Quick guide to Credit Checks

While pre-employment credit checks have long been required for compliance in financial and legal roles, credit checks have become commonplace in many companies, with employers reporting that they now routinely carry out credit checks as part of a comprehensive background screening process when recruiting for all positions.

The type of searches used in pre-employment checks are called Soft Searches, and will confirm the candidates name, date of birth and address history as well as electoral roll status, CCJs or IVAs, missed payments, bankruptcy, and house repossessions. The information available to potential employers through a soft search is much less detailed than that which is available to creditors through a Hard Search.

To differentiate from pre-lending checks carried out by creditors, employers often use terms such as adverse financial, financial probity or consumer search to describe pre-employment credit checks, and despite Soft Searches being carried out through the same reporting companies (Equifax, Experion etc), employment credit checks don’t leave a mark on a candidates credit file.

Pre-employment credit checks are a useful tool in mitigating the risk of fraud, by uncovering bad financial situations, and although a positive credit check doesn’t guarantee that a candidate is trustworthy, it might bring up red flags which could cast doubt over a candidates suitability for a role which requires access to data, money, company accounts or assets. In addition, a bad financial situation might impact a candidate’s behaviour at work and a solid credit report might indicate that a candidate would make a responsible staff member.

Credit checks also help ensure that candidates are who they say they are by confirming important information found in other checks.

A specialist pre-employment screening company can help ensure that credit checks are thorough and effective. Veremark carries out comprehensive credit checks against all linked addresses, all previous names and aliases, and all addresses linked to aliases, to ensure that candidates are unable to conceal details of bad credit by omitting previous address details.

Requesting a check is simple, candidates must provide consent to employers carrying out the credit check, along with full name and title, date of birth and current address, with this information the check can begin.

Veremark completes credit checks in as little as five days, and our checks result in a full report which can be added to the Veremark Career Passport for easy sharing of data and protection through blockchain.

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