Why Record Checking Is A Vital Part Of The Recruitment Process
Record checking is a necessary part of the process of deciding who to employ, and who not to employ. This does not just apply to people applying for full time paid work, but also to people seeking part time and even voluntary work.
The number of records being checked in the previous decade has risen dramatically. This is due in part to the federal government's tightening of the laws regarding checking backgrounds of people who will be working with vulnerable people. People applying to work with children, in particular, are checked against the FBI database as a matter of legal necessity.
Technology itself is another critical determining factor. It is now cheaper and easier to store data than it has ever been before. The data can be accessed in a matter of seconds, bringing down the expense of carrying out checks to the level where employers and charities have no financial reason not to check out their potential workers.
The threat of lawsuits also has an effect. Companies who for decades have been prepared to back their own judgement when it comes to deciding on future employees are now seeing other businesses facing ruin due to huge bills from legal action, and are realising that they can avoid the same fate by carrying out these basic checks. Combine the threat of litigation with the new cheapness of carrying out the record searches, and you can see why so many companies are now following suit.
Charities have, in many ways, an even greater incentive to make sure that they have adequate checks carried out. If a criminal ends up working for a
charity, and a serious incident occurs, the charity risks losing the support of the public it depends on for survival. It is an extra expense, granted, but it is one which charities cannot afford not to spend. The personal background of a potential volunteer worker is just too important.
Record checking is not limited to criminal records. The credit reports which detail an individual's credit history are also used in background checks, and not just in cases where the job has an element of money management. The finance industry, of course, is very strict on who it employs in this regard.
These negative credit marks do come off the record in time. Most marks, due to defaulted accounts being passed on to outside agencies, will stay on the file for seven years. Even civil lawsuits will be erased in seven years time. The only record which lasts longer is a record of bankruptcy, which takes ten years to disappear from the record. As you can see, even that extreme case is not a permanent lifetime ban on being able to work in financial services.
Record checking should really be revealed in advance, Of course, in many cases, the person being checked knows that it is going to happen as a matter of routine, but there are many cases where the checks are carried out without the knowledge or consent of the person involved. This is always better avoided, as you can eliminate a lot of bad prospects, because they know they would not have been able to pass through the checks. It is important to reveal in advance that you will be carrying out record checking.
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