Screening

In the course of pre-employment checks a number of factors may, individually or in combination, raise concerns about the integrity or reliability of the applicant.

These factors include:

• involvement in illegal activities
• unspent criminal convictions relevant to the role, particularly if not volunteered by the applicant and only revealed by other checks
• false or unsubstantiated claims on the CV or application form
• unsubstantiated qualifications
• unexplained gaps in employment history
• adverse references
• questionable documentation e.g. lack of supporting paperwork or concern that documents are not genuine
• evasiveness or unwillingness to provide information on the part of the candidate.

Other stages of the recruitment process also give opportunities to screen candidates. Interviews, in particular, will help to form an opinion of their character. Credit reports can provide assurance that there are no significant credit or debt problems that could place the individual in a vulnerable position. Checks, tests and interviews help the employer to assess the integrity and reliability of the candidate.

Pre-employment checks

Pre-employment checks can be used to confirm an applicant's identity, nationality and immigration status, and to verify their declared skills and employment history. 

From 29 February 2008, the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 comes into force.  This means there are changes to the law and employers face new requirements to prevent illegal working in the UK.  These include an ongoing responsibility to carry out checks on employees with time-limited immigration status.  Failure to comply with the new regulations could result in a possible civil penalty or criminal conviction.  CPNI's guidance on pre-employment screening has been updated to reflect this new law. More detailed information can be found on the UK Borders Agency website.

National security vetting

The national security vetting regime applies to certain employment positions which give access to protectively marked government information, or access to potential physical targets of terrorist attack and/or information that would be of use to terrorists.