Check Type

Criminal Record Checks

Prevent damage to your brand and reputation.
Protect your organisation and clients from employee-related risks.
Comply with legal requirements in regulated industries.

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What kind of Criminal Record Check Do you Require?

VettingGateway offer three types of DBS Checks; Basic, Standard and Enhanced.

Basic DBS Check

Average turnaround time of 4 days.
Track the progress of your candidates application and stay up-to-date every step of the way.

Streamlined online process.
Fast and accurate criminal record checks.

VettingGateway's Basic DBS Check is suitable for those living and working in England and Wales.

A Basic DBS Check provides you with information on any conditional cautions all non-spend convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA). These are not job specific and are available to anyone for any purpose. With an applicants consent, an organisation can apply for a basic check on behalf of an employee.

VettingGateway will update you prior to receiving the hard copy DBS certificate, to confirm if any disqualifying offences appear on the certificate.

Basic DBS Check

Standard DBS Check

Can only be requested by organisations.
Track the progress of your candidate applications and stay up-to-date every step of the way.
Suitable for those living and working in England and Wales.

Ensure candidates are suitable for the role they are applying for.
Fast and accurate criminal record checks.

A Standard DBS Check shows details of spent and unspent convictions, reprimands and cautions held on file. It will also verify that employees or candidates do not have any previous records of wrongdoings such as fraud or financial misconduct.

This DBS check can only be requested by organisations on behalf of applicants or volunteers to ensure that they are suitable for the role they are applying for.

A Standard DBS check is required for lawyers, accountants, prison workers and other positions of high responsibility, specifically any roles that is listed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Standard DBS

Enhanced DBS Check

Can only be requested by organisations.
Track the progress of your candidate applications and stay up-to-date every step of the way.
Suitable for those living and working in England and Wales.

Access Child and Adult Barred Information.
Ensure candidates are suitable for the role they are applying for.
Fast and accurate criminal record checks.

An Enhanced DBS Check provides the same level of detail as a Standard check, but also shows information held by local police forces. For example, if a person has received a fine or penalty.

With an Enhanced check, and organisation can also request to see whether an applicant is listed on the Children's Barred List or Adult First list. To be eligible to access this information, the job role the applicant will work in must involve engaging in regular activity with children and/or vulnerable adults.

Individuals who are on these lists have either been convicted for offences involving children or vulnerable adults, or they have caused harm or shown a risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults at a previous job, or during a volunteering role.

As with a Standard DBS check, only organisations can request this on behalf of employees or volunteers. Most roles in education and healthcare will require an Enhanced DBS check, but other professions, such as roles in leisure and transport may require this level too. Roles which are listed in both the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975) and the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) regulations typically require an Enhanced DBS check.

Enhanced DBS

Overseas Criminal Record Check

Required for a continuous period of 6 months or more
Guidance provided on how to request

Become confident in who you are hiring
Upload the certificate to VettingGateway

Understand if your applicant has had a criminal history whilst living and working abroad.

VettingGateway will look at where your applicant has lived and worked over the time you specify and if they have spent a continuous period of 6 months or more in any one country, we will ask them to obtain a criminal record check from that country. This will then detail any convictions they may have had whilst in that country.

Due to data protection often the applicant has to request this criminal record themselves, information on how an applicant can request the certificate of good conduct and any costs involved can be found here.

An overseas criminal record is always easier to obtain if the applicant is currently in that country therefore where possible before they relocate we would always recommend they obtain this certificate just prior to leaving the country.

You can manage this process within the applicants profile keeping an eye on when they request the certificate and when the certificate is received. This can all be uploaded and saved within VettingGateway, this will also help you to monitor validities so that certificates don't expire.

Overseas Criminal Record Check

Criminal Record FAQs

Why can’t I just conduct social media checks manually?

As Social Media Checks rise in popularity, employers are advised to avoid the temptation to manually check the social media accounts of their candidates. The risks of compliance breaches and human bias are, quite simply, too great. Here are just some of the problems associated with manual Social Media Checks: Breaches in data and privacy laws Inaccurate information – it’s easier than you might think to check the wrong person Human bias and error Cumbersome and time-consuming – it is virtually impossible to scan and collect social media data as comprehensively as a purpose-built algorithm Candidate Experience – a candidate is likely to have a much more favourable view of an employer if they trust that their social media will not be accessed by a human. The impartial nature of using software to conduct a Social Media Check means that employers won’t lose the trust of their new hires during the background checking process.
What platforms are checked?

The individual(s) you invite for Social Media Checks will be given the option to select from a range of commonly used platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Flickr, Medium, Tumblr
What is included in the Social Media Check Report?

At the end of each Social Media Check, you will be provided with a comprehensive but easy-to-read report highlighting any issues uncovered within the 7 key index measures. These include: Extremist groups Swearing & profanity Negative sentiment Hate speech Violent images Potential nudity Toxic language
How long does a Social Media Check take?

The time to conduct a social media check depends on the number of accounts being scanned. A typical Social Media Check takes around 15 – 20 minutes from the point of consent being given to a report being generated.
Are Social Media Checks legal?

With VettingGateway, you can be sure that your checks are compliant and legal. The platform ensures consent is obtained and that all scans are conducted consistently, eliminating any chance of human bias or error, that come from manual checks, which could later lead to disputes.