wouldn't be meeting guests but still.

Still its £10 I don't have.

TrickyWicky

DavidT67 wrote: »

Agreed, a employer shouldn't be asking you to provide a PNC SAR.
They, if they are entitled to, should make a DBS check, (previously called a CRB check) only once they have formally offered you a position.

Indeed. PNC checks are a little biased because if you've had a 'run-in' with the police at any point, guilty or not, that incident remains on the PNC.

I had an enhanced CRB done for a previous job, came back totally clean. When I got tugged by a plod a couple of years later for no insurance (which I did have but it was done on the phone the same day several hours earlier) he did a PNC check which brought up a previous clash with the fuzz. I'd done nothing wrong and they had no case against me but plods attitude towards me immediately changed to assume I was guilty of not having insurance. He couldn't prove anything at 00:20am though so was forced to let me go and make his enquiries with the MID the next day (which would then prove my innocence).

The point is, PNC checks are not good. They can seriously bias peoples view of you even if you were wrongly accused of something and released without charge. It also doesn't get wiped. In my view, this is not just unfair but unlawful. Those who were found to be clear by the police of any wrongdoing are still effectively under suspicion of *anything* for the rest of their lives.

To be fair, I think posts working with children should have both CRB (DBS now?) AND PNC checks but there are some companies who want to know everything for no apparent reason.

Yorkie1

SAR can take up to, I think, 40 days to come back.

Are you absolutely sure it's not a DBS check they need?

AP007

I copied the advert here - that's what it says