AA v Disclosure and Barring Service: [2025] UKUT 041 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision by Judge Smith on 4 February 2025
Read the full decision in .
Judicial Summary
The Appellant worked as a support worker for an organisation that provided support and housing for autistic people, people with learning disabilities and those with mental health needs. She was dismissed following a finding of financial abuse. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) included the Appellant’s name on the Children’s Barred List and Adults’ Barred list, following an referral from the employer, on the basis of three allegations. The first was that the Appellant had stolen money from a named service user on one specific date, the second was that she had attended the place of work and attempted to destroy evidence implicating her in the theft, and the third, that she had breached the terms of her suspension by contacting a member of staff and attending her place of work. On appeal, the first two allegations were upheld but the Upper Tribunal found that the DBS had made a material mistake of fact in respect of the third allegation; the Appellant had not breached the specific terms of her suspension in the manner alleged, or at all. The matter was remitted to the DBS for a fresh decision, and the Appellant was removed from the barred lists pending that decision.