Standard DBS Check at Interview

da_rule

theoretica wrote: »

Any company which asks for DBS certificates is required to have a policy about the recruitment of ex-offenders. And it can't say only 'we don't'. What does yours say?

Ours states that each case will be judged on an individual basis based on the role offered and the offence in question (hence a 'risk assessment' being carried out). In deciding there will be references to the time that has elapsed since the offence was committed, whether it is now 'spent' or not and the type of offence (violence/dishonesty/abuse of trust etc being given more weight). There is also scope for the candidate to submit to us information about the case.

On our application forms (for relevant roles) we ask candidates to disclose any offences not classed as spent. If someone reveals an offence as part of the application then we get another page on the interview script where we can ask them about it etc.

In this case the applicant correctly ticked that he didn't have any unspent convictions (as has been said, a caution is spent as soon as it's issued). However in interview he proceeded to produce a DBS certificate (no idea why). We didn't note it on the interview notes and only me and the other interviewer know about it. We score the interview scripts against a pre-determined score and pass these to the recruiting manager who decides on who to hire. As essentially he has revealed a 'spent' caution which we were not entitled, at this stage, to know about we did not note it down. If he is successful then a new DBS check will be carried out and this will then be risk assessed in line with the relevant policy.

Having just done the maths I think he may have been under 18 at the time of issue so the offence should be filtered (s.13 Theft Act doesn't appear on the list of offences that will never be filtered) after 2 years. Therefore by the time we reapply it may be filtered.

This post was simply meant to ask whether the details of the conduct behind the offence are revealed on a DBS check or whether the certificate in this case could have been 'doctored'. As I say, it was the first time we had come across a DBS certificate that actually disclosed something, and whilst I know what our policy is, we are never actually shown what a DBS certificate should look like when disclosures are made. This is something that I will suggest training is given in as it is something that is good to know.

xapprenticex

I bet he presented it to get it out of the way because most employers wont touch him when they find out he was cautioned for what amounts to theft.

If your position offered requires trust then you'll have to take a gamble or play it safe and take someone else on. If you have interviewed others that interview as well as he did and have no record then you'd typically pick them.

BUT some of the most trustworthy people can be those who have a record because they have a reason to prove they can be trusted.

Play it safe or take a gamble.

annandale

No DBS check will corroborate someone's story. That's not the purpose of them. As for conduct behind the offence. You'd have to be in court to hear the details of every offence that was disclosed on a DBS or a disclosure to know that. No one can give you the details you are looking for, an enhanced check won't.

In Scotland where I am enhanced checks will show offences that basic disclosures might not, for example the PVG check I had done on me shows whether I have convictions relating to children and vulnerable adults.

It doesn't give more details on an offence already disclosed on another form

Fireflyaway

It was as caution rather than a conviction which leads me to think whatever it was, it was probably not extremely serious. Did he mention it before the check or wait until you brought it up?
I have not progressed applications where applicants have stated they don't have cautions / convictions but then I found out they did for the reason they lied to me, rather than the fact they actually had a conviction.
If he has been up front and he is a good candidate why not give him a chance? Its really hard for people who made a mistake to get on if nobody ever gives them a chance. How many of us don't have a caution purely because we were lucky enough to never got caught doing something? !

Guest101

da_rule wrote: »

I interviewed someone the other day who produced a standard DBS check certificate.

It is the first time that I, or anyone else in the interview panel, has seen a DBS check that actually had an entry on it. It would appear that the candidate received a caution a couple of years ago for abstracting electricity. He gave us an account there and then about what happened.

My question is, is there anyway to corroborate his story? The DBS check just says what the offence was, when it was and that he received a caution. Should the check have revealed more information (i.e. has it been 'doctored')? Would an enhanced check (if the role is applicable - which I need to check) reveal any more information?

The story is not verifiable and actually it doesn't matter to you.


two things that do matter:


1: you need to organise a brand new DBS certificate, you cant use one which was for another company.


2: the conviction is all that matters. You need to decide if this would prevent them from working for you.

Guest101

usefulmale wrote: »

Thats the trouble with employers wanting to be judge, jury and executioner. You will only ever hear one side of the tale, so stop trying to be Perry Mason / Judge John Deed and accept that this person has a caution and has declared it upfront.

If they are the best for the job, employ them.

As an aside, I thought cautions these days were immediately spent? They shouldn't show up on a standard DBS, should they?

Immediately spent but reported for 6 years (or is it 5)

da_rule

Guest101 wrote: »

Immediately spent but reported for 6 years (or is it 5)

On a standard or enchanced check a caution is filtered (no longer shown) after 6 years (if the person was 18 or over at the time of issue) or 2 years (if under 18). There are certain offences though that will never be filtered. These are listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/425814/DBS_list_offences_that_will_never_be_filtered_from_a_DBS_check_v2.1.doc

I think there is also a provision that if you receive more than one caution/conviction then they will never be filtered.

da_rule

Fireflyaway wrote: »

It was as caution rather than a conviction which leads me to think whatever it was, it was probably not extremely serious. Did he mention it before the check or wait until you brought it up?
I have not progressed applications where applicants have stated they don't have cautions / convictions but then I found out they did for the reason they lied to me, rather than the fact they actually had a conviction.
If he has been up front and he is a good candidate why not give him a chance? Its really hard for people who made a mistake to get on if nobody ever gives them a chance. How many of us don't have a caution purely because we were lucky enough to never got caught doing something? !

Yeah, I get what you're saying about it being 'just' a caution.

As I said earlier in this post, our application form asked him to declare unspent convictions. He ticked that he didn't have any. He wasn't lying, as a caution is spent as soon as it's issued.

As a bit of a side note, I think some confusion is also caused by standard and enchanced checks revealing spent (but not filtered) convictions/cautions. I think some people think that if it is spent it disappears.

As he ticked 'no' to the question our interview notes did not include the questions that would have been asked had he ticked 'yes'. However, he provided the certificate of his own free will and then proceeded to explain what had happened. I do have to give him credit for being up front and knowing that we might find out about it anyway.

Guest101

da_rule wrote: »

On a standard or enchanced check a caution is filtered (no longer shown) after 6 years (if the person was 18 or over at the time of issue) or 2 years (if under 18). There are certain offences though that will never be filtered. These are listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/425814/DBS_list_offences_that_will_never_be_filtered_from_a_DBS_check_v2.1.doc

I think there is also a provision that if you receive more than one caution/conviction then they will never be filtered.

Indeed and thank you, I thought it was 6, but my caution disappeared in November 2015, and I could remember the date it happened.


I work for NHS and it's never stopped me