What to do if you fail a DBS check 

What to do if a candidate will fail a DBS check 

When you are carrying out a DBS check on a job applicant or volunteer, you will want to be sure that you can count on them to be right for the job role, above and beyond the personal specification. What is your perfect candidate will fail a DBS check? Or, are you worried about your career progression if you think you might fail a DBS check?

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks and, more recently, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks were put in place to ensure that safeguarding standards for current staff members, clients, pupils and customers could be maintained. This is especially true for vulnerable groups; roles that include working with vulnerable adults and children.  

DBS – Pass or Fail? 

While completing a DBS check is a stipulation for many roles and a well-accepted standard of employment background check, it can still be surprising to discover that you cannot fail a DBS check. A DBS check is not a check that can be passed or failed.  

A prospective employer will not have to make a recruitment decision on hiring a candidate that fails a background check because a DBS check report is more nuanced than pass or fail.   A DBS check is simply a record of an individual’s criminal history to assist HR professionals and companies when making a hiring decision.  

In fact, there are three levels of DBS check, with some not actually reporting on certain cautions or spent convictions. While this might seem to contradict criminal record checks and checking for criminal convictions, DBS checks must also adhere to the Rehabilitaion of Offenders Act 1974. This means that certain levels of pre employment screening are not legally obligated to reveal an individual’s entire criminal history. 

What Types of DBS checks are there? 

There are three levels of DBS checks: 

• Basic DBS Checks 

• Standard DBS Checks 

• Enhanced DBS Checks (With or Without Children and/or Adults Barred Lists Checks) 

 

What Does A DBS Check show? 

A DBS check returns information on an applicant’s criminal history. It does mean that an applicant with a criminal conviction could still be hired but employers will be able to make a balanced decision based on the role in question and the nature of the offence on record.  

Depending on the level of check, you will be able to review spent and unspent convictions. However, it is important to note that only a certain amount of information can legally be reported on and that the level of DBS check required is decided centrally – at Government level. This means that, as an employer, you are not able to request a DBS check for a role that does not require one.  

Anyone can request Basic DBS checks to be carried out. An individual can also carry out a Basic DBS check on themselves. 

What does a Basic DBS check show?

A basic DBS check shows only cautions and convictions that are unspent. It will not disclose spent cautions and convictions. 

Standard or Enhanced DBS checks  

A Standard DBS shows spent and unspent cautions and convictions, along with reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer. These records are not subject to filtering.  

An Enhanced DBS shows spent and unspent cautions and convictions, along with reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer.  The local police force may release additional information that they hold about the applicant.  

Enhanced DBS checks may also include checks of the Adults and Children’s Barred List, also known as List 99. These checks are routinely requested for roles that work directly with vulnerable adults and children or that include regulated activity as part of the role.  

These checks can also give an indication of convictions or cautions that may support in the recruitment process, however the decision to hire rests with the employer.

Do I recruit someone with a criminal record?

A DBS check that has returned with cautions and convictions will form the backdrop to your recruitment process for some candidates. You may already have policies in place, and you will need to review against any risk assessments that you have.  

For some employers, they actively want to give rehabilitated offenders the opportunity to secure a role and move forward. There may be limitations of the types of jobs that they can do. 

For other employers, they will measure the relevance to the role of the criminal conviction and make their decision accordingly. This can be relevant with convictions for fraud in roles that require honesty and transparency.  

For certain employers, a criminal record of any kind will disqualify the candidate from progressing through the recruitment, regardless of the nature of the offence, the time since the offence or any other mitigating factors.  

 

What do I do if an applicant has a criminal record? 

There are steps to follow if the background check shows information that means you would like to suspend the hiring process. This can be soul-destroying for the candidate, so it is key that this process is handled correctly.  

The first thing that you are legally obliged to do as an employer is to inform your job applicant and share a copy of the report with them.  

All candidates have the right to dispute the report, using a DBS dispute form. Your candidate may wish to provide information and/or context to support their recruitment, which may be used in further conversations about hiring decisions. 

The final decision on whether to hire applicants does lie with the company.