COPFS pre-employment checks

Your conditional offer of employment at COPFS is subject to the satisfactory completion of our standard pre-employment checks and we ask that you please take time to read this information carefully as it contains essential details and instructions. 

The Civil Service conducts BPSS checks (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) as a basic level of security screening for individuals who will have access to government assets, information, or premises. You can visit the Government baseline personnel security standard page to find out more information Government baseline personnel security standard - GOV.UK .

Before you start

There are 6 main parts to our standard pre-employment checks. All applicable checks must conclude satisfactorily before we can confirm in writing that your offer is unconditional. Please see the relevant sections that follow as this will confirm what parts are applicable to you. 

• Part 1 - Verify your ID with COPFS
• Part 2 - Complete the 'Working time regulations and secondary employment form'
• Part 3 - Verify your 3 year employment or academic history or Civil Service employee transfer form
• Part 4 - Complete a social media background check with Verifile
• Part 5 - Complete an Occupational Health questionnaire with Optima (not applicable to those joining though Civil Service transfer)
• Part 6 - Complete and share your Level 2 Disclosure

Typically, pre-employment checks take 4-6 weeks to conclude depending on when the required information is received. Any expected delays should be communicated to the HR Resource team on recruitment@copfs.gov.uk as soon as possible.  

Please note that we would advise against resigning from your current employment until we confirm that our pre-employment checks have been satisfactorily completed, and a start date has been discussed and agreed with you.

You will shortly receive an email inviting you to arrange to attend a COPFS office with your ID documents.

To certify your identification, a physical check of the original documents will need to be conducted in person. People typically provide their passport, driving licence and a bank statement or utility bill dated in the past 3 months to meet the requirements.

We also see this as an opportunity for you to get acquainted with someone within the chain of management of the team you will work with.

Please note - as we verify your documents, a photocopy will be taken. Your documents must be verified before we can submit your Disclosure Scotland application, so please arrange this with us as soon as possible to avoid any delay to the conclusion of your pre-employment checks.

Forms of ID

At least three forms of ID are required: photo ID, proof of address, and/or a birth record. The following list is an example of acceptable documents:

Photographic ID:

• Passport
• Driving license

Both must be in-date.

Proof of address:

• Utility bill
• Council tax bill

These must be dated within the last 6 months.

Birth record:

• Full birth certificate
• Full adoption certificate

We cannot accept abbreviated birth certificates. If you do not have a full birth certificate, we can accept both a passport and a driving license instead.

Note:

Please be advised that we are only able to accept original document for identification purposes. Photocopies will not be accepted.

For further information on acceptable documentation, please visit the Government baseline personnel security standard page.

We might ask for additional documentation to complete our nationality checks. Any information you provide as part of our recruitment process and pre-employment checks may be used to inform third party records. Please be assured that your information will be held confidentially and only shared with official parties, for example, passport numbers will be passed to HMRC along with your pay/tax information.

This section has important information on The Working Time Regulations (1998) and information if you were intending on taking on or continuing in other employment whilst also in employment with COPFS.

Please read the Working Time Regulations and secondary employment page (part 2a).

The Civil Service Code, which applies to all civil servants, requires that they should not put themselves in a position where duty and private interests’ conflict, nor make use of their official position to further those interests.

Therefore, we need you to tell us about any other employment you intend to do whilst also in employment with COPFS.

You should now complete the Working Time Regulations and secondary employment notification form (part 2b)and return this to recruitment@copfs.gov.uk within 1 week of receiving this information. 

As part of our pre-employment checks, we are required to verify your employment or academic history over the past three years.

If you are transferring to us from another Government department, you will not be required to complete this check if this information has been verified through BPSS checks when you joined your current department. 

We have provided a form for you to send to your current/previous employer(s) and/or academic institutions over the past three years.

• Please send the form(s) on to any of your previous employers/academic institutions.
• The employer/academic institution should return the form directly to COPFS by emailing Recruitment@copfs.gov.uk 

If you encounter difficulties contacting anyone, please let us know as soon as possible. With your consent, we may assist you in obtaining the verification.

Please download and send the academic or employment verification form.

Employment gaps

If you have any gaps in your employment or academic history over the past three years, please provide us with a short statement detailing:

• What you were doing during this period.
• How you were supporting yourself financially during this period.

Please provide any evidence that can support your statements. For example - Universal Credit/benefit statements, flight details/boarding passes for periods of travel, etc. If you are unsure what evidence to provide, please contact recruitment@copfs.gov.uk

Please complete the candidate gap statement form, if relevant.

Other Government Department Transfer

If you are transferring to us by Civil Service Transfer,  you will not be required to complete a 3 year history verification if this information has been verified through BPSS checks when you joined your current department. You will instead be required to complete a Civil Service External Transfer (CSET) From.

Please refer to the current guidance for civil service transfers, and to download a transfer form: Guidance for civil servants: Guidance for civil servants: How to move jobs between departments and agencies - GOV.UK

We would be grateful if you could copy recruitment@COPFS.gov.uk into all emails so we know what stage this process is at.  

Verifile

Following your acceptance, you will receive an email from Verifile which you will be required to action to progress the social media check.

As part of the normal pre-employment checks a search of publicly accessible social media use is carried out by Verifile using ONSIT. Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is the collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (covert sources and publicly available information; PAI) to produce actionable intelligence. The results of checks will be considered against the Civil Service Code of Conduct, COPFS values and nature of the role to identify incompatible behaviour and potential conflicts of interest.

If you have not received any emails from Verifile within a week of receiving this information, please check your usual spam or junk email folders. If you still cannot find the email, please contact us so we can investigate this for you.

Following your input, a social media use report will be generated and sent to us. Any flagged information will be manually considered against the Civil Service Code of Conduct, COPFS values and the nature of the role to identify any potential conflicts of interest or incompatible behaviour.

Please refer to the Social networking and Verifile policy statement for more information.

If you need help

If you are having difficulty with your referral, please contact Verifile directly on 01234 339 300 or email hello@verifile.co.uk

Following your acceptance, your details will be passed on to our occupational health provider, Optima Health, for a pre-employment health assessment to be carried out. 
 
You will receive an email from Optima Health asking you to complete an online health questionnaire. The content and information you supply will be confidential.

If you have not received any emails from Optima Health within a week of receiving this information, please check your usual spam or junk email folders. If you still cannot find the email, please contact us so we can investigate this for you.

If you are joining through Civil Service Transfer, you will not have to complete this check as this information will be passed on from your current department if applicable.  

If you need help

If you are having any difficulties with your referral, please contact Optima Health directly on 0330 008 5113 or submit a query online via their website.

Part V of the Police Act 1997 is aimed at helping employers assess the suitability of applicants for posts, and to make for safer recruitment decisions in relation to positions of trust by widening access to criminal record information.  

Due to the nature of work carried out by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, all potential members of staff must apply for Level 2 disclosure with Disclosure Scotland as part of our usual employment process. 

When completing your Disclosure Scotland application:

• Please read the ‘COPFS Policy Statement - Disclosure Scotland’ 
• We will initiate the application when your ID documents have been verified using the personal details provided in your ID documents and application form. If any of this information has changed, please let us know.
• You will then receive an email inviting you to create and online ScotAccount where you can complete an application and submit this to Disclosure Scotland. Please note you will have 14 days to do this, or the application will be cancelled by Disclosure.
• Once your application is processed, Disclosure Scotland will send you a secure link to sign in and view your disclosure.
• Please ask that this is shared with us so we can continue the recruitment process.
• You are not required to make any payment to Disclosure Scotland. We will cover the cost of the certificate.
• More information can be found on the mygov.scot website

If you need help

If you are having any difficulties with your application or your result has taken longer than the expected 14 working days to be issued, please contact Disclosure Scotland directly on 0300 020 0040 or response@disclosurescotland.gov.scot

If you are joining COPFS as a new entrant, you will be required to complete Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Legal member of staff

If you are looking to become a legal member of staff you should provide us with a copy of your Practising Certificate.

If you do not currently hold a Practising Certificate you should still return the remaining documents as requested in the above information. You should then contact us to discuss the timescales for obtaining your practising certificate. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact practisingcertificates@copfs.gov.uk 

If you are joining COPFS through Other Government Department Transfer, you will need to complete Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.

A member of the HR Resource Team will be in touch with you shortly to discuss a target transfer date. This will typically be around 6 weeks from the time your checks commence. Please note your confirmed start date with COPFS is conditional upon successful completion of your pre employment checks. Once your checks have successfully concluded we will contact you directly to confirm your unconditional offer and formalise your transfer date.  

To confirm, if you are transferring to us, you will not be required to complete the Optima Health questionnaire or the 3 year employment or academic history verification as these will have been completed when you joined your current department.

If you have a workplace adjustment passport, please share this with us so any adjustments can be considered before you start.   

Your annual leave entitlement will be confirmed to you by our HR Operations Team when you start. Any remaining annual leave will be factored into your entitlement with COPFS. Please note that you can carry a maximum of 7 additional days over from your previous department.

We would advise against making any final arrangements for your transfer with your current department until we confirm that our pre-employment checks have been satisfactorily completed, your offer is unconditional and your transfer date has been confirmed.

If you need help

Please refer to the current gov.uk guidance:Guidance for civil servants: How to move jobs between departments and agencies - GOV.UK A reminder that you can also download a transfer form on this page. We ask that you copy recruitment@COPFS.gov.uk into all emails regarding your transfer so we know what stage this process is at.  

As part of the pre-employment checks for the Legal Traineeship, we are required to undertake two rounds of checks. One following your acceptance, and one just before your traineeship starts.    

Preliminary checks 

Following our conditional offer of employment, you are required to complete Part 1, 4 and 6 to conclude a Level 2 disclosure and Verifile Social Media Background check.

*Internal members of staff who have not previously completed a Verifile social media check as part of their previous BPSS checks will be required to complete part 4*

Second round of checks 

When we are closer to approaching the expected start date of your Legal Traineeship, we will undertake your second round of pre-employment checks which will require BPSS checks to be carried out in full. This will include Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 unless otherwise applicable.

*Internal members of staff will only have to complete Part 1, 4 and 6* 

Part 1 - As we have previously verified your identification documents in person during your preliminary checks, we will not usually be required to physically check these again, unless your previous ID documents are no longer valid.

Please send a photo or scan of your ID documents to Recruitment@copfs.gov.uk within 1 week of receiving this information. 

The following documentation is required:

Photographic ID:

• Passport
• Driving license

Proof of address:

• Utility bill
• Council tax bill

This must be dated within the last 6 months.

Birth record:

• Full birth certificate
• Full adoption certificate

Other important information 

As you are looking to become a Legal Trainee, you should also provide us with a copy of your Undergraduate Degree, Diploma in Legal Practice and Entrance Certificate.  
As part of your conditional recommendation for a traineeship, you are also required to apply for an Entrance Certificate prior to your start date. The application form for this should be obtained through the Law Society Home | Law Society of Scotland.

If you do not currently hold an Entrance Certificate, you should still return the remaining documents as requested above.  You should then contact us to discuss the timescales for obtaining your Entrance certificate.

Please note that all Entrance Certificates must be valid and up to date. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have a valid Entrance Certificate prior to starting with COPFS.  If you have not received this in time, your traineeship may be delayed, or your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

We hope the information above provides you with all the information you require to progress with your pre-employment checks. 

If you have not found the answer to your query  above or would like to discuss anything not covered, please email us at Recruitment@copfs.gov.uk or call us on 0300 020 6203.