When you invite a cleaning company into your premises, you’re doing more than hiring someone to wipe down desks and empty bins.
You’re giving a team of people regular, often unsupervised access to your building — sometimes before staff arrive, sometimes after they leave. That’s a significant level of trust, and it deserves proper scrutiny.
For businesses in Bristol, one of the most important checks you can make before signing with any cleaning provider is whether their staff are DBS-checked. It’s a straightforward requirement that separates professional operators from those cutting corners — yet a surprising number of businesses don’t think to ask about it.
What is a DBS check?
A DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check is a background screening process run by the UK government. It checks a person’s criminal record history and, depending on the type of check, can reveal spent and unspent convictions, cautions, warnings, and reprimands.
There are three levels:
- Basic: Shows unspent convictions only
- Standard: Shows spent and unspent convictions, plus cautions
- Enhanced: The most thorough — includes everything above plus local police information where relevant. Required for roles working with vulnerable groups.
For general commercial cleaning in offices, retail units, and business premises, a standard DBS check is typically the appropriate level. For cleaning in schools, healthcare facilities, or care homes, enhanced checks are standard practice.
Why does it matter for your business?
The short answer: it’s about risk management. Cleaning staff often work in sensitive environments. They have access to filing cabinets, computer equipment, personal belongings, kitchens, server rooms, and occasionally reception desks where confidential correspondence sits in the open.
Without proper vetting, you’re effectively trusting a stranger with the run of your building. That might feel fine day-to-day, but if something goes wrong — a theft, a data breach, damage to property — the question your insurer will ask is: what checks did you carry out on the people you allowed in?
Beyond insurance implications, there’s also the matter of duty of care to your own staff. If your team are sharing a space with cleaning operatives — whether it’s an early-morning overlap or a late-night clean — they have a reasonable expectation that those individuals have been vetted.
DBS checks and specific sectors
For some Bristol businesses, DBS-checked cleaning staff aren’t just good practice — they’re a requirement.
Schools and educational settings are an obvious example. Any contractor working on school premises, even outside of school hours, is expected to have relevant background checks in place. Most schools will require evidence of this before allowing access.
Healthcare and care settings have similar expectations. Whether it’s a GP surgery, dental practice, or residential care home, the people cleaning those environments are coming into contact with patient records, medication storage areas, and vulnerable individuals.
Financial and legal offices often have confidentiality obligations that extend to everyone who enters their premises. A DBS-checked cleaning team is part of how you demonstrate that obligation is being taken seriously.
Employed staff vs subcontractors — why it matters
Here’s something many businesses don’t consider: DBS checks are only as reliable as the employment relationship behind them.
Some cleaning companies use a network of self-employed subcontractors rather than directly employed staff. This creates a problem. A subcontractor hired informally may have outdated or no DBS checks. The cleaning company may have limited visibility into who’s actually turning up at your site. Turnover can be high, and vetting inconsistent.
When all cleaning staff are directly employed — as they are at Clean Bees — the company retains full responsibility for training, vetting, and accountability. DBS checks are carried out before employment begins, and the business knows exactly who is on-site at any given time. Our commercial cleaning services are delivered by employed, vetted teams — not subcontractors.
Questions to ask before you hire
If you’re currently evaluating cleaning providers, or thinking about switching, these are the questions worth putting to any prospective supplier:
- Are all your cleaning staff DBS-checked? Ask specifically — don’t assume. And ask when checks were last updated.
- Are your staff directly employed, or do you use subcontractors? Understand who’s actually responsible for vetting and managing the people on your site.
- Can you provide documentation? A professional cleaning company should be able to produce evidence of DBS compliance on request.
- What happens if a cleaner changes? Staff turnover exists in any industry. Ask how they handle vetting for new starters and cover staff.
- Do you carry public liability insurance? DBS checks and insurance together form the basic foundation of a trustworthy cleaning operation.
For more on what makes a cleaning contract worth signing, it’s worth reading what a good office cleaning contract actually looks like — it covers the key clauses and protections you should expect before committing.
What to look for beyond the DBS check
A DBS check is the baseline. But the most professional cleaning companies go further. Uniform and ID badges mean you and your staff can always identify who’s on-site. Structured supervision and quality checks mean standards are maintained, not just promised. Photo-verified reporting — like the system used by Clean Bees through the Xota platform — means you can see exactly what was cleaned, when, with timestamped evidence.
That kind of accountability matters. It’s the difference between a cleaning company that says they’re thorough and one that can prove it.
The bottom line for Bristol businesses
Hiring a commercial cleaning company isn’t just a procurement decision — it’s a security and compliance one too. DBS-checked, directly employed staff aren’t a premium extra; they should be a baseline expectation.
If your current provider can’t confirm their vetting procedures, or you’re not sure what questions to ask, it might be time to review your options.
Clean Bees works with offices, schools, retail units, and commercial premises across Bristol. All staff are employed and DBS-checked. If you’d like to find out more, get a free commercial cleaning quote and we’ll be in touch.