Starting a public sector job before all checks are complete

In the NHS, right to work, identity and professional registration checks must be finished before you start. Only a criminal record check can, in exceptional circumstances, be completed after day one, and then only with safeguards. Other public sector employers set their own policies, and a school with a role involving children will usually want the full enhanced DBS certificate first.

Checks that cannot wait

NHS Employers’ standards are strict on three checks. Employers must check the right to work of all successful applicants before they take up employment. Identity must be verified before any work starts, including an in-person likeness check, and original documents must be seen by the time you start your post or induction, whichever is sooner. A healthcare professional’s registration with the relevant regulator must be checked before they start.

GOV.UK’s employer guide on right to work checks is written for employers checking people before employing them, so in practice you cannot begin until your documents have been seen. Have them ready: a missing document is the most common reason a start date slips. See right to work checks.

When a DBS delay can allow an early start

NHS Employers’ FAQ describes an adult first check for exceptional circumstances only, where delays would significantly put services and patient care at risk. It is applied for alongside the full enhanced check. If it comes back clear and all other checks are satisfactory, the employer may let you start before the full certificate arrives.

Conditions apply. The employer is expected to put measures in place, such as supervision or restricted duties, until the full certificate is received, because it may contain more information. The adult first check cannot be relied on for regulated activity with children, so those roles need the full enhanced certificate first. DBS check times covers how long the full check can take.

The employer decides. You can ask to start early, but you cannot expect it, and the manager has to justify an early start, usually on a written risk assessment.

Health assessments

Work health assessments in the NHS happen after the offer and before you start. Where one is outstanding, many trusts will not let you begin in a patient-facing role. That is local policy and not a national rule, so ask. The occupational health check guide explains the process.

How an early start changes your contract

NHS Employers’ FAQ warns employers to allow someone to start before all conditions are met only if they intend to create a binding contract, because the employee is then entitled to notice if employment is later ended. A conditional offer can also form a contract once accepted, depending on how the offer is worded and how recruitment ran in practice.

For you, starting before the checks are complete gives more protection than waiting at home. Some risk remains. If a check comes back badly, the employer can still act under the terms it set out, and your notice rights will be the ones in your contract. Read the offer letter for the exact wording and see Conditional job offers.

Resigning from your current job

Do not resign on the strength of an offer that is still conditional unless you are comfortable with the risk. If the new employer offers an early start, agree the start date with your current employer too. Your current contract sets the notice you owe, whatever the new employer allows. Notice periods covers the statutory minimum.

What to check

Employers differ on how fast they can move. A trust with a central recruitment team may complete several checks at once, while a small school may do them one after another, so the same offer can take different lengths of time in different places. Ask early.

Ask HR three questions in writing: which checks are still outstanding, whether an early start is possible and on what conditions, and whether the offer will become unconditional on the day you start. Keep the replies. Pre-employment checks lists what each check involves.