Can you Use a DBS Check from one Employer for a New Job?
Many people wonder whether DBS Checks are transferable, from one job role to another? This depends on many things, and this article will explore these in more detail:
Are the Job Roles Identical?
If you are wanting to have a DBS Check and apply for more than one job role, the jobs would need to be identical. For example, there is a big difference between an Assistant working on a Special Needs Van and being a Driver of a special needs van. In this scenario if the police held information regarding someone’s driving history that was relevant to the driving job, that same information may not be relevant to a person who is working as an assistant and will not be driving. If someone just had applied for the role of assistant and requested a DBS Check for that, that check would not be adequate to cover the driving position.
In another scenario, if someone had applied for two positions of a Teaching Assistant and an Accounts Assistant, the Teaching Assistant DBS Check would likely be an Enhanced DBS with Barred Lists to ensure that the applicant was safe to work with children or vulnerable adults; but this would be too detailed a check than what is needed for an Accounts Assistant, so the DBS Check is not one that could be transferred to that role. It would be against the law to have such an unnecessary detailed check requested for the Accounts Assistant role, as that information is not relevant to the job.
At the Company’s Discretion
If a person has applied for an identical job with different employers, it is entirely at the second employer’s discretion as to whether they would accept a DBS Check that was applied for with another company. Factors that they may consider could include:
- Company procedure – it could be in the company procedure that the company will not accept transferable DBS Checks and that applicants for their company must apply for a DBS via their company.
- Length of Time Since the DBS Check – If the DBS was very long ago, the applicant could have committed numerous crimes since their last DBS Check. Unless a candidate has Automatic Updates, the original certificate will not give the latest information.
To conclude, the various levels of DBS Check: Basic, Standard and Enhanced (with Barred Lists) are specific to different job roles, and therefore contain information that is relevant to job roles. It is understandable that jobs that include driving may look at motoring offenses; and that jobs that include working with children or vulnerable adults will include information from Barred Lists to ensure applicants are safe to work with these.
Whether you can use an existing DBS Check will depend upon on:
- Whether the jobs you are applying for are identical, and the employer will permit a DBS Check from an identical job role to be used.
- If the job is not an identical role; or the employer does not permit previous DBS Checks to be used, then you would need to complete a new DBS Check application form.
