DOES A DBS CHECK SHOW DEBT?
A question that has popped up a few times for our team recently is ‘Does a DBS Check show debt?’ Personal finances are understandably something people want to keep private. With DBS Checks being an increasingly common background check, more applicants and businesses are asking whether DBS Checks include financial information.
In the rest of this article, we’ll look at exactly what a DBS Check is and what sort of financial information it might reveal.
WHAT IS A DBS CHECK?
A DBS Check is a criminal record check processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). There are three different levels of DBS Check each of which reveals a different amount of information.
Basic DBS Checks reveal the least and will show unspent convictions and conditional cautions. Standard DBS Checks include spent and unspent convictions, cautions, warnings and reprimands. Enhanced DBS Checks reveal all of the above, as well as any relevant police notes and if needed a search of the barred lists.
As you can see, the information they reveal entirely relates to criminal record data. So, what financial information would be revealed?
DOES A DBS CHECK SHOW DEBT?
In terms of personal finances, a DBS Check will not show any information. So no, debt will not show up on a DBS Check.
However, if an individual has been involved in some kind of financial crime, like money laundering, this would show on a DBS Check (dependent on filtering and rehabilitation periods).
DOES A DBS CHECK SHOW ANY OTHER FINANCIAL HISTORY?
Hypothetically, other types of financial history, such as county court judgements (CCJs), may appear on a DBS Check.
Enhanced DBS Checks contain notes from the police that they consider relevant to the job role being applied for. If someone was applying for a role involving significant control of a business's finances, the police may consider it pertinent for the employer to be aware of this information, even though it wouldn’t normally show up on the check.
If you are recruiting for a role with significant financial responsibilities or which is FCA/PRA-regulated, you can’t rely on a DBS Check to get a clear picture of a candidate. It is expected that you will carry out additional checks to understand a candidate's financial history.
WHAT BACKGROUND CHECKS WILL SHOW FINANCIAL HISTORY?
There are a couple of main background checks that will provide helpful information about a candidate's financial history, namely credit checks and adverse financial checks. Both of these reveal essentially the same information.
Adverse financial checks search publicly available data to reveal information including: CCJ’s, bankruptcies, voluntary arrangements, decrees in Scotland and administration orders. A credit check will look into an individual's credit report. Neither of these background checks will impact an individual's credit score.
DOES POOR FINANCIAL HISTORY AFFECT YOUR EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS?
It definitely can impact your employability, particularly if you work in the financial sector or a role where money is involved. Employers are perfectly entitled to refuse employment if a financial background check reveals bad financial planning, bankruptcy or other negative credit history - if it’s relevant to the job you’re applying for.
SHOULD FINANCIAL HISTORY BE DISCLOSED WHEN APPLYING FOR A JOB?
In most cases, individuals have no obligation to share their personal finances with their employer. But for people working in the financial sector, or in FCA-regulated roles, this information should be disclosed. Employers in these sectors have a responsibility to ensure their staff are financially responsible and will carry out additional checks to determine this. Disclosing this information as soon as possible in the recruitment process would look better than waiting for the background checks to reveal it.
If you need any advice on anything that appears in this article, our team are always happy to help! Give us a call on 01254 355688 or drop us a line at letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk and one of our experts will be able to assist you.