Police Check Delays for Job/HR problem. What to do without P ing them off?

Sew_Late

In August, my son was offered a job with a national company in security which he really wants and is still hanging on for and is well qualified to do.  The company sent a request to the police which should have generated a password for my son to log in to a website.  It didn't come and he chased up again and again and eventually it was discovered there was a glitch and he and a number of others were then given their passwords.  He did his bit in November and was told it wouldn't be long, etc.  He's constantly been fobbed off by this woman in the HR department of the national company (or seems to be). This woman seems to be saying she can't chase the police and he's got to wait.  He's constantly being told it is a 'backlog' issue and that it will be done but he's got friends that already work for this company and they say that others who were offered jobs after him and have started.  He's been really beaten down by this but doesn't want to lose the job and he knows he's p'd this woman off with repeated asking.  The problem does seem to be a police problem.  Anyone experienced this and have any advice or work in HR as he doesn't want to lose this.  In the mean time, he's not working so living off the money he was saving for his first home. 

DE_612183

Have you got the contact details of the person who offered the job ? Maybe they can apply some pressure if HR are going by their book.

I've offered a role in the government in early october but didn't start till just before christmas ( and I didn't have to go through the highest security checks ).

elsien

If he’s waiting for the DBS check then that is waiting for the police to get back and it will take as long as it takes. It’s not unusual for some to take longer than others for any number of reasons. There’s not a lot that HR can do to push that process along. Six weeks tends to be the minimum amount of time and it can be longer.
if he’s not working can’t he sign on for universal credit unless his savings are too high? Or take a temporary job somewhere- bar work or something? 

Sew_Late

DE_612183 said:

Have you got the contact details of the person who offered the job ? Maybe they can apply some pressure if HR are going by their book.

I've offered a role in the government in early october but didn't start till just before christmas ( and I didn't have to go through the highest security checks ).

Sadly not - it was a panel interview.  Thank you for replying. 

Sew_Late

elsien said:

If he’s waiting for the DBS check then that is waiting for the police to get back and it will take as long as it takes. It’s not unusual for some to take longer than others for any number of reasons. There’s not a lot that HR can do to push that process along. Six weeks tends to be the minimum amount of time and it can be longer.
if he’s not working can’t he sign on for universal credit unless his savings are too high? Or take a temporary job somewhere- bar work or something? 

Thank you for replying.  He's got too much money as he was saving for a house which makes it all the more depressing.  Lucky it's me he pays rent to but he does still have to pay.  I'm just gutted for him and because all this started in August last year I suppose I feel he's been more than patient.  He's been doing proof reading and editing for a publishing company and the rate sounded ok to him to start with but he's actually working for peanuts because it takes quite a long time to make the corrections. 

Marcon

Sew_Late said:

In August, my son was offered a job with a national company in security which he really wants and is still hanging on for and is well qualified to do.  The company sent a request to the police which should have generated a password for my son to log in to a website.  It didn't come and he chased up again and again and eventually it was discovered there was a glitch and he and a number of others were then given their passwords.  He did his bit in November and was told it wouldn't be long, etc.  He's constantly been fobbed off by this woman in the HR department of the national company (or seems to be). This woman seems to be saying she can't chase the police and he's got to wait.  

'This woman' is right, I'm afraid.

Sew_Late said:

He's constantly being told it is a 'backlog' issue and that it will be done but he's got friends that already work for this company and they say that others who were offered jobs after him and have started.  

That may be true (although few things lose in the telling, so I wouldn't assume it's gospel!), but there could be a number of reasons why that's the case - not least which police force(s) are involved, as timeframes vary considerably from one force to another.

If he was only able to 'do his bit' in November, and the expected timeframe is about 8 weeks, then hopefully there should be some action soon, bearing in mind that Christmas and New Year will inevitably have played their part in delaying things.

TELLIT01

Once the request is with the police it really does take as long as it takes, and there is nothing he can do to speed up the process.  If you think that is a long wait, my nephew applied for a job with a Government department which requires positive vetting.  He applied in February last year and will finally start the job either later this month or in February.  Checks take time, sometimes a lot of time.

EnPointe

if this is DBS disclosure and/ or Security and anti-terrorist vetting  it takes as long as it takes  , and   peopel who applied at the same  time  may only have an addressin one relatively quiet police service  in the relevant period , where someone who has moved between  Force areas and in some cases between divisional areas within forces  in the  relevent time pareiod may havem ultiple police forces  to pass  through at this stagein the  disclosure process

General_Grant

Sew_Late said:

In August, my son was offered a job with a national company in security which he really wants and is still hanging on for and is well qualified to do.  The company sent a request to the police which should have generated a password for my son to log in to a website.  It didn't come and he chased up again and again and eventually it was discovered there was a glitch and he and a number of others were then given their passwords.  He did his bit in November and was told it wouldn't be long, etc.  He's constantly been fobbed off by this woman in the HR department of the national company (or seems to be). This woman seems to be saying she can't chase the police and he's got to wait.  He's constantly being told it is a 'backlog' issue and that it will be done but he's got friends that already work for this company and they say that others who were offered jobs after him and have started.  He's been really beaten down by this but doesn't want to lose the job and he knows he's p'd this woman off with repeated asking.  The problem does seem to be a police problem.  Anyone experienced this and have any advice or work in HR as he doesn't want to lose this.  In the mean time, he's not working so living off the money he was saving for his first home. 

All eggs in one basket.
He really should be looking for something else to stop his savings being depleted.