DBS Overview

A DBS check may be required in one of the following scenarios –

1. New employee
2. Re-check of an existing employee
3. Change of activity for an existing employee

A DBS check is a record of an individual’s convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings and can also include intelligence held by the UK police that relates to that individual and their suitability for a position working with children and/or vulnerable adults.

Please note that an Enhanced DBS Check can include information on both spent and unspent convictions.

Certain minor and old offences will be filtered from DBS certificates, please visit the government DBS guidance for further details.

The University of Warwick has a contract with an external registered body, First Advantage, which processes DBS checks on our behalf.

DBS Process

Step 1 – Pre-submission

Please review the eligibility criteria to determine whether, in principle, a DBS check is required and, if it is, which type.

Examples of work which fall under the definition of regulated activity and are therefore eligible for an Enhanced DBS with a barred list check can be found in the University’s Eligibility for DBS checks table.

The table is not exhaustive; please review the DBS's list of eligible posts if you believe that your position may require a DBS check but the activity concerned is not listed in the University table.

If you need further advice on eligibility for DBS checks, please contact HR via dbs@warwick.ac.uk.

Step 2 – Submit a ‘DBS Eligibility Assessment Form’

Once you have reviewed the information above and determined that your position is eligible in law for a DBS check, you should complete the online DBS Eligibility Assessment Form. HR will assess and confirm the eligibility and level of check required based on your submission. You will then be informed if the role is eligible to request a DBS check and at what level.

Step 3 – Update your job description details

If HR inform you that the role is eligible to request a DBS check, then update the job description to include this requirement.

If you are advertising the position, ensure that you detail the requirement for the successful applicant to undergo the relevant DBS check on the HR-R3 and state the level of check.

Step 4 - Arranging a DBS check for the individual

Please note: If you are appointing a new entrant into the position, they already have a DBS check at the required level that they are bringing from another organisation, and they use the DBS Update Service, please contact dbs@warwick.ac.uk for advice on how to proceed.

Once you have identified the individual who requires a DBS check, complete the DBS Eligibility Assessment Form as well as any other relevant documentation (e.g. New Offer Form).

Once HR receives the completed DBS Eligibility Assessment Form, a member of the HR team will:

• Check that the role is eligible in law for the check that you have requested and that the position has been updated with the requirement in SuccessFactors.
• Make arrangements for the individual’s original identity documents to be checked in accordance with the DBS’ identity checking guidelines, and for them to complete the online DBS check form.
• Request that our external supplier, First Advantage, initiates the DBS check on our behalf and receive and record the result.
• In the case of a recruitment process, ensure that the successful candidate’s written offer of employment is conditional upon the satisfactory outcome of the DBS check.