The Criminal Record Bureau checks have changed No more CRB now it is the DBS Check; Data Barring Service.
Equity have now created documents that help performers understand the in’s and out’s of this Law as I have tried to do below. Equity also have prepared a sheet that you can give to any potential employer who asks you for a DBS.
Download the Equity papers here:
Disclosure and Barring Employer Intro sheet Sept 2015
Disclosure and Barring Service Fact sheet 2015 Feb15
CRB checks were replaced completely on the 1st March 2013 with the (DBS) Disclosure and Barring Service.
Several large entertainment organisations to whom I supply entertainment to have asked me in the past and very recently for CRB checks on all the entertainers I am to be supplying. Their request is one of frustration as I know they need to be brought up to speed and it will not be the DBS doing it, hence this blog post.
So who checks what now? I did a check my self on the people doing the checks (Verifile) and was horrified to find that this organisation who charge good money to provide your potential employer with information about your legitimacy is still asking for CRB Checks on their checking procedure. Go figure?When I called the number listed on Verfile’s CRB document the answer machine message did give the correct information about the laws change from CRB to DBS, and tells you to dial another number.
So how does it effect entertainers & employers. Entertainers who do not know this information could potentially be turned down work by the employer because you do not have a CRB check when it is not necessary. You lose out. The company unknowably is breaking the law by refusing or denying you of work because you do not have CRB check (now non existent). They lose out. So if anybody ask’s you for this it means they need to read this Blog Post.
The law has changed you no longer need a CRB check and an employer cannot refuse you work because you don’t have a CRB ‘check’ as it no longer exists.
CRB has been replaced with the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service). Unless you are working in one of the areas stipulated in their (DBS) eligible postions guidance, an employer cannot refuse you work for not having that document as it is against the Employment Regulations.
If you want to see the publications for yourself go here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-check-eligible-positions-guidance
So check the areas stipulated list and see if your job tallies up with any of the stipulated area when a client asks for a CRB check as what they really mean is they want to protect the vulnerable and young, which in my book is the only way to go. Check out those stipulated areas here: DBS_guide_to_eligibility_v4
Another note to consider:
Individuals and the self-employed cannot apply for a check directly to the DBS.
“A DBS certificate will be requested as part of an organisation’s pre-recruitment checks following an offer of employment, including volunteering roles and applications for specific licences. If you have been asked to apply for a, or provide a DBS certificate and are unsure how to obtain one, please speak to the organisation making the request.”
CRB was a pain and the new DBS rulings in my opinion this has been a good revamp of the law to where it is needed most.
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Need help with your DBS or have a client that won’t concede on the fact you may not need one for their job?
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