Volunteers, Upgrades and Updates: What can you do with a Basic DBS Check?

Background screening can be a complicated industry, particularly when it comes to DBS Checks. There’s lots of competing legislation that you must consider, so it’s understandable why people can get lost. Hopefully, by the end of this, you’ll have a much greater understanding of what you can and can’t do with your Basic DBS. 

Volunteers 

For most volunteering roles, it would only be a Basic DBS Check that you’d need. Normally this is just for the employer's peace of mind. But getting a DBS Check as a volunteer can be incredibly confusing. There are strict rules that determine what level of check you’re allowed. 

 This gets even more confusing when you consider there is a specific check just for volunteers. It just so happens that a lot of volunteers wouldn’t be able to get this type of check.  

A Volunteer DBS Check is exactly the same as an Enhanced DBS Check in terms of the information disclosed. The key difference is that the DBS charge a significantly reduced fee for volunteers. The rules around whether you can have this type of check are called ‘eligibility’.  

For an individual to be eligible for an Enhanced or Volunteer DBS Check they have to meet certain eligibility criteria. Usually, this is when someone is carrying out what is known as ‘regulated activity’. Regulated activity generally involves caring or supporting someone who due to age, illness or disability cannot care for themselves.  

If you’re volunteering for an organisation involved in this kind of work, it could be the case that you need a Volunteer DBS Check. Normally, the organisation you are volunteering with would carry a check out on your behalf. This is because it would be against the law to allow someone to volunteer without one.  

Employers in these industries need to be sure they are only hiring people who are fit for purpose. Without an appropriate DBS, they cannot check whether an individual has ever been barred from working with certain groups.  

Barring individuals from work is one of the key missions of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The certificates they issue help employers make safe recruitment decisions and help protect the vulnerable.  

Upgrading my DBS

This is one of the most common questions we get asked about Basic DBS Checks. Unfortunately, it’s not something that you can do. It would certainly make our lives easier if they could!  

Each check goes through specific stages. A Basic DBS Check only covers one step of the checking process. This is the search of the Police National Computer (PNC) for any unspent convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands or cautions on someone’s record.  

Every type of DBS Check available must go through the PNC at the first stage of the check. This means that, if you’ve applied for a Basic DBS and then want to apply for a Standard or Enhanced DBS, this check would need to be repeated regardless. A new certificate would also need to be issued.  

If the DBS didn’t follow this process, offenders could very easily slip through the cracks by learning to bypass certain elements of the system. This means that barred or unsuitable individuals could be placed in job roles that put the public at risk.  
 

Update Service  

The Update Service is a subscription service run by the Disclosure and Barring Service for £13 per year. This enables people to register their DBS certificate online which in turn gets updated if anything changes on that person's criminal record.  

Lots of people contact us every day asking if they can sign up for the DBS Update Service. Firstly, the Update Service is managed by the DBS themselves. You can only sign up directly through them, which you can do here.  

Secondly, you cannot sign up for the DBS Update Service with a Basic Disclosure. This is reserved for people who require either the Standard or Enhanced DBS Check.  

This may seem strange but there is some sense to it. There is no legal reason why you would ever need a Basic DBS Check in place. The exception would be certain licensing requirements such as holding a Personal Licence but usually once a check has been carried out, another won’t need to be done again.  

Regulated industries, like health and social care, must have relevant DBS Checks in place for their staff. The Update Service has been designed to help streamline recruitment in these areas. By having a DBS certificate on the Update Service employers can check someone’s criminal record history without having to wait weeks for a new check to be completed. 

You might have as many options with a Basic DBS Check but that doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable. Having a Basic DBS in place demonstrates that you are committed to professional standards, you have nothing to hide and you’re willing to go the extra mile.  

Things like this can set you apart when approaching potential employers or clients.

To get your Basic DBS application sorted in minutes, click here.