Will Allegations or Pending Matters be Disclosed on a DBS Certificate?
You may be an individual who has applied for a job and has been asked to complete a DBS application. You may be an employer who is seeking to recruit a new employee. In both instances, you may wonder if allegations, or pending matters will be disclosed on a DBS Certificate? This article will explain this.
If you require a Basic DBS Check, you are able to request this yourself. If you need a Standard or Enhanced DBS Check then your employer will need to apply for this on your behalf.
Pending matters or allegations are charges that have been brought against a person. If that person admits guilt, or is found guilty by a court of law, then they become a conviction at that point.
Should I Disclose Allegations or Pending Matters to an Employer?
If you have applied for a job, it is always best to be as open as possible to your prospective employer. Being open with them, shows them that they can trust you, and will prevent any issues further down the line, if you are offered the job and then these allegations or pending matters come to light. The prospective employer ‘could’ decide to discontinue with your application if you disclose this information, but it’s likely that even if they hired you, and they came to light, they would dismiss you at that point. They may continue the application process, because if no charges have been brought against you, then you don’t yet have any issues.
Do Allegations or Pending Matters Show on a DBS Certificate?
Allegations or pending matters would not show on Basic or Standard DBS Checks because you have not yet admitted guilt or have been found guilty. But these may appear on an Enhanced DBS check if the allegations or pending matters seem relevant to the job you’ve applied for. The decision to disclose this will depend on what the offence was, and the job that you are applying for. If for example there were allegations of child abuse, and you had applied for a job as a teacher, then the police would include details of this in an Enhanced DBS Check because this information is relevant to the job, and children need to be safeguarded.
What Should I Do If I am Convicted for a Pending Matter After the DBS Check?
If you’ve received your DBS Certificate, and after that you have been convicted for an offence by admitting guilt or being found guilty, it is your responsibility to disclose this to your employer, regardless of whether you need to serve time. Depending on what the offence is, could have some impact on how your colleagues behave around you, or future references.
To summarise, if you disclose any pending matters or allegations to a prospective employer, this could impact whether they decide to hire you. But honesty is the best policy. It shows that you are open, transparent, and honest and with a maturity to face issues, and this could be perceived positively by prospective employers. If you don’t disclose any allegations or pending matters, and are later found guilty for these, this may result in your dismissal from a job at that point, due to lack of honesty.
