CRB checks - who pays?
Susan_A1951
Posts: 1,081 Forum Member
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A question from a friend. She is urgently job seeking at the moment and has come across several opportunities where she is being asked to pay £44 up front for the cost of a CRB check. As far as I can tell - no guarantee of a placement.
Is this usual? She is also being told that the check needs to be carried out every time through different agencies. So a payment every time.
I thought that a CRB check lasted for at least three years and was acceptable by any potential employer. So - is this a new scam - or a genuine requirement?
She has worked in care homes and with children for many years in the past but is returning to work after nursing a sick relative.
Is this usual? She is also being told that the check needs to be carried out every time through different agencies. So a payment every time.
I thought that a CRB check lasted for at least three years and was acceptable by any potential employer. So - is this a new scam - or a genuine requirement?
She has worked in care homes and with children for many years in the past but is returning to work after nursing a sick relative.
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When I say scam its not an actual scam but it is a massive rip-off,
I head up a charity and we are actually charged £62 if the employee is a paid employee or someone who is a trainee ie. not yet qualified (we are a team of counsellors and psychotherapists). We're only charge the admin fee of about £12 for qualifed volunteers. As an organisation we pay for anyone that's qualified but as we are doing the placements a favour they have to pay.
I would only ask for a CRB check once we are certain we are taking them on (or at least we are unless the CRB check comes back dodgy). I'm not sure whether they should expect their interviewees to pay or not. But it's not a scam, they do need one for every different place. But I don't think it's a CRB check any more, it's called something else. So you've reminded me I need some new forms!
CRB's are now DBS's - see link
https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview
If you think about it they couldn't be valid for three years because think how many offences a person could commit in that time
where I work, some people, depending on their job role, need CRB checks and this is paid for them. Other places - especially care homes and organisations providing domiciliary care services, make the employee pay for it themselves.
I can sort of see why agencies won't pay the cost as there is no fixed contract and someone could do just one shift and then never work for them again, but for a fixed hours contract.......no way.
Unfortunately though, it does seem that more and more companies are making the employee meet the cost.
Then I got a paid job and that company didn't pay, I had to pay for it but it was only when it was confirmed that I had the actual job..
At my current place I paid the £25 online and once I got the certificate, they reimbursed me thorugh payroll.