HR Guidance – As an Employer Can I Check Someone’s Criminal Record?

There are certain roles whereby an employer can check an employee’s criminal record and what level of check will be determined by the position, for example healthcare or childcare positions may require an enhanced check. This is not the case for all roles so instead you can ask the applicant to request a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and provide you with the results.
There are 3 types of check available:
- Basic – shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings
- Enhanced – the same as basic with the addition of information held by police considered relevant to the role.
- Enhanced with barred lists – shows if the applicant is on a list of people barred from doing the role.
There is a charge for a DBS check and it can take up to 2 weeks to obtain. Use the tool and guidance provided here to see if you can apply for a check and which one is relevant to the role.