Criminal convictions and DBS checks for current staff

When DBS checks are required

DBS checks are conducted for existing staff when:

The University encourages self-disclosure by all staff. If we later find out information that should have been disclosed during the period between re-checking, this will be dealt with as outlined in the procedure for how we respond to criminal convictions of current staff.

Re-checking existing staff

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check carries no period of validity. Disclosures are for use immediately after issue at the point of recruitment for a specific role.

For safeguarding purposes, this means staff requiring a DBS check must be re-checked every three years. Three months before your current certificate reaches this date, we will send a letter advising you of the re-check, with a link to our verification supplier (Verifile) to submit your application.

If you have any questions about DBS, or the re-checking process in general, contact your line manager in the first instance.

Satisfactory disclosure

If your disclosure is satisfactory and contains no spent/unspent convictions or records, the Employee Services Hub team will update your record in MyERP to confirm this. No further action will be required from you until your next re-check is required or your role changes.

Disclosure which requires further review

Where a check returns a recorded offence or other relevant information which has not previously been declared, this will be dealt with as outlined in the procedure for how we respond to criminal convictions of current staff.

Your employee rights

Transgender staff

The University follows the DBS process for confidential checking for transgender applicants in accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004. However, if you are a transgender applicant, you can contact the government’s DBS sensitive applications team to confirm how to proceed if you don’t want to reveal details of your previous identity to your employer.

Providing your reference number for an update check

If you have signed up for the DBS Update Service, you can provide your reference number and confirm that you are happy for the Resourcing team to carry out an update check. The team can then perform a check to see the status of the certificate. The information from this update check can then be recorded as per a new check.

How we use and store DBS information

A copy of the DBS Code of Practice for Registered Persons and other Recipients of Disclosure Information and the University’s Policy Statement on the secure storage of disclosure information will be provided on request. Please see the secure handling of DBS certificates for more information. You can also read more about how we use DBS data.