Potential employer wants me to pay for the check

[MrsFiddymont]

As the title says, they will take the money from my first week's pay meaning I work for two days "free". I have a current dbs check from current employer but they will not accept this. Dbs nor cost were mentioned in the ad, feel a bit backed off they want me to pay them to work for them iyswim. Is this the norm now?

I've just applied for a DBS and it was £8. The charity it's for will be refunding me. So should your employer.

I haven’t heard of that before and it would piss me off too and would indicate to me that they probably aren’t very good employers.

I think it's common in care work, as they have such a high staff turnover.

Thank you for your replies. The company charge £100 for this.

Pretty sure if it takes you below minimum wage then it's illegal?

An enhanced DBH costs £44!?

£100 is way too much, I've just paid for one and it was about £43 ish. It's normal for different organisations to insist on a new one.

Once you get it subscribe to the update service - it's £13 and might save you having to pay for it again.

That's interesting, it is minimum wage.

£100 for a DBS check?! Do they have a special one that goes through quicker? I've never known anyone to charge that much.

Of course they want an up to date one, they all want an updated one tbf. There are quite a few companies who expect the (potential) employee to pay for it, they also usually have a high staff turnover, as happens in care work.

Why is it £100?? I'm sure I've only paid £20ish in the past (when I was arranging 'private' work for former employers, everytime I've had a contract my employer has paid)

Few points - DBS checks aren't transferrable. That's because the certificates are out of date the day they were printed - you could in theory go out and commit horrendous crimes the next day and that would never be reflected on a certificate which has already been printed. Asking for a new one is the right thing to do.

An enhanced check with barred list, which is the type of check you'll need for care work, is £44. I'd be questioning where the £100 figure comes from.

The company do not have to foot the bill and it's legal to make the candidate pay. Not sure about the minimum wage point though, that needs investigating.

No idea why it's £100, wonder if the are making a profit on this.

Pink there are two types: standard and enhanced. I think Standard is something like £35 (and can be back within an hour sometimes) and the Enhanced is around £44 or so and can take weeks.

Also there is no "fast track" option for DBS. So it's not that by paying a bit more you can get it turned around a a few days.

Are they doing other pre-employment checks like credit referencing? If the cost is purely for DBS then it's too high. Definitely register with the Update service if you move jobs often, it's a much better system but one which the government have been very poor at telling people about.

MrsFiddy check with them. Is it £100 they're asking for the DBS or are they including other things within the £100? I know one care and nursing agency that charges you for uniform (tunic) and care certificate (well, their equivalent) when you sign up as well. Could they be doing that?

No credit referencing just the check.

Silene Yeah, I didn't think there was!

£100 is purely for the db s check.

I can't see how they'd get anyone working for them if it is just for the check!

They are profiting.

That's because the certificates are out of date the day they were printed - you could in theory go out and commit horrendous crimes the next day and that would never be reflected on a certificate which has already been printed

Yes but if you had done it since the internet was around a simple google would find your name! I've never quite understood this thing of not accepting an in-date DBS check.

Thank you everyone. I will question the cost, offer an £8 check and take it from there, I think!

They’ll probably give you some guff about the cost difference being the cover “administration” on their end

This would be a big red flag for me...

I've never quite understood this thing of not accepting an in-date DBS check.

it's also partly because the DBS disclose only the information needed for that particular role when it comes to spent convictions. So for example you'd need an enhanced check for both working in a nursery and as a carer for the elderly. If someone had been cautioned 25 years ago for fiddling an elderly relative out of money, that might not be relevant for working in a nursery, but the police might decide to disclose it for a carer's role. No two jobs are exactly the same and the employer has to make 100% sure they are recruiting safely. Easiest way to do that is with a new DBS.

Update definitely solves a lot of those issues though.

Speak to ACAS. Also consider contacting the consumer radio show You and Yours. Unbelievable they'd charge more than the value.