We just published a guest article on EmployeeScreen University by Verifile Limited’s Eyal Ben Cohen about international employment background checks. Check out this excerpt below.
International background screening is rising in prominence and is becoming ever more critical to businesses as borders open up and the battle to hire the best talent intensifies. This article provides an overview of international background screening and an insight into the importance of conducting thorough international employee checks correctly and legally.
So picture this scenario, Mark has been appointed to a new senior role and his employer wants to check his background. He has had an international education and career path which has enabled him to work abroad. He studied in Switzerland and Germany and enjoyed a successful career in Australia, Malaysia and the UK before moving to the US. This will not be a completely unusual scenario to many readers. But how can we effectively check Mark’s credentials to ensure he has been honest and truthful in his application for the role?
Evidently we are going to have to screen Mark in each of those countries mentioned, but how should we do this? Many screening companies are experts on the rules and regulations of their own countries, but many do not know to what extent regulations or background checks differ abroad. Before starting any checks we need to have a clear understanding of the local laws and cultures in each country. For example, in the US criminal records are obtained from county and Federal courts, but it is impractical to conduct a national check by going to every court in the US. But this does not mean that the rest of the world uses the same process. On the other hand in the UK, national checks are possible through official government bodies set up for this purpose, and indeed by law it is illegal to obtain criminal records in any other way, for example by trying to copy the US approach by going to a local court.
When faced with an international check, there are six key areas to consider:
