Everything you need to know about pre-employment screening

Carly Taylor
Jun 3
4 min read

Updated: 7 days ago

Pre-employment screening checks are an important part of any organisation’s hiring process. These checks help you to ensure that the person you’re hiring is who they say they are. They can also help you to meet certain legal requirements.

Are you a seasoned HR professional looking to optimise your screening process? Or are you a new hiring manager who wants to understand the basic? Whatever your position, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about pre-employment screening. We cover everything from why you need to do it, to how to efficiently carry out essential checks.

What is pre-employment screening?

Pre-employment screening is used to verify a candidate’s background, qualifications and suitability for the role. They’re usually done after the interview at the stage of giving a conditional offer. In that case, the condition being that the candidate must pass all the relevant checks.

These checks help employers confirm that candidates are who they say they are, with the right skills and qualifications. It also ensures they don’t have undisclosed issues that could impact their ability to do the job. It also minimises the risks they may pose to the company. It can cover things like:

Regulatory compliance: Making sure that candidates meet industry-specific and general employment requirements.
Risk mitigation: Identifying potential issues, such as undisclosed criminal history, false qualifications, or conflicts of interest.
Quality assurance: Confirms that candidates have the qualifications and experience they’ve claimed on their CV.

What are the different types of pre-employment screening?

There are various types of pre-employment checks that can help employers to confirm these details. Not every organisation, nor every role, will require all of the available checks. It’s important to tailor your background checks to the needs of the role and of your business. Using an automated platform like VettingGateway means you can do all the checks you need, all in one place.

Some of the most common types of background checks include:

Criminal record checks: These reveal whether a candidate has a criminal history. There are different levels of checks you can conduct, ranging from basic conviction information to comprehensive background reports. The level you need will depend on the role’s requirements and legal regulations.
Digital Right to Work checks: These checks confirm whether your candidates can legally work in the UK. They’re required by all employers in the UK. It’s an offence to hire someone who doesn't have the Right to Work in the UK. It’s also an offence to hire those who provide incorrect or fraudulent documents.
Employer reference checks: This type of check contacts a candidate’s previous employer to verify employment dates, job titles, responsibilities, and sometimes performance information.
Identity checks: These checks validate official identity documents to help prevent identity fraud and confirm that the candidate is who they say.
Adverse financial checks: Gain peace of mind when hiring finance-related roles by assessing your candidate's financial background.
FCA checks: Discover whether your candidate is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), an essential check for financial services roles.
Sanctions check: Discover whether your candidate appears on the UK government sanctions list. This protects your organisation from potential reputational or financial risks.

Benefits of pre-employment checks

Pre-employment screening isn’t just about following rules and regulations. It’s also beneficial for your company, helping you to avoid risk and improving the quality of your hires.

Protecting your organisation from costly mistakes

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that replacing an employee can cost between 50-60% of their annual salary. That means that making a bad hire could cost your company dearly. These costs come from multiple sources, including decreased productivity, time spent training and managing underperforming employees and potential legal issues. That’s not even to mention the costs of hiring a replacement.

Carrying out verification like right to work checks, employer references and DBS checks ensures all the boxes are ticked. They identify any potential red flags before you’ve invested, protecting you as an employer, and reducing the risk.

Ensuring legal compliance

In many industries, and for many positions, certain pre-employment checks are legally required. This includes working in airports or when working with children. Additionally, all employers in the UK must carry out Right to Work checks. You can be fined up to £60,000 if you employ someone without the right to work in the UK.

Improving workplace safety and security

Pre-employment screening is important to help maintain a safe, secure work environment. Criminal background checks, for example, can help to identify candidates with criminal histories. These candidates may potentially pose a risk to colleagues, customers, or company assets.

This is particularly important for certain positions. Examples include direct responsibility for others' wellbeing, access to sensitive information, or handling of financial assets.

Improving the quality of your hires

Verifying educational and professional qualifications and employment history ensures that your candidates have the skills and experience they claim. This leads to better hiring decisions and improved team performance, improving the standards across your business.

How long do pre-employment checks take?

Background checks can be a lengthy process, especially if you’re conducting them manually. It varies depending on the types of checks that are needed, but can often take weeks. This process is time-consuming for your HR teams. It’s also frustrating for the candidate who’s waiting for a firm offer of employment.

Using an automated system like VettingGateway can dramatically speed up the process. By using one platform to streamline all your background checks you can speed up your time-to-hire and reduce complexity. Aviation background checks, for example, take on average 22 days using VettingGateway, in comparison to an industry average of 8-12 weeks.

Additional benefits of using an automated all-in-one platform like VettingGateway include:

A faster time-to-hire: With quicker checks, you can get your final offer out faster. That means your new hire can start sooner rather than later.
Eliminate the use of multiple platforms: With everyone in one place, the complexity of managing different tools for different checks is removed.
Reduced admin: Automated systems minimise manual data entry and follow-up, freeing your HR team to focus on more strategic tasks.
Deliver a great candidate experience: Screening checks are part of the onboarding process. If they take too long, it can create a negative impression of your company.
Improved accuracy: Automation reduces the risk of human error in the verification process, ensuring more reliable results.
Scalability: An automated platform can easily accommodate fluctuations in hiring volume without requiring additional resources.