What is Pre-employment Screening?

Pre-employment screening (Employment Vetting) seeks to verify the credentials of a job applicant and checks that he/she meets preconditions of employment (e.g. they have right to work in the UK and that they are legally permitted to take up an offer of employment). When conducting pre-employment checks, it should be established whether the applicant has concealed important information or otherwise misrepresented themselves in any way. To this extent, pre-employment screening may be considered a test of character. Most organisations use the information to identify individuals who may present security concerns to the business and also reduces the likelihood of an insider harming your business.

What legislation organisations need to be aware of while conduction Pre-employment screening (Employment vetting)?

Pre-employment screening (Employment vetting) practices and procedures must be compliant with all relevant rules and regulations. The following legislation must be considered to ensure that pre-employment screening procedures do not interfere with the individual’s right to privacy, disclose any information which organisations may find in an inappropriate way or without due cause, or use information in a discriminatory way.

The Law on discrimination applies equally to all online and offline checks. The regulations of most relevance to are:

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act (2006), Employment Rights Act (1996), Data Protection Act (1998), Equality Act (2010), Human Rights Act (1998)

and The Data Protection Directive (2012), although there are a number of other regulations, such as the Computer Misuse Act (1990) which also have relevance.

Employers should seek legal advise before introducing any new measures

Levels of Pre-employment Screening (Employment Vetting)

Minimum or basic level check

At the basic level of checks employers should verify the following:

• Verify Identity of the prospective employee
• Perform right to work in the UK check
• Completed self-declaration criminal record form (if required)

Medium or advanced level check

At the advanced level of checks employers should verify the following:

1. Verify Identity of the prospective employee
2. Perform right to work in the UK check
3. Completed self-declaration criminal record form
4. Basic criminal record disclosure
5. Highest academic qualification verification
6. Relevant professional qualification
7. Last five years of employer reference
8. Social media searches (Media searches must be compliant with DPR, HRA & Employment law)

High level check

At the highest level, the following should be undertaken/verified:

1. Identity verification
2. Perform right to work check in the UK
3. Ensure that applicants complete a self-declaration criminal record form
4. Basic, Standard or Enhanced criminal record disclosure (if relevant to the job)
5. All academic qualifications
6. Relevant professional qualifications
7. Employment references to cover at least three years (preferably five to ten years)
8. Basic confirmation with employers of dates of employment, posts held and reasons for leaving and line manager references (if possible)
9. Media checks
10. Financial enquiries