Is it possible to run a BPSS check on yourself? I've been applying for a few jobs in the energy and transport sectors which generally require this level of screening and despite being informed of policies about always getting back to unsuccessful applicants, I'm hearing nothing in return. Maybe this is all par for the course and I'm worrying over nothing but it's making me wonder. I don't have a criminal record and my credit is perfectly stable but I did once have an ex call the police about me and I've no idea if that shows up at all on BPSS.
Does anyone here have experience with background checks?
>>13188 Yes you can - it's called a DBS check, from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If you get a job in a bank/financial services, or want to be a scout leader, teacher or someone working with kids, that's what employers do.
An ex calling the police on you won't go on a record.
Also, employers need your permission and details before they can run one of these checks (and usually you are allowed to get a copy of what they get) so it is very difficult to do behind someones back, and hardly any employers (save the actual government themselves) do these checks before you get the job. It's usually done between getting a job offer ("subject to references") and actually starting.
>>13189 BPSS is apparently a little more extensive than DBS, it'd be nice to see if I can get a copy of the results from a prospective employer. It does look a bit suspect but if I haven't gotten the job I suppose there's no harm.
It's all a bit silly but could certainly be interpreted rather more seriously. We had a messy breakup, I wanted to keep a cabinet I'd made, she refused, so I said that one way or another it's coming with me - even if I have to take a hatchet and carry it off as firewood. Cue her calling the police and telling me that they'd be arriving if I turned up. So on my part it's a bit of pettiness and hyperbole. But from another, more official perspective, there's probably a note next to my name saying 'behaving erractically and threatened to enter an ex-partner's home with an offensive weapon - police on standby'. I feel I should again point out that I have no history of violent or abusive behaviour, but this incident doesn't exactly paint me in a good light. I suppose I'm hoping that the police roll their eyes at that sort of thing when neither party has priors, but who knows.
I've filled in a bunch of forms for these checks so maybe there's a number I can call to get feedback on my various applications. It would be covered by FoI or GDPR wouldn't it?
When I did my DBS for work, I was given a link to an online thing where I submitted my information, then they sent me the DBS certificate which I then gave to the HR dept. to get my security pass.
From what I gleaned from the website this is usually how it works, and no matter how your prospective employer wants to do it, you can/will get the report yourself too.
You can also just get one done on you for fun, but you'll have to pay for it.
I just googled BPSS and it looks like they do the exact same criminal record checks as the DBS, the 'basic disclosure' - which is not much. Mine came back entirely clean despite being convicted of two traffic offences and having a caution for a non-traffic thing.
>>13194 You're probably right. Considering I didn't even know the difference between a spent and an unspent conviction, it's unlikely I'm the sort of person they're looking to weed out. I'll save my worries for if I ever need to apply for SC which is a possibility for infrastructure-related things.
>>13195 I'm told that SC is pretty doable, as long as you're honest and not too much of a wrong-un. DV is much harder and involves talking to/investigating family and friends, among other things.
>>13188 BPSS is literally nothing. It's basically a check to make sure that you are who you say you are and you have the right to work in the UK. It doesn't involve anything that isn't a matter of public record.
>>13196 I have no intention of being dishonest when it comes to screening but I fucked up rather a lot when I was younger. Was a problem drinker for years, smoked weed for a while, even got talked into doing a few 'personal deliveries' over a couple of months. I regret a lot of those years but while it's nothing I could be blackmailed over, I think it would pin me down as someone with a history of irresponsible behaviour so more advanced screening is sadly probably beyond me. Which is ironic because everyone I meet thinks I'm the most buttoned-down techie imaginable, and my current lifestyle is probably the most boring on this entire website.
