More employers than ever are recognising the need to check out the backgrounds of the people who apply for a job working with them. Doing a bit of work before someone starts a new job can drastically reduce the chances of hiring someone who is unsuitable and can cost the business much more money in the long run. Every company differs in the background checks which they want to run, and usually, more senior positions will require a higher level of background checking. Employers aren’t free to do what they want though, as there are rules they have to stick to. Several companies in Europe have been fined high amounts for collecting information illegally. If you want to avoid financial or reputational damage for your company, or just want to make sure your employer is doing what they should, here are the best practice guidelines for background checking.
Background Checks in Recruitment
Background checks are an essential part of most recruitment processes. Common checks include verifying past employment by taking up references, verifying education or claimed qualifications, looking at an applicant’s social media feeds and checking professional licences. Criminal history checks are also standard for many positions and in England and Wales these are known as DBS checks.
Legal Restrictions on Background Checks versus Best Practice
Employers might be restricted by laws on background checks, and these vary by country. In general, European countries have stricter privacy laws than other parts of the world. Sticking on the right side of the law doesn’t mean that no checks can be done. Some of the issues employers have to think about are:
- Employment Gap Checks: Employers have to justify these as necessary and will usually only investigate longer gaps in employment.
- Credit Checks: Most companies limit financial background checks to high-risk positions such as senior management roles. In the UK, an employer must ask permission before doing a credit check.
- Adverse Social Media Checks: Best practice recommends avoiding extensive social media checks and limiting searches to professional sites like LinkedIn.
Best practice might recommend only investigating longer gaps in your employment or not scanning through your personal Instagram feed, but that doesn’t mean that employers are legally banned from doing this should they want to do so.
Informed Consent
One of the main rules around background checking is that employers should be open about what they are doing. They should not be underhand and try to do checks in secret, and applicants should be given the opportunity to decline background screening if they choose – although that of course could mean that they rule themselves out of running for the job. Employers also need to bear in mind the laws which cover discrimination. It would be illegal, for example, to have a policy of only background checking women, or deciding who to background check on the basis of their surname or skin colour. The independent employment body ACAS can give impartial advice if you think your employer’s background checking process is unfair, or potentially even illegal.
