I’m a Business Owner – Should I DBS Check my Employees?
DBS Checks are enormously valuable in ensuring that children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded against, to ensure that no-one who has committed violent, abusive, neglectful, or sexual crimes in the past, works with these vulnerable groups in society.
DBS Checks though can be of vital importance to business owners, they can ensure that the staff you hire, are trustworthy, and this can protect your customers, your staff, yourself, and your business from issues. Having your staff DBS checked, can prevent things like fraud, theft, violence, and liability.
If your staff will be conducting regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults, they would need an Enhanced DBS Check. If the workplace includes legal or accounting services, then your staff may need a Standard DBS Check. Even if your workplace does not involve this, it can still be a sensible thing to get Basic DBS Checks done on staff, to protect the organisation.
Benefits of DBS Checks for Your Business
- Trustworthy Staff – By conducting DBS Checks, this gives you more peace of mind, that you can trust the employees you hire; and that they can trust one another.
- Due Diligence – No Liability – When you DBS Check your employees it shows that you’ve done due diligence in your recruitment procedure, in trying to ensure that you don’t hire a known criminal. This would reduce the likelihood of being liable for claims of negligence.
- Professional Company Image – By being a company that states their staff are DBS Checked, it allows customers and other businesses know, that you are a reliable and trustworthy business, and that you try to minimise risk to everyone your business interacts with.
- Reduces Fraud – Over 70% of fraud in businesses is as a result of the employees. You need to know that your employees are trustworthy and don’t have a criminal background with a propensity to commit fraud. Having a DBS Check would allow you to check for this.
Things You Should Know About DBS Checks and Employees
You do need to ensure that as an employer, you are following the correct laws, regarding asking your employees to undertake DBS Checks. The following advice will help:
- Request consent to carry out DBS Checks. The checks are sent to the address of the individual who has completed them.
- Request the right type of DBS Check according to the job role, the person will be doing. You can’t get an Enhanced DBS Check with Barred List for every member of staff; a person who will be doing regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults, can have this type of check. It is against the law to request an Enhanced Check if this is not needed for the job.
- For some jobs it is against the law to refuse someone the job on the grounds that they have a spent conviction; but it will depend on the job role. This would not apply for serious crimes, and jobs with children or vulnerable adults.
- Consider applicants with previous offences carefully. If someone does disclose that they have a prior conviction, try to understand how long ago it was and what was the crime? Is it relevant to the job they would be doing for you? Have they lived their life as an upstanding citizen ever since that crime? There is a Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, and this can protect some people who have previously committed crimes. Be careful you don’t discriminate against them and get sued.
As well as protecting the most vulnerable people in society from serious criminals, DBS Checks can help employers know that they have employed the right and best person for the job. They are definitely well worth doing to minimise risk.
