background checks

Background checks are an essential part of your human resource management.

They provide you with the information you need to mitigate risk and achieve regulatory compliance. Get peace of mind by completing your background checks with the UK’s highest-rated background screening provider.

More than half of all job applicants lie on their CVs. This can include anything from false qualifications or skills to inaccurate job titles, responsibilities and previous employers. According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, your business risks upwards of £130,000 by hiring badly at a mid-management level. The potential dangers grow with the seniority of the hire.

A robust background screening process can help ensure you protect your organisation, your employees and your reputation. We offer a comprehensive range of background checks to help you secure your business. Check out our most popular background checks below. If you can’t find the checks you need, get in touch and we can discuss the full range of background checks we can provide.

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Why Background Checks?

  • Identity Verification

    Identity fraud has seen huge growth in the past few years. Background checks help verify the identity of your candidates and protect your business from being defrauded.

  • Risk Mitigation

    Make your human resource management safe and transparent. Background checks give you the information you need to keep risk to a minimum.

  • Employment History

    Sources show between 40-90% of the UK’s workforce have lied on their CV to gain employment. Background checks give you the tools needed to confirm the truth.

  • Regulatory Compliance

    Satisfy your regulatory obligations with tailored screening packages. Give yourself the information needed to protect your business, your clients and the public.

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Our most popular background checks

IDentity Checks

Identity fraud is one of the most common but serious problems faced in recruitment today. Our identity checks use advanced technology to provide a score to indicate the degree of confidence in an individual’s identity. This provides you with confidence that your potential recruits are who they say they are.

Adverse Credit Checks

These checks help demonstrate that you have carried our proportionate screening to confirm an individual is ‘fit and proper’ under FCA guidance. However, they are available to any organisation to help with their recruitment decisions. 

This is the perfect check for individuals responsible for managing money in your organisation. Adverse Credit Checks search publicly available data to reveal information, including: CCJ’s, bankruptcies, voluntary arrangements, decrees in Scotland and administration orders. 

Reference Checks

Reference checks are a broad title that covers a lot of things. While we do offer reference checks that confirm an individual's employment history, they offer much more than that. 

Our range of reference checks cover: Occupational History (up to 6 years and 10 years); Self-employment; Education, confirming level and types of qualifications gained; and many more.  

DVLA Checks

If driving is part of your business, DVLA Checks are essential to ensure both safety and compliance. DVLA checks allow you to view an individual’s licence validity, any disqualifications, penalty points or offences and any vehicles the licence holder can legally drive.

They give you the information you need to keep your business protected from poor or illegal driving.

FCA Checks

FCA Checks search the FCA database for a person’s name, status, FCA reference number, senior management & controlled functions, current employer name and start date, as well as any previous employers where the person worked in a controlled function, with start and end dates.

The details and dates of any disciplinary action taken through the FCA are also listed in the search results.

Employment history Checks

Our Employment History Checks provide a complete history of an applicants work history including all periods of employment, self-employment, unemployment etc.

As standard, any gaps over 28 days are investigated and supported. These checks can cover 3, 5, 6 and 10 years of employment history.

Directorship Checks

Directorship Checks indicate if a candidate holds any current or previous directorships, or is currently disqualified.

The information provided by these checks helps assess potential risks or conflicts of interest when appointing directors and senior management.

Sanctions Checks

Sanctions Checks search for sanctions, enforcements and warnings in the UK and worldwide.

The search includes individuals known or suspected to be affiliated with terrorism, money laundering, fraudsters, drug trafficking, arms dealing, war crimes, white-collar fraud or other illegal activities, as well as Politically Exposed Persons (PEP's)

Education Checks

We can run two types of checks that can confirm a candidates qualifications and education.

Extensive professional membership checks, validating a candidate’s membership of professional or technical bodies, their dates of membership and any qualifications gained.

Education Checks provide you with confirmation of a candidate’s education qualification. We confirm the period of attendance, the type of qualification gained, subjects studied and grades achieved.

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We have background checking experts ready and waiting to help guide you in making the right decisions for your business.

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 Background Checks FAQs

  • Turnaround times can vary significantly depending on the type of check being carried out. Certain checks can be completed almost instantly, others can take a few days, while the most comprehensive checks can take a few weeks.

  • No. The Adverse Credit Check we offer is a ‘soft search’ which means it will not show up on an individual’s credit report.

    The Adverse Financial Check searches publicly available data to reveal any adverse information, including: CCJ’s, bankruptcies, voluntary arrangements, decrees in Scotland and administration orders.

  • Certain background checks can be mandatory depending on the industry. The most common checks needed for regulatory compliance include:

    • DBS Checks

    • Qualification Checks

    • Adverse Financial Checks

    • FCA Checks

    • DVLA Checks

    • Sanctions Checks

    Completing a Right to Work check is compulsory regardless of industry.

  • Some referee organisations charge an extra fee to provide a reference. The extra charges incurred are solely to cover these costs. Personnel Checks have no control over these charges.

  • Certain checks do include international information. Sanctions checks cover sanctions, enforcements and warnings in the UK and worldwide. Media checks also search for any mention of an individual’s name in any publicly available publication.

    There are other checks that can potentially cover international data but this can depend on the circumstances.

    If you are recruiting internationally, we also offer a comprehensive range of international criminal and civil record checks. For more information, get in touch with one of our consultants directly. They will be able to advise you on the ideal solution.

  • Standard practice is to carry out background checks before someone begins employment. This is why they are often known as pre-employment checks.

    We would suggest only conducting background checks once you have offered someone a position. But make it clear that this offer is conditional until the results of the background checks have been received.