Is this normal? I’ve held 12 jobs and never had to pay for a DBS check. Surely it’s the company who want it, so it’s the company who should pay for it? She’s been working there over 2 months now. They’re trying to charge her £76. She’s on minimum wage and I find it a bit ridiculous. Also put into her contract that they want her to pay for all the training they’re saying that she needs, if she was to leave the company. She doesn’t even need half the training and wants to even do it.
She’s looking for something else and she’s going to leave. But in the mean time does she have to pay this?
27 comments
I’ve had loads of DBS checks and never had to pay
yes it’s normal I’ve had to pay for mine before it’s usually more common in smaller firms for u to pay for it
[deleted]
Think it’s quite normal. You usually get the money back after x weeks of work
A couple of key points:
Minimum wage rules: If they deduct the DBS fee from her pay and that pushes her pay below minimum wage for the pay period, that’s a breach of minimum wage law.
Training repayment clauses: These are legal if they’re in the contract and are a genuine pre-estimate of the employer’s loss (not a penalty). But they must be clearly set out in writing and reasonable. If she never asked for the training or doesn’t actually need it for the job, she could dispute it.
It depends on the company
I was under the impression any deductions that take her below the national minimum wage are illegal, so they can’t deduct for training or dbs checks
Any time the dbs money has come out my wages, I’ve been given it back because I stayed at the company for a set amount of time – usually 6 months
Its normal, it stinks but its normal. Even the NHS makes you pay for your own these days.
The clause about repaying training costs is usually not enforceable though and a sign of a shitty company if its essential mandatory training.
Standard DBS check is £21.50 and enhanced £49.50.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dbs-fees-are-changing-in-december
I’ve never had to pay for a DBS, however I know that sometimes an employer can ask you to pay. Just so you know though, basic DBS is like £20 and the enhanced one is about £40, so I’d question why her work are asking for nearly £80?
If it’s necessary for her line of work, pay for the DBS yourself (so either the £20 or £40) then sign up to the ‘update service’ which allows you to pay about £15 a year to keep your DBS valid and save you getting re-checked.
I think they can make her pay, and I agree that it’s not fair. However, they should have made it clear before she was employed that this would be a requirement. Also, if the DBS check is required by law, I think they have to pay. So, if she doesn’t have a contract or signed agreement that she would pay for a DBS check if she took the job, then they are not allowed to ask her to pay. I think the best thing is to check any contract/documents that she has and take this problem to the Citizen’s advice bureau, who can advise on what she can do about it. Because knowing your boss is not allowed to do something, and stopping them from doing it are 2 different things. Good luck to her.
I’ve worked in social care a long time. Some companies will cover the cost, some will get you to pay upfront and then refund after 3 months, some will require you pay half/they pay half and then they refund you later down the line.
Most of the good companies will cover it as standard.
£76 is ridiculous, it’s around the £40 mark for a full enhanced DBS and then about £17 a year to be on the update service (strongly suggest she does do this as makes like a million times easier)
She absolutely should not be paying for training and that alone should be enough to make her run and never look back.
I’ve had to pay for mine before, especially in companies that take on temp staff or have a high turnover.
Yeh this is standard practise….although they normally give you the money back after the probation.
It’s literally to stop the company paying for them for the employee to bugger off after a few days/weeks.
I work for the NHS and had to pay for my enhanced DBS when I joined a new Trust.
I’ve had to pay upfront, when it comes back clear it should be refunded
My husband just had to pay for his before starting work at a summer camp, they will reimburse him half at the end of the summer which still feels a bit tight tbh! But I think it’s getting more common for companies to make you pay for it yourself
I’ve never had to pay for a dbs check. But I work for quite a big company.
I’ve had lots of DBS checks, wasn’t charged when I worked for the NHS, now I work for a local authority they have split it into 4 payments and docked it from my wages.
I work for the NHS, and initially my trust initially we pay over 3 months deducted from salary (this may have altered since I started) and then we (usually) sign up to the update service with bank details and then pay the yearly update service ourselves.
I had a dbs check (which had been paid by the company) at my then current job and while I was looking for a new job I went for an interview where they said I had to pay for my own dbs check. They also mentioned loads of training and qualifications I could get if I liked – that I would have to pay for as well. I decided not to take that job. I carried on looking and now I have a job I don’t need a dbs for.
Only think I have ever been asked to pay in relation to an enhanced dbs is to pay for my own subscription to the update service which means a new employer doesn’t have to send of for a new dbs. Makes things much easier and quicker for roles requiring dbs
Fairly normal. Every time a place I’ve worked for has done one and I’ve had to pay, unless I had an active one on the update service I could share.
£76 is a bit steep though. Might be worth asking what the extra money is going to, because that’s way above the cost of a DBS check.
I had to pay for my DBS and my employer reimbursed me. Im not certain it’s a requirement by an employer to reimburse if the job required a DBS check?
The training costs thing is fairly standard in a contract. My employer paid for my training, and if I was to leave within 2 years of qualifying I was required to pay back the costs. It’s fairly standard practice, to ensure they don’t invest in people who have the intention of being trained them moving elsewhere shortly after.
Some places do make you pay. I work for the NHS so didn’t have to pay for mine. But when I’ve worked for any agency I’ve always had to pay, same with care.
I work for the NHS and have had to pay whenever I’ve moved up a band and it’s ran out