A background check verifies the claims a candidate has made - contacting references, confirming qualifications, and where relevant checking criminal record and credit history - before an offer is finalised or a hire starts.
What it means
What can be checked, and how, is governed by privacy and employment law - a credit check, for instance, is only appropriate for roles where financial trustworthiness is genuinely relevant to the job, not as a blanket practice.
Where it fits in
A background check typically sits between the interview stage and the formal job offer, since a serious discrepancy found here can change or withdraw an offer before it becomes binding.
Key rules
- Verifies references, qualifications and, where relevant, criminal or credit history.
- What is checked must be relevant to the role, not applied as a blanket practice.
- Sits between interviewing and the formal job offer.
- A serious discrepancy found here can change or withdraw an offer.
