As employers lean on temp work, screening demand is building in the sectors under most pressure, says CBS

The UK's temporary recruitment market is showing its strongest signs of recovery in more than two years, but Complete Background Screening (CBS), one of the UK's most trusted providers of pre-employment screening and DBS checks, is warning recruiters not to overlook the impact this could have on vetting and onboarding times.

The latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs found temporary billings increased in April, marking the strongest growth in more than two and a half years. The sectors driving that growth included Nursing, Medical and Care, and Blue Collar roles, where Enhanced DBS checks are routinely required.

At the same time, more than four million Enhanced DBS checks were processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in the year to March 2026, highlighting the scale of demand across safeguarding-sensitive sectors.

Rachel Bedgood, CEO of CBS, said recruiters are operating in an increasingly busy screening environment.

“Recruiters are doing more with less right now and demand across the screening sector remains high,” said Rachel. “The screening landscape is genuinely under pressure and that's simply the reality of current demand. What we can do as a screening partner is remove as much avoidable delay from the process as possible, so the time recruiters spend waiting is necessary, rather than the result of avoidable inefficiencies.

“After more than ten years working with one of the UK's largest staffing businesses, we've seen where delays can creep in and how much difference good planning can make.”

CBS has worked with national recruiter Blue Arrow for more than a decade, alongside clients including G4S, NHS trusts, universities and local authorities, giving the company extensive experience supporting organisations that rely on robust pre-employment screening, and a clear view of where avoidable delays can occur within the screening process.

Rachel said many delays occur before an Enhanced DBS check reaches the stages that employers cannot influence.

“A lot of the delays we see happen right at the start of the process,” she said. “Application errors that require resubmission, organisations still relying on paper-based processes, international checks being run separately from UK screening, or compliance queries waiting for answers.

“None of these challenges are unique to one organisation. They are common across the sector. But together they can add unnecessary time to a process that is already handling significant volumes.”

Rachel believes screening will become an increasingly important commercial consideration for recruiters working in safeguarding-sensitive sectors.

“The volume of Enhanced DBS checks isn't falling and demand for temporary workers remains strong in many sectors,” she said. “That means the parts of the process recruiters can control, speed, accuracy, support and integration, become even more important.

“The recruiters that get those foundations right are often able to move candidates through the process more efficiently.”

Rachel said international screening is also becoming a bigger consideration as recruiters place more candidates who have lived, worked or studied overseas.

“The pressure on recruiters isn't going away any time soon,” she said. “The role of a good screening partner is to take as much complexity off their plate as possible, so they can focus on placing people.”

Complete Background Screening (CBS) is one of the UK's most trusted providers of pre-employment screening and DBS checks. Since 2005, CBS has delivered tailored screening for staffing businesses, universities, NHS trusts, local authorities, charities and global organisations including G4S, working with clients across the UK and internationally from its base in South Wales. For more information visit https://cbscreening.co.uk/