DBS shows criminal record

[GreyBlossom]

It's someone I hope to employ working with children. You don't need a clear DBS I.e. a conviction for fraud wouldn't necessarily exclude you, but we have to do a risk assessment where there is any conviction.

This conviction is for owning an out of control dog. The dog attacked candidate's own son. Dog was destroyed, candidate mortified. My reaction was it sounds awful, but doesn't affect the work.

The colleague I was discussing it with (joint decision required) said "well it might not be relevant, but it could very much speak to who she is".

What do you think?

Yes, it says a lot about the type of person that she is- careless, takes risks around children. I bet she used to comment on the dog before the attack saying things like "oh it's just being friendly". I definitely wouldn't employ her.

I think if its not relevant to the job it should have no bearing on her suitability.

Was she asked the correct questions before you did the dbs check? Did she declare this conviction or lie? That's what would help me decide

As for it showing who she is, there have been so many seemingly loving dogs turn nasty and attack out of the blue. I wouldn't think that someone's pet doing this would mean they're a bad person. She has had her punishment and her son has paid the price also, I think she would have "learnt her lesson" as it were.

It depends. I think she’s done her punishment.
she’s lost her pet and her child was hurt ( maybe scared for life).
i think she’s learnt her lesson, she doesn’t need continuous punishment.

Its totally depends on what the job is. Very hard to generalise.

I think I would need to know if the dog was a dangerous breed that behaved in a predictable way, or whether it was a 'safe' breed that was (for example) antagonised by an over curious/ tactile child.

That would influence my decision.

Has she got another ddog she would be bringing to work? No? All good then imo.

No. Any dog can turn. Even the nicest kid living dog can get old or unwell and snap. She’s been honest.

It would totally depend on the circumstances eg, she knew the dog had potential and was keeping a huge un trained dog around her child v it was a loving family pet that turned due to pain. It would also depend on the job, eg, working in a nursery caring for children but not necessarily making life changing decisions v working assessing risk to children.

Unless she is breeding and selling XL bullies, it's a tragic accident and she is penalised a per the law.

But you need to bring it up at interview sensitively you can't ignore it. She will have a prepared a story to tell.

If she can't look after a dog adequately, I wouldn't want her looking after my children. At all. Or my pets. Shows very poor judgement.

Definitely says who she is.

She has poor judgement. Very poor judgement.

Depends on the job. If it’s looking after people then no.

Yes she declared it, took full responsibility and she gave a really good answer to the safeguarding question.

It was (according to her) a labrador and child wasn't badly hurt. I don't think there's a way for us to check that? Child was 10yo, so she hadn't left a very young child alone with dog.

Unless the job involves children and dogs then I can’t see how it’s relevant ?

I think it depends on the specific scenario and breed of dog. If it was a banned breed, hardly socialised and the child was left unsupervised I wouldn't trust her.

If it was a loving elderly family dog who had gone blind so was spooked by the child cuddling him like he always had then that'd be different.

I just saw it was a Labrador. Did she say how old the dog was and what caused it to snap?

Well that was my initial reaction, but colleague responded more like others here, saying it shows the kind of person she is.

Let's hope candidate is not a MNer this is very recognisable.

Nacro do really good advice on this. Google Nacro dbs risk assessment. It's helpful in ensuring that you think objectively before making your decision whether an offence is relevant.

Labradors can be little bastards- I gave been bitten by two of them, completely unprovoked. Owners said 'he's friendly, don't worry'.

Don't go near them now.

If she was otherwise the best candidate then employ her.

We had a rescue mongrel dog that escaped and attacked a neighbour's dog. We were devastated but made the decision to put the dog down.

The police visited - called by neighbour - but fortunately for us took no action.

If the dog was destroyed she has done the responsible thing. For me, the questions I would need answering would be whether she knowing owned a dog with a history of aggression.

If it was an otherwise friendly family dog that just turned would she have been convicted? A friend had to take her dd to hospital after her dog damaged the DD's hand badly as she removed a chew from its mouth. Absolutely nothing was done about this dog who still happily lives in the family home and dc has leaned an important lesson. Surely for a conviction there needs to have been some obvious negligence or a banned/dangerous breed?

Be careful about using your personal opinion as the basis as to whether or not you offer the job. I suggest you seek advice from HR or ACAS

Eh it doesn't tell you anything about her. Normal placid family dogs do turn. When they get ill, when they get brain tumours, when they get dementia, when they trodden on, when they get hurt etc. It is no indication of how she was as an owner.