If you work for yourself, perhaps as a tutor, a therapist, a tradesperson, or as a contractor, sooner or later, it’s likely that a client will ask for a DBS check. It’s the simplest way for you to disclose information related to your UK criminal record, and is a handy way for them to manage risk.
The key is matching the right level of check to the actual duties, and knowing who is allowed to request it, here are a few issues to be aware of, and how you can navigate the various bureaucracies involved.
What Self-Employed Need to Know About DBS Checks Before Starting Work?
Which Levels Exist (and Who Can Request Them)?
There are three levels of DBS check. A Basic check lists unspent convictions and cautions; pretty much all freelancers can request this themselves online, as it’s not controlled by any regulations.
A Standard check includes spent and unspent convictions, cautions and reprimands. An Enhanced check goes further: it can include relevant information held by local police and, where the work is “regulated activity”, a check of the children’s or adults’ barred list.
Only the Basic level is self-service. Standard and Enhanced checks must be requested by a legally authorised organisation, typically your client, an agency, and processed via a registered umbrella body such as Personnel Checks, because they’re taking responsibility for seeing more sensitive data.
If a client wants an Enhanced check, ask them to confirm why the role qualifies, and make it clear that they will likely have to sponsor the application.
What Entitles You to a Specific Check?
Job titles and contract labels don’t decide eligibility; the actual day-to-day responsibilities do. Regular one-to-one teaching of children, providing personal care, or working within certain health or social-care settings can justify Enhanced (and sometimes barred-list) checks.
Office-based consulting, remote design work, or occasional site meetings usually don’t, unless they involve handling particularly sensitive information. It’s reasonable to ask a client which legal criteria they’re relying on, before you hand over extra personal data without any safeguarding mechanisms in place.
Using the Update Service
Once you’ve gone through the bother of getting a DBS check done, if you suspect that you’ll continue to need that check, consider joining the DBS Update Service.
With your consent, this means that future clients can confirm online that the certificate is still applicable, for the same role level and workforce type (for example, “child workforce” Enhanced).
It won’t upgrade a certificate, or apply different criteria for different workforces, but it saves repeating like-for-like checks and speeds up getting started with contracts and freelance work.
What Shows Up?
Basic reveals only unspent records. Standard and Enhanced can disclose spent matters, but some old or minor entries are filtered and won’t appear.
Enhanced will also include a search of locally held police information, that a chief officer at that station believes is relevant to the role, while barred list checks will also look to see if you’ve been barred from working with a specific workforce.
DBS checks as a self employed person can feel like a bit of a hassle, but they needn’t be too complicated. By checking in on the relevant regulations in your industry, and using some helpful services, you can navigate this realm of safeguarding without too much difficulty at all.
