Supplementary guidance on eligible roles
Updated 22 October 2020
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2020
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Guidance
New legislation has been introduced which allows organisations to apply for a free-of-charge DBS check and fast-track emergency Barred List(s) checks in specific circumstances, where employees or volunteers are needed to help with the response to COVID-19.
These circumstances are:
1. Any health or social care professional who is registered, or is registering temporarily, to assist with the delivery of treatment or care in an emergency, as advised by the Secretary of State, involving the loss of human life or human illness.
This includes but is not exclusive to, a nurse, nurse associate, midwife, medical practitioner, social worker, social worker in Wales, pharmacist, pharmacy technician. It also includes the registration of retired healthcare professionals and those whose training is nearly complete.
2. The appointment of staff to provide a health care or social care service in connection with, or as a consequence of, care or treatment of a person who has (or is suspected of having) COVID-19.
This provision relates to staff appointed to additional positions required to maintain healthcare or social care services in, for example extra ambulance drivers, additional cleaners and additional staff for Nightingale hospitals and in nursing homes.
This criteria also applies to where the temporary backfilling of roles is required to maintain healthcare or social care services, where it is not due to normal staff turnover but is as a result of COVID-19. This does not include recruiting to fill roles where a member of staff has left due to not getting vaccinated, or additional roles to support the longer term, ongoing treatment of long-COVID or other COVID-related illnesses.
Please note: Emergency volunteers as described in Section H of our guidance have not been called upon.
The legislation focuses on providing a pathway for essential workers to get the checks they need to get to work as quickly as possible. As a result, some related roles are not eligible for the free-of-charge checks or fast-track emergency Barred List(s) checks. If it is found that free-of-charge checks are being applied for outside of these set guidelines, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will recover payment and take action in accordance with the Code of Practice where necessary.
The legislation does not cover roles in education, leisure, or commercial sectors even where the roles are related to COVID-19.
The existence of COVID-19 cases in a health or social care establishment does not automatically mean that all staff are eligible for free-of-charge enhanced DBS checks and fast-track emergency Barred List(s) checks.
Example scenarios
Some examples to explain what the legislation does and does not cover are below:
Example one:
Alex has accepted a job as a care assistant at a care home for adults with learning disabilities. He will be replacing a member of staff who is leaving. The care home is otherwise fully staffed. Alex is not eligible for a free-of-charge enhanced DBS check and a fast-tracked emergency Adults’ Barred List check because he is not being recruited to provide social care as a consequence of COVID-19. The care home can apply for an enhanced DBS check with a check of the Adults’ Barred List in the usual way. However, if Alex had been employed because the care home needed extra staff as a result of extra tasks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, such as extra cleaning, or to cover for staff who are off sick with COVID-19 symptoms he would be eligible for a free-of-charge enhanced DBS check and a fast-track emergency Adults’ Barred List check. This is because he would have been employed to provide care as a consequence of COVID-19.
Example two:
Rupal has accepted a job as a care worker providing domiciliary care in the local community. She visits people in their homes and provides personal care, including washing, dressing and cooking meals. Rupal was employed to help meet the increased need for domiciliary care workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She is eligible for a free-of-charge enhanced DBS check and a fast-track emergency Adults’ Barred List check. This is because she has been employed to provide care as a consequence of COVID-19. However, if Rupal had been employed as part of a recruitment drive for other reasons, she would not be eligible for a free-of-charge enhanced DBS check and a fast-track emergency Adults’ Barred List check. This is because she would not be being recruited to provide care as a consequence of COVID-19.
Example three:
Eric is a school nurse. He has accepted a job in a new school and the school requires a new DBS check. Nurses working within a school are eligible for an enhanced DBS check with a check of the Children’s Barred List. The school cannot however apply for a free-of-charge check under the new COVID-19 legislation because he is not being registered specifically to assist with the current health emergency, and he is not providing a healthcare service connected to the care or treatment of someone with, or suspected of having COVID-19. They are also unable to access the fast-track emergency Barred List check as described above. The school can apply for an enhanced DBS check with a check of the Children’s Barred List in the usual way.
Example four:
Joseph is a cleaner working in a gym. Extra cleaners have been employed to make sure the facilities are thoroughly cleaned after each session and the gym is COVID safe. Joseph is not eligible for a standard or enhanced check. He can obtain a basic DBS check in the usual way.
Example five:
Elliot is a lifeguard and has been employed to cover for a member of staff who is absent having had COVID-19. Elliot will be expected to work 4 days a week supervising pool users including children and is eligible for an enhanced DBS check with a check of the Children’s Barred List. Even though he is being employed to cover for someone absent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he is not eligible for a free-of-charge check or a fast-track emergency Barred List check because he is not a healthcare professional being registered specifically to assist with the current health emergency and he is not providing a healthcare service connected to the care or treatment of someone with, or suspected of having COVID-19.
Example six:
Emily works in a recruitment agency that supplies medical staff to hospitals. She has been working to make sure extra staff required in the local hospital have been registered and DBS checked before being deployed. Emily is not eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check. She can apply for a Basic DBS check in the usual way.
Example seven:
Yousaf is a director of a care home. He does not usually provide care to residents as part of his role. He is not eligible for a standard or enhanced DBS check but can apply for a basic DBS check in the usual way. However, if he is applying because he is taking on an operational role, providing care to residents to assist during the pandemic, he would be eligible for a free-of-charge enhanced DBS check with a fast-track emergency Adults’ Barred List check. This is because he is providing a social care service as a consequence of COVID-19. His application should reflect this in the job title, for instance ‘Care Assistant COVID19’.
Example eight:
Monica volunteers for a local charity that has been providing community support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her role includes collecting and delivering prescriptions and doing people’s shopping while they are self-isolating or recovering from COVID-19. If she is handling someone else’s money, she will be eligible for an enhanced DBS check with a check of the Adults’ Barred List. Monica is eligible for a free-of-charge DBS check if she meets the definition of a volunteer. She is not eligible to use the fast-track emergency Barred List check.