Should cleaners be DBS checked?

Absolutely! 

It is important that you know who is on your premises

Even companies adhering to a strict ‘clear desk’ policy, may unwittingly allow access to confidential information when emptying bins, cleaning meeting rooms, or holding after-work meetings.

Because cleaners are not directly employed by our clients and can arrive after business hours, the normal procedure clients would undertake for recruiting directly – factors such as references or background checks – do not apply.

We feel that it is vital for our clients to be able to trust the cleaners who come into their businesses, so we make sure we undertake these checks ourselves, to give our clients that extra peace of mind.

What is a DBS Check?

DBS is the acronym for the Disclosure and Barring Service, which helps employers to make safer choices in the recruitment process. There are other background checks too, for example, verifying identity, qualifications, work history and references.

Screening employees is becoming more common, and not just for roles involving vulnerable members of society such as children or the elderly.

Business owners should know who is coming into their businesses and for this reason more companies are obtaining DBS checks for a wider range of employees, including drivers, temporary staff, and of course, cleaners.

Here at Crystal Clean Service, our client relationships are very important to us so we make sure we carry out DBS checks on all our cleaning staff. This means our clients can trust that we have hired the right people, without worrying about it themselves.
So, what exactly does a DBS check involve?

1. Basic check. This only reveals unspent convictions (some convictions are considered to be ‘spent’ and so no longer on the individual’s record after a certain period of time).
2. Standard check. This reveals both spent and unspent convictions, along with cautions, warnings, and reprimands.
3. Enhanced check: This includes everything in a standard check plus police notes held on file.
4. Enhanced check plus barred lists. This level reveals whether that person is on the DBS list of people barred from being employed in specific roles, such as working with children or vulnerable adults.

There is no expiry date on a DBS check. However it is standard practice to renew a DBS check every three years depending on the environment and the industry you work within.

You can find out more on how to run a DBS check, how long it takes and the cost, along with more information about what is involved on the UK Government website.

The information shown on a DBS certificate is accurate when the check is carried out, so for new employees who already possess DBS certificate, we will run a new check to make sure that nothing untoward has happened since their certificate was issued.

We go that extra mile to offer our clients another layer of protection for anyone we send into their business.

We have spent a long time building Crystal Clean Service’s reputation as a trustworthy and efficient professional cleaning service, and that reputation rests on the integrity of our employees.

The Importance of DBS Checks for Cleaners

Our determination to put that extra effort into our hiring policy by running DBS checks on Crystal Clean Service employees provides the following benefits for our clients:

• Reduces the risk to your business
• Demonstrates our commitment to honest and transparent working practices
• Gives clients peace of mind that we have stringent procedures in place with thorough background checks
• Helps us to build long-lasting client relationships
• Builds trust within the Crystal Clean Service team

• Ensures compliance with regulations, for example cleaning within schools.

Good professional cleaning services like Crystal Clean Service will respect your business and its assets.

We do this by ensuring you can trust the people we send into your place of work.

Hiring cheap or self-employed cleaners may not bring the same peace of mind and can cost a lot more in the long run when business owners find out the hard way that their cleaners are untrustworthy.

The Advantages to YOU of Hiring a Professional Cleaning Company that Runs Employee DBS Checks

Although you may feel that a commercial cleaning company will be more expensive, what price is peace of mind?

Making sure that the cleaners coming into your business already have DBS certificates comes with the following advantages:

1. Upholding the Law

It is good to know that your cleaners have been cleared to come into contact with the general public or those more vulnerable in our society and that there is no danger of contravening regulations or legislation.

As an employer, you have to be sure that you comply with any regulatory requirement for your type of business.  It is, therefore, good to know that your cleaning company takes the same view.

You don’t have to worry about cleaners being legally entitled to work in this country when the professional cleaning company has already performed the necessary right to work checks.

• Reputation is everything

The road to building a successful business is long and hard.

Therefore, a good business reputation is worth its weight in gold.

However, it can be destroyed in a matter of minutes.

Making a mistake when hiring a cleaner can cost a business far more than just the recruitment cost. 

Avoid this mistake by using a reputable cleaning service that offers an extra layer of protection via DBS checks.

• Protecting employees

Every employee is entitled to feel safe while performing their duties, and this also applies when anyone comes on to the premises who is not directly employed by the business, like cleaners.

If someone has been prosecuted for harassment, violent behaviour, physical/racial abuse or causing an affray for example, cleaning companies will reduce the risk to their clients by not hiring that person.

• Honesty is the best policy

Many people lie on their application forms or CV.

This can be instances of hiding periods of unemployment by lying about dates or inflating job titles to make their role sound more important.

Cleaning companies willing to go that extra mile for their clients will verify that what they have stated is true, and that they are not hiding a criminal offence or time spent in prison.

Should Cleaners be DBS Checked? Why it Matters

Commercial cleaning companies know that they can be offered contracts in a variety of different working environments.

The businesses environment really matters when obtaining DBS checks for cleaners.

Hospitals, schools, care homes all required a higher level check because cleaners:

• Come into contact with vulnerable members of our society
• Can be pricy to confidential information, even accidentally
• Can have access to drugs and/or expensive equipment

In other environments, such as retail, office, or industrial workplaces, there is more of a risk of theft of property and confidential information than from harming vulnerable people, so a basic DBS check is often enough.

Our clients need assurances about who is being sent to their business premises and that their business is not at risk from theft or violence.

It is, therefore, good policy for any company offering professional cleaning services to DBS check their employees and provide written information or confirmation to clients.

Although not every commercial cleaning company will perform DBS checks because of the expense, at Crystal Clean Service it is standard procedure that we carry out the check on every single one of our employees. 

We do this for three reasons:

• Transparency and honesty are at the heart of what we do
• We look after our employees, so it is important to us that team members can trust one another
• We have worked hard to win the trust of our clients – giving them peace of mind is crucial to the success of Crystal Clean Service

So, when you ask us the question, “Should cleaners be DBS checked? “, we can reply emphatically, “Absolutely,  and all ours are!”  If you would like to know more about our services, then call us today on 01144010550 or email info@crystalcleanservice.co.uk