Legal News
Appealing decision of the Disclosure and Barring Service (2 April 2020)
Date: 02/04/2020
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a public body that oversees regulated activity with children and vulnerable adults. Many people will be familiar with the DBS and some may have been required to have a DBS check as part of employment. There are many professions which require an employee to undergo a DBS check including doctors, nurses, teachers, those working in the care sector, and many others will be mandated to provide a positive DBS check in order to work in that sector. These decisions therefore also crossover with issues arising from professional regulatory issues involving regulatory bodies such as the Teachers’ Regulation Authority and the General Medical Council. The DBS keeps a record of those who are barred from working in a regulated activity with children or adults. Being included on one of these lists can mean that you lose your job and will be barred from working in regulated activity with the group you have been barred from working with. In some cases, where a person has worked in a particular sector for a long time, this can result in an inability to secure future employment as all experience is in one particular area. If you have been included on one or both of the DBS barred lists, it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible as you may be able to appeal the decision. A decision to include someone on the barred lists could be an infringement of the right to private and family life as protected by Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Accordingly, it is important that the DBS acts proportionality when making decisions given the implications they can have on an individual’s ability to work in their chosen profession or career. Can I appeal? Any person who has been included on one or both of the barred lists can appeal this decision to the Administrative Appeal’s Chambers of the Upper Tribunal. In mounting an appeal, it is necessary to establish that the DBS has:
- Made an error of fact; or
- Made an error of law