Estimated time to read - 5 minutes.
The hospice sector provides support for over 310,000 people across the UK – a figure that is expected to rise significantly over the next 20 years. In order to support people at one of the most difficult times in their lives, hospice providers must ensure with absolute security that their employees are responsible, competent, and legally allowed to work around vulnerable adults.
A key – and legally mandated – way of doing so is to perform thorough background checks on all potential employees. This includes Right to Work checks to prevent illegal working practices, as well as DBS checks to evaluate a candidate’s criminal record.
Today, Hospice UK’s partner, uCheck, are here to discuss upcoming Right to Work changes, and the vital role that strong background checks play in protecting the dignity and wellbeing of dependent individuals and fellow staff.
An introduction to background checks
Whilst background checks and seeking references have been around for hundreds of years, the modern process of criminal history verification that we know of appeared prominently in the 1990s with the introduction of the Protection of Children Act 1999.
It was described as ‘An Act to require a list to be kept of persons considered unsuitable to work with children’, mandating extensive criminal record checks for anyone looking to work with children. However, the protections also extended to ‘persons suffering from mental impairment’.
Previously, background checks were completed by an individual’s local police force. It wasn’t until the creation of the Police National Computer (PNC) in 1974 that records could be more easily shared across the country – and even then, the technology was rudimentary at best, with a focus on a database of lost or stolen vehicles.
With improvements in technology, the scope of the PNC gradually expanded. Then, in 2002, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) was established, which paved the way for the modern Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) we have today, established in 2012.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 granted even greater protections, increasing the requirements for background checks for both children and vulnerable adults. This is seen today through the Children and Adults’ Barred Lists, which must be checked for any roles involving ‘regulated activity’.
From April 2025 – March 2026, the DBS completed 7,433,877 checks – 55% of which were Enhanced DBS checks.
The role of background checks in regulated industries
‘Regulated activity’ has different definitions depending on whether the role involves interaction with children or adults. Within regulated industries such as education or healthcare, safeguarding checks must be performed to make sure that anyone applying for a role within these sectors does not have a previous criminal history which bans them from working around vulnerable groups.
These are achieved through an Enhanced DBS check – the most thorough level of DBS check – along with a cross-reference of the Children or Adults’ Barred Lists. It is a criminal offence to hire someone registered on these lists into a position involving regulated activity. Moreso, it is an offence for someone on these lists to seek work in a regulated environment in the first place. Both offences hold either a prison sentence of up to five years, and/or a fine, depending on the severity.
Regulated activity with children
Here, ‘children’ relates to anyone under the age of 18.
- Healthcare or personal care
- Teaching, training/instruction, care for, supervision, or therapy/guidance of/for children on more than three days in a 30-day period (or overnight) with face-to-face contact
- Web-service moderation for children on more than three days in a 30-day period
- Driving a vehicle for children on more than three days in a 30-day period
- Registering to be a foster carer or childminder
The full list of regulated activities with children can be found on the UK Government's website, here.
Regulated activity with adults
- Providing healthcare or treatment
- Providing personal care where a person cannot due to age, illness, or disability, e.g. eating, bathing, dressing
- Work assisting an adult with their day-to-day finances where an adult cannot due to age, illness, or disability
- Adult social work
The full list of regulated activities with adults can be found on the UK Government’s website, here.
The importance of identity verification
When hiring takes place, employers need to be confident that the person they have been interviewing actually is who they say they are to protect the safety and security of everyone in your business.
Digital verification service providers (DVSPs) are third-party authenticators who verify the documents provided by workers, such as their passports. In some cases, applicants are asked to take a picture of their passport, and then a live selfie for immediate comparison. Then, the DVSP will analyse the results using a mixture of technology and human experience, identifying inconsistencies or flaws between the document and the individual.
Identity verification cannot be relied upon in isolation – it works best when supported by a full suite of additional background checks, helping to accurately verify an individual’s identity to ensure that vulnerable adults are not exposed to anyone who would cause them harm.
Right to Work checks
Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act (IANA) 2006, all employees in the UK require a Right to Work check – regardless of nationality – to ensure they have a legal right to employment in the UK.
Over 2025, over £130 million worth of fines were issued by the Home Office for nearly 2,500 cases of illegal working across the UK – and several healthcare, care homes, and hospices were included in this figure.
Upcoming changes to Right to Work checks
The Home Office has announced upcoming changes to the UK’s Right to Work scheme which will take effect on the 1 October 2026. These changes are detailed in the updated draft of the Employer's guide to Right to Work checks.
Until now, only individuals classed as ‘employees’ in the UK could obtain a Right to Work check. This meant that gig-economy workers, subcontractors, or those using online matching services were exempt.
New regulations seek to close this gap, and expand the definition of ‘employer’, therefore bringing millions of new workers under scope.
It also introduces ‘extended liability’ – whereby civil liability for the failure to complete a Right to Work check may extend beyond the direct employer, if no such person can be found. This puts the onus further down the chain of contracts.
Please note: if a direct employer has been identified and has failed to carry out a Right to Work check, the third-party employers/clients further down the chain of contracts will not be held liable. It is only if the structure of employment cannot be reasonably identified that the Home Office will begin identifying additional potentially responsible parties.
uCheck’s sister company, TrustID, has published a full breakdown of the changes on their blog, which you can find here.
For hospices who bring on temporary workers, or swap workers with fellow sites, it is essential that you confirm that everyone on your site has a proper Right to Work check completed. This information should be stored for the duration of someone’s employment, plus two years after, to provide a secure evidence and auditing trail in case the Home Office requires the information. It also provides you, the employer, with a Statutory Excuse, protecting you from civil penalties if it is later found that an individual’s Right to Work was fraudulent or incorrect in some way. You will still have performed your due diligence by checking.
Basic and Standard DBS checks
Certain roles within hospice care may only be eligible for Basic or Standard DBS checks.
Basic checks provide a surface level overview of someone’s criminal history, showing any unspent convictions or cautions. For example, someone working in an administrative position in a hospice, who has no direct contact with those in the hospice’s care, may only require a Basic check.
Standard checks go a little deeper, showing any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, final warnings, and reprimands. These are used for positions which require a bit more security and responsibility, especially when it comes to financial or legal matters.
Enhanced DBS checks
Within a hospice environment, the most important consideration is the health and security of those in your care. To do so, you need to know that the people responsible for looking after them are responsible, trusted individuals who have not abused such positions of trust in the past.
This is where Enhanced DBS checks come into play.
Enhanced checks show everything in a Standard DBS check, plus any additional relevant information from local police forces, as well as an additional check of the Children or Adults’ Barred Lists if required by the role.
These checks take the longest to complete, which can occasionally leave potential employees waiting for their confirmation of employment. Factors affecting the turnaround times include:
- The number of addresses someone has had within the last five years (as each local police force will need to be consulted to check for relevant information)
- Whether they have previously been employed in other regulated sectors, such as the military
Whether all the information provided is correct – inaccuracies on the DBS application may lead to the submission being rejected
The role uCheck plays
uCheck provides a variety of background checks to over 80,000 businesses across the UK, ensuring safe, secure hiring practices. As the largest umbrella body of the DBS, uCheck are responsible for completing nearly one million DBS checks per year. From April 2025 to March 2026, they processed 887,724 DBS checks – an average of nearly 74,000 per month.
To learn more about uCheck, please click here.
Jack Lander and Alex Tyndall
uCheck