Make a job offer and pre-employment checks

Work with at risk adults and children

Employers who want to fill certain jobs - such as posts involving regular contact with children or vulnerable adults, eg those who are disabled, should consider whether to request a criminal records check.

This can be done through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosure service in England and Wales and Disclosure Scotland for Scottish employers. Find out about disclosure of criminal records at the Disclosure service website.

Available checks
The CRB currently offers two levels of check to employers registered with it:

• standard disclosures
• enhanced disclosures

Standard disclosure
A standard disclosure lists any:

• spent or unspent convictions
• cautions
• warnings
• reprimands held at national level

This check can be made against applicants for jobs that involve working with children or regular contact with vulnerable adults, as well as some legal and financial jobs.

If requested on the disclosure application form, the check will also show if someone applying for a childcare position is on either of the two government-held lists of people considered unfit for such work.

Enhanced disclosure
An enhanced disclosure has all the same information as a standard disclosure. It also has any other relevant information from local police forces, eg acquittals. This check can be made only for those who do work that involves regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children (under-18s) or vulnerable adults.

Enhanced disclosures are also available for people applying for certain other kinds of work, such as those requiring licences under gaming and lotteries legislation.

Find out about disclosure for businesses in Scotland at the Disclosure Scotland website.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Make the decision
• Making the offer
• References
• Health checks - when are they appropriate?
• Checking qualifications
• Work with at risk adults and children
• Applying for a criminal records check
• Withdrawing job offers where checks are not satisfactory
• Pre-employment checks - data protection issues

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