Do you need to DBS check elves? DBS checks for seasonal workers

‘Elf’ is the ultimate Christmas movie. It’s got the loveable Buddy as our hero – he gets his girl and saves Christmas at the same time – and it brings the family together for some holiday season film fun. It’s also time to ensure that DBS checks for seasonal workers are in place for businesses bringing the magic of Christmas to life. 

That’s what Christmas break is all about. The festive season is a chance to take a break from work responsibilities and spend some down time. We get to embrace our inner child again and enjoy family traditions that only come round once a year, like going to see Santa and his elves.  

DBS checks for Santa and his little helpers 

While sitting on Santa’s knee isn’t part of the ritual any longer, standing next to the Big Man to get a present and a photo taken is still at the heart of the Santa experience. Working in such close proximity with children and vulnerable young people means that Santa most definitely needs a DBS check.  

While Santa most likely requires an Enhanced DBS check, his elves should also undertake a Basic DBS check before they don their pointy shoes. 

Safeguarding in Peak Seasons 

In the rush to bring seasonal staff onboard and in the midst of the key trading season of the year for many businesses, safeguarding can’t be overlooked. DBS checks for seasonal workers is a straightforward way to keep everyone safe. 

Understanding your spend is critical when you’re onboarding new staff – especially temporary workers who will only work with you for a short timeframe. However, seasonal staff is not an area where you can cut corners.  

Looking after your customers  

When working out what staffing levels are required around the busiest time of the year, businesses are measuring their opportunity to optimise on their income while ensuring that they deliver great customer satisfaction for their visitors.  

As well as watching the bottom line, looking after the health and safety of customers is a seasonal essential. DBS checks for seasonal workers will help to ensure that you’re onboarding temporary staff that you’re not simply hiring on face value.

Taking care of (your) business  

Reputationally, hiring the wrong temporary employees could turn one of the most magical times of the year into a real nightmare before Christmas.  

Keeping your customers safe – especially when you’re working with young children – is fundamental to your Christmas customer experience.  

Taking care of your full-time employees is an essential part of hiring seasonal employees. Onboarding short term workers to work alongside your full-time team means that you must consider your team’s health and safety too.  

Running a Basic DBS on all employees can be implemented into your hiring process and helps to ensure that there are no unpleasant surprises when they’re in post. As well as looking after your existing team, DBS checks for seasonal workers could be important for the health and wellbeing of your business.  

Protect your business  

Bringing a number of temporary staff onboard quickly might mean that you have to optimise the application and interview processes. You may be confident that you don’t need to recruit to the same depth as you do with a longer-term or full-term client. However, reducing the amount of time you spend in the recruitment phase can put you and your business at higher risk of a mis-hire.  

That’s not to say that employees on short-term contracts are a threat to your business. You may find a potential ‘employee of the year’ that you’ve recruited during one of the seasonal campaigns. However, short term staff tend to be more transient and can increase your risk of employee theft and gross misconduct   

How do you onboard safely, but quickly?  

Pre employment checks, such as the mandatory Right to Work, will help you establish whether your candidate is eligible for employment. However, running DBS checks for seasonal workers, such as a Basic DBS check, will allow you to run a proper background check on all of your seasonal staff.  

At MyVetting, we’ve transformed the lengthy and paper-based DBS check process into a seamless digital experience that is just as robust as the traditional DBS process.  

Your DBS Dashboard 

With our online DBS portal, you have access to your checks from your own DBS dashboard. That means you can run checks with a quick click.   

The check request is sent directly to your candidate’s device, so they can action the submission then and there. If they’re out and about, we’ll send prompts by SMS text until they submit their evidence.  

Removing the need for in-face document checking, MyVetting Basic DBS checks can be returned within 24 hours, or less.   

Rather than check in with your candidate, you can simply track the progress of your checks through the dashboard. The completed check will be sent to both you and your candidate, allowing you to view the DBS certificate online.   

To make it even easier to complete your DBS checks for seasonal workers, we’ve made the MyVetting process affordable and within easy reach of businesses. 

DBS Checks for Seasonal Workers

For some seasonal roles, particularly the roles that work directly with children, you may need to conduct more thorough background checks – like an Enhanced DBS check.  

An Enhanced DBS Check will include a check on:  

• Spent and unspent convictions  

• Cautions  

• Warnings  

• Reprimands  

And, any supplementary information local police forces consider significant, which may be sourced from the police national computer.  

An Enhanced DBS check is an in-depth criminal record check that provides an overview of an applicant’s criminal history so that you can make informed hiring decisions, even when you are onboarding large numbers of short-term staff.  Your Santa may even require a Children’s Barred List check (List 99).

Does Santa need a DBS check?  

Yes, Santa will need a Basic DBS check and your Santa might be eligible for an Enhanced DBS check. You may even find that some of your elves require an enhanced DBS check in order to manage the queue. 

If you’re ready to implement your seasonal hiring programme and need some help with who needs a DBS check, contact us on support@myvetting.com