Charged for DBS

[walnut77]

Hello there, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice please. I started a cleaning job recently and the company paid for my DBS - £53. I was only there for 2 weeks when my mum was taken ill and I had to explain to the company that I needed to leave immediately to go and care for her. I was very apologetic and there was no hard feeling.
When I received my wages they had taken the £53 for my DBS without telling me they were going to. I completely understand that they had paid out for it on the understanding that IO would be working for them for a while. However, I thought that they should have told me first. I had no contract so it wasn't as if I could have been referred to my contract to see that it would be taken from my pay if I left without notice.
I did ask them and they said that they were being generous as the DBS certificate is worth something to me - in fact it isn;t because I need a new one each time I change employer.
I just wanted to see if there was anything in employment law about deductions from wages without notice.
Many thanks for reading.
W

[Arcadian]

Re: Charged for DBS

They were correct in that the certificate had value to you, as you could use it to sign up to the DBS Update Service:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collec...ional-material

This then only costs £13 per year to renew and can be checked by any new employers or organisations in the future.

You must make make sure that you sign up to the Update Service within 19 days of the date printed on the certificate.

[leclerc]

Re: Charged for DBS

Did you receive a copy of the DBS or did the employee do so?

Was there anything in your contract stating that you had to pay for it? I worked for a cleaning company that made employees pay for their DBS check via their wages. They did not receive a copy of the DBS.

[walnut77]

Re: Charged for DBS

Hi, thanks so much for replying. I had no contract and they haven't been able to point me to any paperwork which says anything about a DBS charge.