Background and Pre-Employment Screening

Meaning & Definition

Background and Pre-Employment Screening is the practice of validating the job candidate’s identities (through their social security numbers), education, prior jobs, criminal records and anything else that will be relevant to verifying employment status prior to hiring applicants for a position. Employers use background checks to ensure that the information provided by a job candidate is correct, to ignore hiring risks, and to promote workplace safety and trust.

Important aspects

• Stops the hiring process from being based on false or misleading information.
• It reduces workplace risks from fraud, misconduct and compliance violations.
• Establishes trust between clients, contributors and employees.
• Helps employers make informed and fair hiring decisions.
• Employers will also protect their organisational reputation and ensure their employees are safe.

Compliance Requirements

• Before performing any type of background investigation, explicit consent must be obtained from the candidate.
• To ensure data protection and confidentiality, the Information Technology Act, 2000 must be adhered to when managing background data.
• Criminal background checks should be conducted in accordance with local law enforcement’s procedures for verification.
• The purpose of collecting background-related data is strictly limited to employment.
• Background verification should be consistent with established practices as set out in written guidelines.