CRB stands for Criminal Records Bureau and DBS for Disclosure and Disbarring Service. The CRB and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) joined forces in 2012 to become the DBS.

Before you can work in the UK as a live-in carer you need to have a valid DBS check. Any agency you work through will send all your details off so that the check can be carried out. Only people with a valid DBS check can work with vulnerable people. Your client, when you start live-in care, is classed as a vulnerable adult and because of this you must have had the check done before you work.

Because of the DBS check organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors can safely recruit applicants. The check also helps in identifying those candidates who are unsuitable for care work.

In the UK it is a legal requirement that employers notify the DBS of anyone who has left or changed their job because they have harmed a vulnerable person. It is an offence for that person to apply for work with either vulnerable children or adults if they have been barred from doing so.

It is also an offence for an employer to hire someone to work with vulnerable clients if they know them to be barred.

Once you or your agency has set the wheels in motion to apply for your DBS check, your criminal record is accessed from the Police National Computer (PNC). This is checked against the list of people who are unsuitable for work with vulnerable children and adults. This list is held by the DBS and updated frequently.

In May 2002 the DOE (Department of Education) compiled a list of people who were considered unfit to work with vulnerable children and adults. This list was originally called the List 99 although it was renamed later as the DBS Adult First and the DBS Children’s List.

The service enables registered companies to check the online system for any staff who will be working with vulnerable children and adults.

So, how long does the check take?

Through the online system the check should only take a few days, although it there is anything which is unclear, it can take up to two weeks before you have your certificate.

If your check comes back clean, your agency can then go ahead and provisionally employ you until the full disclosure had been returned to them by post.

Only once you have received your DS certificate will you be allowed to take any live-in care position.

While it is not a legal requirement that you renew your DBS every three years, most agencies will insist that this is done before offering you further work.

If you are privately employed, you should keep a note in your diary with the due date for renewal. This will save you from having any gaps in your work because it has not been done.

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