Can a DBS Check Be Inaccurate?
A DBS Check is carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service, it was formerly the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), and these merged in 2012 to become DBS. DBS checks are carried out by businesses and a wide range of institutions to check prospective employees, to ensure they are safe to work with children and vulnerable adults, and to check their honesty and lack of previous criminal behaviour, which could put their business or institution at risk. But you may wonder, can a DBS check be inaccurate?
Errors Can Occur
Depending on what job role a person is applying for, various in-depth checks are carried out on that individual’s past. DBS provide fast and reliable information to employers in the UK, but there is a small possibility that an error could have occurred. It is difficult for anything to claim to be perfect 100% of the time. If a job applicant believes an error has occurred and that the information revealed by the DBS is incorrect, this can be investigated.
As an Applicant What Should You Do if You Think an Error has been Made?
If a DBS check has been done and you feel the information received back is inaccurate, then you can challenge or dispute the findings. You should do this immediately if you think the information is not correct, as the information can take some time to verify. It definitely must be done within three months of a DBS check for them to follow this up. Yourself, the employer, a counter signatory or a licensing authority can challenge a DBS check (but anyone else doing it on behalf of the applicant, must discuss it with the applicant before challenging or disputing it with DBS). The steps to challenge or dispute are as follows:
- Notify DBS within three months of the DBS check about the part you are disputing.
- If the error is about personal information or records, then a DBS Certificate Dispute Form needs to be requested from DBS and completed asap.
- If the error relates to police information held, then DBS will contact the police to ascertain if an error has occurred.
- If you do not believe the information on the DBS is relevant, then sometimes an Independent Monitor will assess the case.
- If it is found that there has been a DBS error, then the DBS information will be amended.
Can a Person Appeal If They Have Been Added to a Barred List?
If you think you have been placed on a barred list and should not be, you can appeal this decision. If your name has been added automatically after a conviction or caution; if you think you have been added to a list after incorrect information; or if you think an error has been made then contact DBS, and a tribunal will take place to see if your claim will be heard, then the decision they make is final.
In summary DBS checks are very thorough and precise, but there are steps you can take, if you think the result from the check is incorrect.
