Changing jobs

[cat woman]

I have been looking throught the job site, and there is alot of jobs  in the caring profession. It always states at the end:- applicants will be required to provide an "ENHANCED DISCLOSURE" What is this? has it got something to do about your past jobs, or if you have been in trouble with the law because of the nature of the job.  :-)

[Lillabet]

Very simply. If you get convicted or cautioned then you get a criminal record. However smaller convictions don't generally last for ever. There will be a time after which they are considered 'spent' and removed from your record.

In most jobs if there is a criminal record check all that will be revealed is what is on your record (if anything) at that particular time.

However if you take a job which is either 'concerned in the administration of justice' or involves working with vulnerable people - which covers caring jobs as well as teaching etc. Then anything that has ever been on your record needs disclosing. Also whether or not you have ever had allegations made against you that were investigated even if these never led to any charges. This is an enhanced disclosure.

Having something on your record won't necessarily mean you won't get the job - but not disclosing something will pretty much guarantee you don't.

Hope this helps...

[cat woman]

HI Lillabet, thank you very much for your reply, you have explained it very clearly. I had an appointment with my G.P. last night and he did'nt know!!!.. I'm squeaky clean where criminal records are concerned, I feel guilty if I go in a shop and come out without buying anything! Thank You again.

 

Best Wishes   Cat Woman.   :-)

[tetherend]

Hi cat woman.  I had to get an enhanced discloure to do my job.  You can go directly to a police station and ask for one and pay for it, but usually your prospective employer will apply for and pay for.  There's an enormous backlog of requests for this type of disclosure and this is why a lot of folk cannot begin their new jobs. 

[chrisn]

You can apply for one online at www.disclosurescotland.co.uk , i recently had to renew mine (working airside) and it came through in about 2 weeks.

[Lillabet]

Hi cat woman, I'm glad you found the first reply helpful. With regard to how long these disclosures take... As a rule of thumb there are three factors to take into account to give you a rough idea of the length of time to expect.

Firstly time of year. Just before or at the start of the Academic year there are lots and lots of enhanced disclosure requests by universities for students starting courses such as teaching, child care, medicine and nursing. Due to the cost they often won't put in for the disclosure until results have come through (GCSE A level etc) and they know for sure that these people will be doing the course. Disclosure requests can take some time due to increased volume. At other times of the year they are likely to be faster.

Secondly - how many places have you lived. While criminal records are stored centrally on the Police National Computer system the enhanced disclosure process still involves asking all forces in whose areas you have lived or worked for any information that they may have. Some forces are faster than others. But the more responses are needed the longer it is likely to take. If you've only ever lived and worked in one county it might well be pretty speedy.

Thirdly how common your name is. If you are Sarah Smith and there is a Sarah Smith on their records they will need to confirm that it isn't you. This adds on time. The more common your name the higher the chance of there being another person with a similar name out there.

[Lillabet]

I have been through this twice and each time despite knowing that I'd never been introuble with the police I felt nervous waiting for the all clear.

Chances are -due to cost - that a prospective employer will only apply for disclosure after offering you the job. The problem then being that it could take 2 weeks or 2 months to come through and it makes giving in notice difficult to time right. Lots of people end up not giving notice until after the disclosure comes back and that means the whole thing can take a while.

If I were applying for jobs in the caring profession and could afford it I might seriously consider applying for the disclosure myself. After all it would show an employer how committed I was - investing my own money to help speed the process and also that I could use my initiative...

Oh and in my first answer I forgot you also have enhanced disclosure where you may be working in security sensitive conditions - such as airside as chrisn mentioned.