When Can You Ask For A DBS Check?

Often we are asked by businesses whether they can introduce DBS checks for new staff, usually due to concerns surrounding both past and current convictions. For example, I have been asked recently whether checks can be carried out to ensure there is no history of theft for employment in the retail sector.

Employers are not generally entitled to full disclosure of previous convictions and cautions. The law enables convictions to become 'spent', and a convicted person to become 'rehabilitated', at the end of a specified rehabilitation period (dependant on the offence etc.). These protections apply to:

1. Questions that you can ask candidates; and
2. Information that can be disclosed in a DBS check.