DBS Check after Getting A Job

Ref44

The other factor that has sofar been ignored is the Criminal Offence of "Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception" under the Theft Act which includes making false representations to get a job and getting paid. The OP hasn't stated what line of work they are doing; dependant on that  (security, safeguarding, finance  for example) the employer could report the matter to police.

avawat20

Whatever happens, you have to move forward with honesty is the best policy.
That will always be a reason to dismiss if you, as a person, don't see an issue with the dishonesty regardless of the line of work you are in.
I'd suggest you also seek some professional help to try and address this.

Marcon

Ref44 said:

The other factor that has sofar been ignored is the Criminal Offence of "Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception" under the Theft Act which includes making false representations to get a job and getting paid. The OP hasn't stated what line of work they are doing; dependant on that  (security, safeguarding, finance  for example) the employer could report the matter to police.

Not if the employer doesn't know. Even if they did, the chances of that happening are remote, particularly as they failed to get the DBS check done before OP started. The last thing an employer would want to do would be to bring their own failings under scrutiny.

I'm certainly not suggesting dishonesty is OK, and hopefully OP will find a way to be straightforward in the future, but I can't see any need to think of every worst case scenario people here can dream up.

Andy500

Marcon said:

Andy500 said:

Just go ahead and sign the form =, tell them before it comes back or maybe try and delay it a bit and delay until my Probation period is over. I know I might have more rights after that.

I'm afraid what you 'know' isn't correct. Lying on a job application is almost always grounds for dismissal - and with under two years' service they can dismiss you on pretty much any grounds. Failing to disclose a conviction which has not been spent, in a job which requires a DBS check, is certainly going to come into that category. 

Depending on the nature of the offence for which you were imprisoned, and why your current job necessitates a DBS check, it might be sensible to tell the truth now and see if they are in that open-minded minority who are prepared to give you that elusive second chance.

Thanks. I am not an expert on any of this type of thing - shouldn't have said I know - just thought that after the probation period I might have more rights/be in a stronger position but I hear what you are saying. And I saw you posted another link to a site about DBS Checks - will look at that too.

TELLIT01

You aren't alone in thinking there will be more employment rights once probation is over.  That may have been the case at one time but changes to employment laws over time mean there is comparatively little protection until you have been with an employer for 2 years.

Andy500

TELLIT01 said:

Andy500 said:

They've had no problems with me .......

Unfortunately they are going to discover they have had a problem with you, namely you lied on your job application.  Completing probation will make no difference to employment rights because you still haven't been employed by them for 2 years or more.  I would suggest that even if you had been there over 2 years you could/would still be sacked for gross misconduct.

You're not even in a position to be able to claim that you thought the conviction was spent if there is nearly 2 years until that is the case.

Yeah I know I lied but you have no idea how hard it is to get something decent. I have tried being upfrony but at least 2 jobs that W should have got I didn't and it wasn't hard to work out why. I can't change my record but when people know its like f**k off. I want to work and do well and get my life back on track and be a good Dad - that's all. I was just working labouring on a building site when I got out but definitely had enough of that.

Andy500

Savvy_Sue said:

I'd start by contacting NACRO or similar to get some help with this - if you'd done this before lying on your application it would have been even better. I know it's too late now, but since you may well need help with safe disclosing in future, well worth doing! 

I'd be guided by NACRO on this next bit, but I would also try to find out who in your organisation deals with DBS checks. Whatever you disclose should not be made widely available, but it WILL be known to whoever gets to see the checks, and it may be that person who makes the decision, or it may be someone more senior - whoever it is, the information sharing and decision making should be strictly limited. For example, if it was decided that the initial deception was enough to lead to your dismissal, it would almost certainly be good practice to terminate you without telling your line manager why that decision had been reached.

Your line manager may or may not be involved in any such decision, so while you might think that telling them NOW and hoping they would support your continued employment would be good, it might just mean that your LM is one more person who now knows about your record, when actually they do not need to know ... 

I'll see if I can contact the tomorrow and see what they advise. Well if they are going to sack me I don't really care who knows as it doesn't really matter if I am going

Andy500

Gavin83 said:

Andy500 said:

I started working in a new job back in October. I had been trying to get something decent for ages so was pleased to get it and have worked hard at it. Things seem to be going well and my 6 months Probation period ends in mid April. Last week I was told that they needed a DBS check for me and that this should have been done before but it wasn't. I always hoped that this wouldn't come up as I took a risk when applying for the job and said that I didn't have a criminal record and hoped they wouldn't check. Now that they are asking I am trying to figure out what is the best thing to do. Just go ahead and sign the form =, tell them before it comes back or maybe try and delay it a bit and delay until my Probation period is over. I know I might have more rights after that.

They've had no problems with me and hoping they will keep me on. I don't want to lose a job over something I did before and was already punishedfor nut have found out from before that people dont really want to give people a chance if they have messed up efore.

You are not losing the job for something you did before, you are losing your job for mistakes you continue to make. You will after all lose your job for the lying, not the previous conviction. While you continue to lie this’ll remain an issue.

I think you have to accept that this job is lost and attempt to find another. If you resign now you may even get a reference.

That's a good point. I think my Manager would give me a reference - was told on friday that I was doing a good job and was a hard worker (not that that probably won't matter).

Having a reference would be good but probably won't help me get a decent job if I am honest about my record.

TBagpuss

As others have said, the problem is likely to be that you lied on your application, more than the record itself. It raises the question of what else you have lied about, or might lie about. 
I agree with the recommendation to speak to NACRO as they have much more experience about navigating this kind of issue - if you haven't previously done so, it would probably also be worth your while to talk to them about hep with job hunting if you are dismissed (or resign) from your current job.

Unfortunately until your conviction is spent, it is going to affect your options.

While it isn't what you want to do, if  labouring on a building site or similar jobs are what is available given your record, then it may be that that is what you need to do for now. It's not what you want, but it is is something which lets you be a good dad and support your family, and also enables you to build a reputation as a reliable worker which will stand you in good stead if you start looking for other, 'better' jobs again in future - showing up consistently, doing the job well even if parts of it are hard / unpleasant and sticking with it, are all things which will stand you in good stead later on, and you might be able to look at building your skills to try to become a skilled tradesperson in future 9or, depending on where your interests lie, looking at moving to an admin or other office -based job within the building industry.

Flugelhorn

employer having made the most almighty error in not getting the DBS done, you might just get a good reference out of them.