I hated my last job and I resigned at the beginning of May, asking to be released immediately. This was agreed. I was lucky enough to secure another job with an immediate start as soon as my Criminal Records Bureau check was done. I rang recently to see if they’d heard anything, but I was told it can take six to eight weeks and not to worry. But I am worried. Supply agencies don’t seem to want me because I would only work with them for a few weeks and would have to do their own CRB check. Is there any way of hurrying it up?

Sadly, there isn’t. It is not a bad as when the agency was first set up, when checks were taking for ever. However, a system that requires checks every time a person changes a job should have a time limit built in. This shouldn’t be an especially busy time of year for the agency. They should have an online progress reporting system so applicants can see where they are in the queue and check that their application has not got “lost in the system”.