A 59-year-old Ryde carer has said he is in ‘financial ruin’ as a result of a nearly 4-month wait for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Kevin Owen has been unemployed since May which he says has lost him his car and led to deteriorating mental health, including anxiety problems and not wanting to leave home.
When Kevin was forced to stop working as a private self-employed personal assistant after a woman he was caring for went into residential care, he had to rely on Universal Credit due to a lack of other employment opportunities.
In mid-May, he applied for an Enhanced DBS check for adult care and childcare which is a record of a person’s spent and unspent criminal convictions and cautions plus any information held by local police that is thought to be relevant for a job.
Employers use DBS checks to find out if a potential employee has a criminal record.
Kevin was told on Tuesday that his DBS check was ‘in the post’. The wait has so far forced him to turn 2 jobs down.
Though he managed to secure an events coordinator role at a Ryde residents’ home 2 weeks ago, he has been unable to start it without the check.
Kevin said he found out the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary had held onto his application for over 90 days, after directly contacting the Disclosure and Barring Service last week.
Lengthy, ‘ridiculous’ waits for DBS checks are a common experience for many people, Kevin claimed. Only last week he was talking to a woman he met in a shop who has been waiting for a check since the beginning of the year, something he described as ‘unacceptable’.
In his recent job interview, a manager told him it was a well known fact throughout the care sector that DBS checks take ‘way too long’.
In response to how the ordeal had affected him, Kevin said:
“It breaks you, to be honest. Luckily I’ve got a really good landlord that looks after me and keeps a roof over my head.
“I’m in financial ruin because of it because I’ve not worked since May and it obviously affects your mental health and gives you anxiety problems – I didn’t want to go out – it’s ridiculous, you jump at your own shadow.”
A spokesperson for the Disclosure and Barring Service said:
“The Disclosure and Barring Service continues to perform strongly in our turnaround times for DBS Enhanced checks.
“In June, the average number of days for an Enhanced DBS check to be processed was 9.9.
“On occasion, some applications can take longer than others as part of the rigorous and essential background checks process.
“Overall police performance is strong, but some applications can take longer to process at the police stage, known as Stage 4.
“Any delays at this stage are primarily due to extra demand for DBS checks and resource shortages.
“DBS continously reviews its processes and monitors performance levels to ensure it is providing the highest possible standards.”
A spokesperson for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said:
“The Constabulary’s Disclosure and Barring Service Unit is responsible for processing pre-employment Enhanced Disclosure Certificates on behalf of the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS).
“They perform a crucial role for policing in ensuring vulnerable people, including children, are afforded protection and are not exposed to individuals who abuse their position of employment to cause harm.
“Their work is undertaken diligently and carried out to an excellent standard, putting the safety of children and vulnerable people at the heart of what they do.
“In the year 2022/23 the team received a far greater volume of requests than had been forecast, and we recognise that the delays continue to have an impact on those awaiting a DBS enhanced certificate to gain employment.
“We are actively recruiting to minimise any further delays.”
