Hi!Sadly, I recently got a caution for a really grave mistake and so I am worried that it will affect my chances of getting into the consulting industry. I would be grateful if you could let me know whether management consulting firms like mckinsey, bain etc do CRB checks, first for their internship programs, and second for their fulltime graduate jobs.Thanks,TJ.

This question was raised a while back and there was a long debate as to whether cautions show up on CRB’s. I seem to remember the final agreement was that a caution is regarded as “spent” as soon as it is issued and therefore does not show up on CRB’s nor is there any requirement for an applicant to declare them (it is not a conviction). There was some confusion as to whether employers can legally ask if you have any cautions (employers are not allowed to ask about spent convictions in comparison, only convictions). I suggest you have a telephone call with the Citizens Advice Bureau who will be able to provide proper legal opinion. The fact that the employers is a consultancy firm is irrelevant – the rules will be the same for all employers, all of whom outsource the actual CRB check to a licensed firm.

Thanks a lot for the reply. I had read that firms that are regulized by FSA are required to have applicants checked. So, basically I wanted to know if consultancies are regulized by FSA and if yes did any one get checked. Thanks again.

Regulized – the term you mean is “regulated”No – consultancies are not generally regulated by the FSA. However all but the smallest consultancy would undertake CRB checks, as would almost all major employers, even where there is no legal requirement.

The best course of action is to apply for a CRB check yourself - you can get it by applying at any agency. There are 3 levels and almost all companies just do the Basic CRB check which confirms if you have any convictions against your name, the next 2 levels are for sensitive occupations involving handling infants/elderly etcHaving heard of this issue when some of my colleagues were applying for British Citizenship I can safely say cautions do not show up on CRB checks. Convictions are the only things that show up and you know you have a conviction if the sentence was passed by the court or say a fine was court ordered. Anything else including a driving caution/fine will not show up.A 'spent' conviction is when you have been convicted, it goes on your record and after a certain number of years on the file gets 'spent' or taken off. Minimum time for a conviction to be spent is 5 years at the mo though they are reviewing this as seems unfair in many cases (especially when you challenge a traffic offence and lose but goes on your record as a conviction because it was passed by the magistrate!!!)Sorry for digressing but back to the topic - apply for a Basic CRB check yourself and see if it comes clean - if it does, you are safe. Should not cost more than £50A

Thanks a lot for your replies guys.I know for certain that cautions do not come on the basic checks, but they do on standard and enhanced ones.And thanks for correcting me cool! yeah i did mean regulated. Well if they are not regulated, then i have read that the law does not allow them to do standard and enhanced checks. How come they do it then?:SThanks.

Read the direct.gov site for a full explanation.http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Startinganewjob/DG_195809Normally a CRB can only be requested (and by the way individuals cannot request their own) if it can be shown to be approprate to the job. certain industries and positions are exempt from that rule, inlcuding FSA regulated firms. I suspect many consultancies will request CRB cheques on the basis that 50% of their work is for FSA regulated firms, even they themselves are not regulated. Also there will be some firms that will require CRB checks because a large part of their reveneu is from auditing - another indistry that requires CRB'sIf you are a contractor and go to work at a bank, you will similarly find that the agency will want to do a CRB on behalf of the bank. They woudl not do so if you worked at a utility firm.

Thanks for the reply. Yes that does make sense, so I guess I have to drop out on the consultancy applications :(Anyway thanks for the help Cool!

[quote]Normally a CRB can only be requested (and by the way individuals cannot request their own) if it can be shown to be approprate to the job. [/quote]Incorrect as there is a list of approved agencies who can request for a Basic disclosure on your behalf. Technically, you are right in that a person cannot apply directly for a basic check which is why the govt has provided an approved list of agencies to do this on our behalf. A simple google will give more information however check on http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/ for more details.CheersA

Thanks for the reply. Yes I know that there are agencies that can do Basic checks, but I am not worried about them as they do not show cautions. The only problem I had was with standard and enhanced ones, and I was wondering whether consultancies have the authority to get those checks as all FSA regulated jobs have the authority to do so. So, I guess it boils down to the fact whether consultancies are regulated or not?I guess he is right in saying that a part of business might be regulated. What do you think?Kind Regards,TJ

I have never heard of a regulated consultancy firm. The company I am working for now did not require a CRB check upon joining, but I did have to apply for one once I moved into a project with a financial services client. There is no harm in applying for the jobs that you want TJ. If you want to work in financial services consulting, perhaps a caution for something like theft or fraud would count against you, but there are many more unregulated practice areas that you can look at. Good luck.

It really is becoming increasingly worthless posting any response on this site! ...and since registration came in there hasn’t even been a single decent pi$$ take.Dull, dull, dull. Bye-bye.