There are thousands of workers from all over the world arriving to work in the UK every year. Our NHS, transport sector and many other industries would fall apart without a supply of foreign workers. From an employer’s point of view, taking on a worker from outside the UK involves a bit more paperwork. First, they must make sure that the worker is in the UK legally, and has a right to work. They might also want to test their English language skills, depending on the role. Applicants who need to apply for a CRB check, also known as a DBS check, face further complications. DBS checks can only look at a criminal record here in the UK. If someone has only just arrived in the UK, there won’t be any information. Employers have to run checks on international criminal records, and this is where things get complex.
Mix of DBS and International Criminal Records
In many cases, DBS checks look into the past five years of a worker’s past. Many people will have been in the UK for a couple of years, and overseas before that. This unfortunately means getting two lots of checks done. Approach the DBS in the usual way to find out if there are any crimes or cautions registered in the UK. The applicant will then have to get in touch with the overseas police department through their Embassy to ask for the equivalent of a DBS check overseas. There is a long list of foreign equivalents to the police check system on the government website. Give them a call if you’re not sure what sort of checks you should be asking for. Remember that as an employer it’s your responsibility to get the right checks done, in order to protect your customers, clients and business.
Issues with Overseas Checks
Despite problems with DBS checks taking a long time in some areas, performance has been slowly improving. Usually you can expect to wait about three weeks for your DBS certificate to arrive in the post. Factor in having to communicate with a police department overseas, and the checks can take far longer. Many employers also ask for certificates to be officially translated into English, which adds in another few days’ delay. Some countries have very slick systems for providing certificates to overseas citizens. It would also be fair to say that others aren’t as efficient.
Other Implications for Overseas Workers
As well as organising their police checks if required, overseas workers also have to negotiate through opening bank accounts and getting their National Insurance numbers. Often, this can be organised a head of arrival in the UK if there is a firm offer of a job. Bank accounts are trickier, as most banks will want to see proof of UK address to keep on the right side of money laundering regulations. Employees can start work with a temporary national insurance number, but most employers will only be able to pay salaries into a sterling bank account.