8. Referencing and Vetting

Jump straight to:

8c. Criminal Record Check (CRC) and General Security Awareness Training (GSAT)

8. Referencing and Vetting

The referencing and vetting process can take between 14 – 15 weeks, sometimes longer, and is complex due to the level of scrutiny that we need to undertake.

To help explain why this process takes this length of time we have put together a visual guide of each of the steps:

Referencing	Referencing starts with your Formal Offer call – We need you to submit any new evidence in relation to your 5-year employment history – We may ask you to resubmit right to work documents (passports, etc.) – We’ll need to establish and confirm your gap referees – We start contacting all your referees.
CTC	During Referencing. Can take 12 weeks or longer – We’ll ask you to apply for a CTC (Counter Terrorist Check) which is a requirement for the role – You must apply for this yourself via United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) – Only you can chase progress on this, and you must respond promptly to any requests for further information
CRC & GSAT	This starts happening 5 weeks before your start date – We initiate your CRC (Criminal Records Check) with the information you have provided us – We’ll ask you to complete the GSAT, the General Security Awareness Training, an online course which can take 3 hours to complete – This is needed for your Airside Pass
Verification	Usually takes 2 weeks – The IDC team will verify all documents and references you’ve provided – We’ll re-check all your documents and references – We’ll re-contact all your referees including gap referees to ensure the information they have provided is correct.
Verified	As soon as Verification is complete – We’ll confirm your start date. This can be on fairly short notice – We’ll confirm your Terminal and provide details on your shift patterns

Throughout the referencing and vetting process you will be given a named member of the BSC Referencing & Vetting Team that will see you through your journey.

You can therefore contact them whenever you have a question, however we plan on being in weekly contact with you to provide you with any updates, with increased contact in the later stages of the referencing and vetting process.

8a. Referencing

After you receive your Formal Offer call, the BSC Referencing & Vetting Team will start the process of reaching out to all referees using the details that you provided on your Referencing & Vetting Form. If you’re currently in employment, then we would always ask your permission to contact your current employer.

At this point the team will also ask for a copy of your HMRC document which they’ll cross check with your online Referencing & Vetting Form to see if there are any additional references that they need to obtain.

This could be additional work references, or they may identify that an educational or personal reference is required if there are previously undisclosed gaps in employment of over 28 days.

Any delays in receiving the HMRC document from you can therefore add time to the referencing process if a new referee is identified as being required.

The length of time that the referencing process takes will vary from person to person as it can depend on the number of references that we need to take and how quickly they provide a response.

We aim to start this process of contacting your referees three working days after your formal offer call has taken place.

We also wanted to let you know that the same referees will be contacted for a second time during the verification process, this time by the Heathrow ID Centre team. It would be helpful if you could let them know that they can expect to hear from us again.

8b. Counter Terrorist Check (CTC)

A CTC application is submitted to and processed by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV).

On the day of your Formal Offer you will be sent an email from the BSC Referencing & Vetting Team on how to complete your application, including your sign in details for the Defence Business Services (DBS) where you will be asked to complete your CTC application.

This MUST be completed and submitted by you personally, we are unable to apply for this check on your behalf.

You MUST complete this application no later than two working days after you have received the email as your start date has been offered based on the average time taken for a CTC to clear.

This check takes on average 12 weeks and as UKSV is a third party government organisation we are unable to have any impact on this timeline.

Once you have cleared, the BSC Referencing & Vetting Team will receive notification from UKSV and will email you to make you aware.

The UKSV may contact you for additional information either by phone or email. It is CRITICAL that if you are contacted by UKSV that you respond to them within 48 hours.

The UKSV team will not chase you and will therefore cancel your CTC application if you do not respond. If the UKSV cancel your CTC application, you will need to re-apply for a CTC which would affect your start date.

To help reduce the risk of the UKSV needing to contact you again, and to prevent any delays to your start date as a result of your CTC taking longer than initially planned for, we would recommend that you pay close attention to the below.

Top 10 missing/incorrect pieces of information that often result in start dates being delayed:

Missing middle names for family members;
Mismatch in address history when compared with other checks;
Omission of details on all of your partners (current and former) and their family members (including people such as parents/step-parents/partners);
Omission of step parents;
Omission of half/step siblings;
Non-inclusion of co-residents/children over 18 still living at home;
Conflicting information, for example: date of birth, place of birth, names different to previous applications;
Gaps in supervisor cover or cover not extending the required period;
Quality of supervisor data, for example: rank, forename, telephone numbers and email addresses;
Unsuitable referees, for example: not seen for a long period of time or not seen in a social context;

8c. Criminal Record Check (CRC) & General Security Awareness Training (GSAT)

Criminal Record Check (CRC)

In order to obtain your Airside Pass we must first carry out a Basic Criminal Record Check (CRC).

The check will contain details of UK only convictions and conditional cautions that are unspent.

The BSC Referencing & Vetting Team will complete this check on your behalf typically five to six weeks before your planned start date.

Before we request a CRC we will contact you to obtain three proofs of identification (see below for a full list).

The CRC check is undertaken by a third party government organisation.

The check takes on average 14 days and once complete you will receive a certificate to your home address.

You MUST retain this document safely and ensure there is no damage as you MUST present this during your first week to pick up your Airport ID Pass, without this you will not be able to start your role as a Security Officer so please keep it safe.

If you are unable to locate your certificate then you will need to be moved to the next available start date which could be a few months away.

Acceptable Proofs of Identification

Utility bill (gas, electric, satellite television, landline phone bill);
Local authority council tax bill for the current council tax year;
Current UK driving licence (but only if not used as form of identity within the application);
Bank, Building Society or Credit Union statement;
Original mortgage statement from a recognised lender issued for the last full year;
Solicitors letter confirming recent house purchase or land registry confirmation of address;
Council or housing association rent card or tenancy agreement for the current year;
HMRC self-assessment letters or tax demand dated within the current financial year;
Electoral Register entry;

We cannot use the DBS Certificate that has been sent to you as one of these proofs as this is used as a verifiable document for your Criminal Record Check and documents cannot be used for more than one purpose on the Airside Pass application.

General Security Awareness Training (GSAT)

Once your CRC is complete, you will also need to complete an online module named the General Security Awareness Training (GSAT) which includes a short test at the end.

This will be sent to you by email from a third party company called RedLine Aviation. The BSC Referencing & Vetting Team will let you know once this email is on its way so make sure you continue to check your junk and spam folders.

You will have three attempts to pass the GSAT and the test is made up of multiple choice, and picture and video questions.

All UK airport employees must complete the GSAT online training module and we recommend that you set yourself two and a half – three hours aside.

Upon successful completion you will receive the GSAT certificate which is a requirement of obtaining an Airside Pass.

Overseas Criminal Record Check (OCRC)

An OCRC check will be required for anyone who has been living, working or travelling abroad in one or more countries for six months or longer within the last five years.

We would require Criminal Record Checks for every country that you have spent time in during this period.

This can either be one continuous period of six months or more, or multiple visits to the same country that add up to six months or more over a five year period.

The response times differ for each country therefore it is important that you start this process without delay if the BSC Referencing & Vetting Team make you aware that they require an OCRC check(s) from you.

You will have to pay to complete an OCRC and any translations, if required, but you can get your money back after you start by making an expense claim.

8d. Verification

When all of your referencing, security and criminal checks are complete, the BSC Referencing & Vetting Team will submit your application to the Heathrow ID Centre team for final verification.

Verification is where our colleagues in the ID Centre team complete a full secondary check of the references we have gathered for you.

They will complete this process to determine whether you can be issued with an Airside Pass.

The Heathrow ID Centre team is a separate team that performs verification for all companies on-site at Heathrow including ourselves.

When does verification happen?

Verification is initiated approximately two weeks before your scheduled start date

What is involved in this process?

The ID Centre team will review all of the references we have submitted and reach out to the individuals who have completed the references by either email or phone.

The purpose of this check is to ensure that the information we have provided is true and correct.

Referees you have provided to cover any gap periods are usually contacted by phone and you should make them aware that we will attempt to contact them again during the verification process to avoid delays.

Why is this necessary?

The security of our colleagues and passengers is our priority.

As an organisation we choose to complete such robust checks to ensure we are doing everything possible to maintain our security standards.

What happens next?

We will let you know when the process completes.

We may need to contact you during verification if the ID Centre team require additional information to complete this, please look out for calls or emails from us.

Please ensure that you have your Criminal Record Certificate that was sent to you in the post. You will need this, or you will not be able to start your role at Heathrow.

What happens if my application is not verified?

You will be unable to commence in your new role if your application is not 100% verified before your start date and it’s important you understand this.

We will work closely with our colleagues in the IDC to avoid this, however, we may need your help in these last stages so please look out for calls or emails from us.

8e. Verified

That’s it, you have passed our referencing and vetting process and you have now been cleared to start your journey as a Security Officer at Heathrow.

For some people the verification process may take a few days therefore you may receive over a weeks’ notice for your start date.

For many the verification process may take the full two weeks therefore you may not receive notification until the Friday before your start date which may be the following Monday.

We understand this can be a very anxious period as you will have resigned from your current role without formal confirmation you can start with Heathrow.

Please be assured the teams will do everything they can to complete the verification process and to enable you to start when planned.

However, we would ask that you trust that we will be in touch should we need any support from you, or to confirm you have passed and can start.

When you have cleared verification, we will call you to confirm you are now cleared to start.

We will then send a follow up email which will contain the following details:

Where to go on your first day and at what time
What you can expect on your first day and beyond
Confirmation of the terminal and roster you have been allocated to

We would ask you to respond by email to confirm your acceptance of the final terms, and to confirm that you will attend on your first day so that we can ensure that we are fully prepared to welcome you on board.

Back to home