HR/Recruiters - What background checks can be done? Not DBS
Discussion
Hi All,
Quick question, mainly aimed at people who recruit and/or work in HR.
I won't say which side of this question I'm on, but genuinely interested in the answers here.
So, you are recruiting for a position that does not require a DBS check, not even in the slightest.
You interview somebody and they are perfect for the position. When asked about unpsent criminal convictions they say no. On offering them a job you get them to fill in some paperwork and on that they once again say "no" to the question on unpsent convictions.
You decide to Google them - find some social media accounts. No kkk affiliation or anything silly like that. You read to about page 5 of the Google results on the name, if it isn't on the first few pages it isn't going to be there!
As a recruiter or HR person, is there any further checks you could do to see if they do have a criminal record? Would you bother trying to find out?
If the person in the position has lied then they leave themselves open to "fraud by misrepresentation" but at the end of the day, if a criminal record was suddenly uncovered you'd probably just fire the person.
But would an employer be able to find out? Other than a tip-off, is there any other way the employers lie could be uncovered?
Really would like serious answers on this - don't particularly want to go into on which side of this scenario I may or may not be on.
Thanks all.
Quick question, mainly aimed at people who recruit and/or work in HR.
I won't say which side of this question I'm on, but genuinely interested in the answers here.
So, you are recruiting for a position that does not require a DBS check, not even in the slightest.
You interview somebody and they are perfect for the position. When asked about unpsent criminal convictions they say no. On offering them a job you get them to fill in some paperwork and on that they once again say "no" to the question on unpsent convictions.
You decide to Google them - find some social media accounts. No kkk affiliation or anything silly like that. You read to about page 5 of the Google results on the name, if it isn't on the first few pages it isn't going to be there!
As a recruiter or HR person, is there any further checks you could do to see if they do have a criminal record? Would you bother trying to find out?
If the person in the position has lied then they leave themselves open to "fraud by misrepresentation" but at the end of the day, if a criminal record was suddenly uncovered you'd probably just fire the person.
But would an employer be able to find out? Other than a tip-off, is there any other way the employers lie could be uncovered?
Really would like serious answers on this - don't particularly want to go into on which side of this scenario I may or may not be on.
Thanks all.
There are companies out there which will do your HR checks for you, to ensure that you have complied with appropriate corporate governance/security/whatever standards.
Quick google turned up these guys (no, never used them, we used Experian I think, in order to comply with a customer's requirement to "vet" our staff)
https://www.peoplecheck.co.uk/backgroundchecks/emp...
Quick google turned up these guys (no, never used them, we used Experian I think, in order to comply with a customer's requirement to "vet" our staff)
https://www.peoplecheck.co.uk/backgroundchecks/emp...
A proper DBS check is going to be the only way to verify a criminal history. Anything else you can research still needs validation. Other evidence might give grounds for suspicion. A company doesn't necessarily need slam dunk criminal court levels of proof to act upon what evidence they have.
It is against employment law to not employ someone if you discover a spent conviction. (There are some exceptions to this)
You need the individuals permission too, before carrying out a check.
We do carry out background checks for all employees, and a more rigorous one for the finance team.
Gargamel said:
It is against employment law to not employ someone if you discover a spent conviction. (There are some exceptions to this)
You need the individuals permission too, before carrying out a check.
We do carry out background checks for all employees, and a more rigorous one for the finance team.
Hi,You need the individuals permission too, before carrying out a check.
We do carry out background checks for all employees, and a more rigorous one for the finance team.
Thanks for the response. A couple of questions/points.
Fair enough on the spent convictions - not an issue. Except in certain roles it is illegal to ask about spent convictions.
I'm also aware that the employer cannot complete a DBS check on behalf of the employee. So you have to ask the employee to produce a level of DBS check as required - basic, enhanced, etc.
With reference to the "background checks" you mention. What are these?
So you ask a potential employee "do you have any unspent criminal convictions?" to which they respond, "No, I do not"
If DBS is required, then of course you can then ask the employee to produce the document etc.
If no DBS is required, how would you go about doing a "background check" before hiring? Obviously you can Google their name - but if that comes back as OK, it is not as if there is a criminal record database to type a search query into!
I guess the overall question is how much digging do you do into a potential employee joining the company (non financial position)?
Do you assume they are lying and search and search?
If you do - what/how do you search?
Thanks.
StationMaster1980 said:
Hi,
Thanks for the response. A couple of questions/points.
Fair enough on the spent convictions - not an issue. Except in certain roles it is illegal to ask about spent convictions.
I'm also aware that the employer cannot complete a DBS check on behalf of the employee. So you have to ask the employee to produce a level of DBS check as required - basic, enhanced, etc.
With reference to the "background checks" you mention. What are these?
So you ask a potential employee "do you have any unspent criminal convictions?" to which they respond, "No, I do not"
If DBS is required, then of course you can then ask the employee to produce the document etc.
If no DBS is required, how would you go about doing a "background check" before hiring? Obviously you can Google their name - but if that comes back as OK, it is not as if there is a criminal record database to type a search query into!
I guess the overall question is how much digging do you do into a potential employee joining the company (non financial position)?
Do you assume they are lying and search and search?
If you do - what/how do you search?
Thanks.
We use an external firm to do this Thanks for the response. A couple of questions/points.
Fair enough on the spent convictions - not an issue. Except in certain roles it is illegal to ask about spent convictions.
I'm also aware that the employer cannot complete a DBS check on behalf of the employee. So you have to ask the employee to produce a level of DBS check as required - basic, enhanced, etc.
With reference to the "background checks" you mention. What are these?
So you ask a potential employee "do you have any unspent criminal convictions?" to which they respond, "No, I do not"
If DBS is required, then of course you can then ask the employee to produce the document etc.
If no DBS is required, how would you go about doing a "background check" before hiring? Obviously you can Google their name - but if that comes back as OK, it is not as if there is a criminal record database to type a search query into!
I guess the overall question is how much digging do you do into a potential employee joining the company (non financial position)?
Do you assume they are lying and search and search?
If you do - what/how do you search?
Thanks.
Firstly - we call/email the references and do a basic check on employment dates/job titles
If they have cited professional qualifications on the CV - we confirm those with the accrediting organisation
We usually check the Degree or highest level of education
we also check for name changes/Visa authorisations and such like
For finance candidate we require them to provide their personal banking details, and we may follow those up, to confirm they aren't serious in debt or similar (that is more complex and again requires candidate permission)
But to your specific point on criminal convictions, it is not presently possible to get a definitive answer from an independent source on criminal convictions without a DBS.
(Typcially as part of my recruitment process I have a good google/facebook/linkedin etc - Generally I am looking for inconsistencies. However I am in a blue chip corporate, there really isn't much shady stuff going on.
Have a look here for what is possible
http://www.experian.co.uk/background-checking/crim...
Ended up getting screened by http://hireright.com a few years ago.
They were pretty through - contacted my old university (I graduated a decade prior to this!) etc.
They were pretty through - contacted my old university (I graduated a decade prior to this!) etc.
StationMaster1980 said:
a position that does not require a DBS check, not even in the slightest.
is there any further checks you could do to see if they do have a criminal record? Would you bother trying to find out?
If the position doesn't require DBS checks then it's unlikely I'd bother with any other type of research, other than perhaps to verify qualifications and take up references.is there any further checks you could do to see if they do have a criminal record? Would you bother trying to find out?
I'm fairly certain that unless you are asked, you do not have to disclose details of criminal records.
However, if you are asked and you do have a record but say you haven't, you are committing an offence.
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