The integration of Credentially and uCheck will allow you to carry out DBS pre-employment checks via our platform. Moreover, your employees will be able to apply for a new DBS Certificate without leaving their onboarding.
This feature is not included in the standard set of functionalities available for all our customers. Please get in touch with the Support team at support@credentially.io to find out the implementation details and pricing.
Note: With the help of Credentially, employees can apply for a DBS Check Certificate only if your organisation is based in England or Wales.
When this feature is switched on, and you add the 'DBS Check' step to your organisation's onboarding process, your applicants will see one more section ('Apply for a DBS Check Certificate') in addition to the already existing one available for all our customers ('Check Certificate on the DBS Update Service').
The integration with uCheck works the following way:
1. An applicant fills in the DBS Application form at Credentially. To learn more about the DBS application process from the perspective of users, please read this article.
2. After a user fills in the application form, an administrator receives an email from uCheck asking them to complete their application part.
Below is the example of the email:
3. The hyperlink ('here') in the email will lead an administrator to their organisation's uCheck account.
Note: Please contact support@credentially.io to set up a uCheck account for your organisation (or connect the already existing account to Credentially).
Here is how the uCheck dashboard looks like:
An applicant with the 'Awaiting Product Selection' status requires your attention. You need to choose what type of DBS Certificate you want for them. To do this, please follow these steps:
Click on the name of the applicant.
Tick the box next to 'Add' in the 'Disclosure and Barring Service' section. Click 'Continue'.
After it, select the type of DBS Check. Please pay attention to the fact that now Credentially supports only standard and enhanced DBS check.
Click 'Continue'.
After it, you will be redirected to the page with the application form. There you will need to complete 'Section Y' and 'ID Check'.
If you do not understand what subsections in the 'Y Section' mean, you may learn more about them by clicking on their names in the 'Information' section.
Before completing the 'ID Check' section, please ensure that you have seen the applicant's real ID documents. If you need additional instruction on how to complete this section, kindly click on the 'Guidance information' button.
Please do not forget to click the 'Save' button after completing these sections. We recommend you review all the sections before approving the application.
After approving, you will find the application in the 'Awaiting Staff Review' section of the uCheck account dashboard. The approved application will have the 'Awaiting Countersignatory' status.
4. As soon as the check is completed, an administrator will receive a notification that the applicant's DBS Check results are ready and can be seen in the applicant's Credentially profile. It looks like this:
Note: As an administrator, you will have access to the PDF version of the applicant's DBS Application Results in your organisation's uCheck account. As a rule, the electronic DBS Application Results are available in 48 hours. However, sometimes the procedure may take longer. Please see below to find out how a representative of information issued by DBS looks on uCheck:
Please note that this is not a certificate issued by the DBS. An applicant will receive the original DBS Certificate by post in 2 weeks. As an administrator, you will be able to upload the representative above to the 'Documents' tab of the applicant's Credentially profile.
How to track a DBS application
While waiting for the DBS application results, you can track its status in the applicant’s Credentially profile. You need to go to the 'DBS Check' section of the applicant's profile to do this.
If the DBS Application status is 'In Progress', it means that the applicant has not yet completed the application form on Credentially.
If the Application Form status is 'Paused', it means that there are some connection issues that need to be fixed by our support team. After the connection is restored, the DBS Application Form will reach uCheck.
If an applicant has entered invalid information, for example, the wrong postcode, you will see the 'Error' status of their DBS Application. The user will receive the corresponding notification asking them to correct the mistake and resubmit the application.
Below is the example of the notification you will receive when the user's application has the 'Error' status:
If the DBS Application status is 'Submitted', it means that the results are not ready yet. On the uCheck dashboard, you will find this application in the 'In Progress' section.
Note: More details about the status of an application (e.g., on which step of the DBS consideration it is now) may be found here: https://secure.crbonline.gov.uk/enquiry/enquirySearch.do.
When the results are ready, you will see the 'Completed' status. The 'View Results' button will allow you to look at the simplified DBS Application results.
There are two types of DBS Application results:
1) Blank (this means the certificate contains no criminal convictions, cautions, warnings or reprimands):
2) Wait to View the Certificate (you must view the applicant's certificate before making a recruitment decision):
It is essential that, as an employer, you must ensure you see an original DBS certificate. Please learn more about it in the 'Security features of a DBS certificate' section by clicking on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dbs-check-requests-guidance-for-employers.
DBS Update Service Check
If 'DBS Update Service Check' is included in your organisation's mandatory compliance requirements and your applicants or existing employees are not part of it, they may join the Update Service with their application form reference number. For example, suppose prospective or current employees are applying for a new DBS Certificate via Credentially. They can find their application form reference number in the 'DBS Check' section of their profiles after completing the form on Credentially.
If an applicant or current employee joins DBS Update Service with their application form reference, the application must be received by the DBS within 28 days of the subscription being created, or the subscription will fail.
When the applicant’s DBS certificate is issued, they will need to manually add its number to the DBS Update Service form to their Credentially account. This can be done by clicking on the 'Add new DBS' button in the 'DBS Check' section of a user's profile. Or, as an administrator, you may do it for them after you check their original certificate.
