Inspection: Part 5 - Disqualifications - Handling information

The information which comes up from a DBS check is highly confidential and should be dealt with under the terms of the Data Protection Act. Settings should register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and have a data protection officer who should explicitly decide what is confidential information and set up strict protocols for who has access to it. The DBS code of practice sets out how they should handle this information.

Once an employer has information from a DBS check, this must also be used correctly. This is where some people can get confused. If a person who had been convicted of a motoring offence 20 years ago were to apply to work in a shop, for example, they would not have to declare their offending history as this conviction would be ‘spent’. Someone could have a long record of criminal convictions, but if they are spent, the employer would not know.

If a conviction is spent it can be ignored after a specified amount of time. The amount of time depends on the sentence imposed, not on the offence. But some convictions, such as murder, can never become spent.

For some sectors, information about spent convictions does show on a DBS check. Childcare is one of them. As explained in previous articles in this series, not all convictions disqualify a person from working with children – but the information may cause you to have second thoughts about employing them.

If someone had a wayward youth and has a history of theft and fraud, do you want them working for you? Conversely, people can have a rocky start but then make positive changes to their lifestyle. Theft and fraud are not disqualifiable offences and therefore don’t prohibit someone from applying to work with children.

It is a criminal offence for a person to attempt to find employment with children when they are barred. If this is the case, the DBS will tell you what to do next.

INTERVIEWS

Making job offers prior to undertaking DBS checks is obviously unwise – if something shows up, you could have to rescind the offer. My advice is to always make it clear that further interviews on suitability may be needed, should any detrimental information show up in a DBS check or on a declaration form (useful for the six disqualifiable offences which don’t show up on a DBS check – see part 3 of this series, www.nurseryworld.co.uk).

Planning how an interview will be carried out is key to ensuring you get the information you need. Poor preparation will lead to poor questions and often not get to the bottom of things. Here are some tips for interviewing someone about detrimental information:

• Make a list of the answers you are trying to obtain before developing the questions.
• Ensure the interview can be done without interruption.
• At the start, explain the process clearly to the interviewee, and what checks will happen afterwards.
• Allow them to tell you about events without interruption. During this time, make notes of anything they have said that needs more clarification, what you need to ask more questions about, or anything you need to challenge further.
• When you have exhausted all your questions, explain again to the person what will happen next. Don’t give any outcomes immediately – it’s a good idea to revisit the interview before making any decision.
• When making a decision, record what factors you took into account in your reasoning.

Key points to consider when making decisions on this type of interview:

• Do you think the interviewee was honest during the application process?
• What was their lifestyle like at the time of the offence(s)?
• How much has their lifestyle changed?
• How do they feel about their previous activities?
• What would they do now if a similar set of circumstances arose?

FURTHER INFORMATION

DBS checks: guidance for employers, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dbs-check-requests-guidance-for-employers

Revised Code of Practice for Disclosure and Barring Service Registered Persons, Home Office (2015), http://bit.ly/1Z0r9k2