The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Logo
Homepage Work with us Our recruitment process Candidate onboarding Pre-employment checks

Candidate onboarding

Pre-employment checks

All candidates have to comply with the NHS Employment check standards, but whether you need a DBS, an occupational health assessment, or multiple references, will vary depending on the role and your personal circumstances:

All candidates have to complete a full NHS employers ID check. Most commonly this is completed during the face-to-face meeting where you will be invited to book an appointment with the Resourcing Team to provide your evidence documents.

It is important that you provide all the required documents that you’ve selected from the list. If you do not bring all required documents, you will have to come back, and this will most likely delay your start date.

In addition, documents must be the original versions. Photocopies or printed documents from the internet cannot be used. Again, if these are not the original copies, you will have to come back with the original evidence.

It is really important to get it right first time.

As part of your offer letter, you will have been sent an interactive list that outlines what documents you could use as evidence to satisfy your ID check.

Interactive Tool

The combination will vary depending on whether your role requires a DBS or not. However, as a minimum, you will need to provide one photographic ID (valid passport or driving licence) and two proof of address documents (e.g. utility bill, credit card statement, bank statement) including your current name and address.

As part of the face-to-face ID meeting, you will be asked to provide documents that prove your right to work in the UK. The interactive tool in the above section will show what documents you need.

If you have a UK, EEA or EU passport, this will be satisfactory evidence. If you do not have a passport, you can use a UK birth or adoption certificate, together with proof of your National Insurance number.

If you are from outside of the UK/EEA you will need to present your valid visa or work permit. Non UK/EEA Candidate information.

Your offer letter will tell you whether you need complete a DBS check and will contain a link to your personal form. We cannot submit your DBS check until you have presented your ID documents at your face-to-face meeting. The process is as follows:

  • Complete your online DBS form
  • Book and attend your ID check ASAP with the correct documents
  • The Resourcing Team will verify and copy your documents, before entering the details into Trac
  • The Trac Team will countersign your DBS once sufficient details have been entered into the system
  • You will receive an eDBS certification number allowing you to track this
  • There are five stages of the DBS check, which include checking the national and local police databases
  • The Resourcing Team will receive notification when your DBS has been returned
  • You will receive a printed copy of your DBS. We do not normally need to see this, however, the Resourcing Team will let you know if they do.

As part of the convictions check, you will be asked to complete a model declaration form, where you, yourself, declare if you have any convictions. This form will be attached to your offer letter and labelled either A or B.

Model Dec A – those who will need a DBS check
Model Dec B – Candidates who do not need a DBS check for their role

Occupational Health Clearance
Attached to your offer letter will be a Health Assessment Form which you will be asked to complete and return to rwh-tr.occupationalhealthRWH@nhs.net. Depending on your role, and whether you declare the information on your form, the Occupational Health Team will be in contact about your next steps.

  • Clinical roles – complete the form and return to Occupational Health using the email address above, along with your immunisation history. You can ask your GP or current Occupational Health department for a copy of this. If you have not sent your immunisation history to Occupational Health before you attend your appointment, you will most likely need to attend again. This could delay your start date in your new role.
  • Non-clinical roles – complete the form and return to Occupational Health using the email address above. If your role does not involve driving (or similar requirements), and you have disclosed no additional information, the Occupational Health Team will mostly likely review and clear your form, without needing to discuss this with you. However, a clinician will always review your form and be in touch if they require further information.

References enable us to compile an accurate picture of your work/activity history and assess your suitability for the post applied for.

The number and type of references needed will differ for each person. As a minimum, we will always need a reference from your current line manager or the HR department of your current, or most recent, employer.

You will have provided two references on your application form. If they do not meet the NHS Employment Check requirements, the Resourcing Team will be in contact with for alternative details.

The period that needs to be covered by your references will differ depending on where you are joining us from:

  • Non-NHS – References to cover three consecutive years from the point of offer, e.g. January 2022 to January 2025. This could be one reference or more – it depends how long you were with each employer. If you have been in education within the last three years, we will also contact the relevant institution.
  • NHS – Minimum of one reference to cover 12 months of current/most recent employment.
  • Self-employed – A reference from an account, client, solicitor, HM Revenue & Customs, or Companies House to confirm dates of employment.

Character/personal – If you have a gap in your employment/activity history, we may ask you to provide details of someone who can provide a personal reference. You should have known this person for a minimum of three years, although they cannot be related to you. This individual must be a person of standing (professional), with a work email address; we cannot contact personal email address such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo or BT.com.

If you are required to hold a professional qualification as part of the essential criteria for the role, you will be asked to provide evidence of this. Where this applies, the appointing manager or Resourcing Team will contact you.