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FAQ's

Q. What are the benefits of background checking?

Pre-employment or pre-contract checking is an effective way to manage the people risks associated with your organisation. Businesses and public sector organisations alike are at significant risk if they do not really know the people they employ and the companies that work with them.
It is your front line of defence against dishonesty and security breaches by staff including theft, forgery, fraud, misuse of property, passing confidential data or sensitive information to others, product tampering, industrial or commercial spying etc.
It protects against employing someone illegally.
Validating a candidate's CV reduces your risk from poor performance by candidates who have exaggerated their qualifications, abilities and experience to gain positions beyond their level of competence or from being let down by sub contractors, suppliers or other partner organisations who cannot deliver their promises.
Ensuring the integrity of your employees protects your relationships with customers and your reputation.
It is necessary to comply with corporate governance best practices and with Financial Services Authority requirements.
It demonstrates due diligence, which gives your organisation a measure of legal protection. It may also help with claims on your fiduciary insurance.

Q What really are the risks to my organisation?

Use our Threat Analyser to discover your risks or carry out our Risk Assessment

Q Who should I have checked?

We advise you to have background checks carried out on all candidates for employment, prospective business partners, or sub-contractors. It is critical to conduct checks on applicants for positions considered sensitive or which are regulated.

Q What services do you offer?

We offer a range of employment screening service level options, together with advice on which best meet the needs of your organisation. Alternatively, if required, our consultants will work with you to design and implement a customised background checking and screening system specific to your organisation. See our products and services

We can undertake background check and security screening for people working in high security or sensitive environments.

If required we can conduct an assessment of your organisation's "people risks" and advise on how to mitigate them.

We offer a screening consultancy service for companies with existing checking systems in place, to analyse their effectiveness; assess them against best practice and recommend improvements.

We offer a screening consultancy service for companies without existing checking systems, whereby we evaluate the risks, take account of the culture of the organisation and the environment in which the background check and validation services will need to function and then provide solutions designed specifically for the needs of your organisation.

Q How does the background check process work?

Our service is flexible and responsive to clients' individual requirements. Our process is designed to integrate with your HR processes.

There is an initial consultation to establish your organisation's needs and draw up a service specification and cost structure.
Our process is open and compliant with regulatory requirements. Candidates are asked to sign a declaration of consent to the vetting process.
We can advise on the structure and content of your application form, or devise one for you.
Once the form is completed we undertake the relevant background checks and validation of information provided by the candidate. Documented verification to support our findings always sought.
There is a dedicated personal relationship points within our consultancy for each client.
We provide updates on status of enquiries or any matters likely to impact on the process.
Discrepancies in the subject's CV or credentials are quickly brought to the client's attention.
A final report is produced in format agreed with client

Q Can I get GSL to undertake part of the process and keep part in house?

Yes. We would work with you to develop a service to suit your specific requirements, either from our range of options or customised.

Q Can you carry out criminal records checks?

Yes, we are able to carry out criminal record checks on behalf of organisations which have a legitimate need for such protection. We are registered with the Criminal Records Bureau and Disclosure Scotland and authorised in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, to act as an umbrella organisation to carry out criminal records checks and checks against people who have been barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.

Q Do you carry out international checks?

Yes. We are capable of conducting checks in other countries, and will work within both UK and "local country" legislation.

Q Do you obtain written or verbal references?

We can do either or both according to client requirements and the client's time constraints. However, our experience leads us to recommend written references.

Q What about the Data Protection Act. Doesn't it restrict background checks?

Background checks and security clearance procedures are a routine part of obtaining employment. You should make it clear early in the recruitment process that vetting will take place and how it will be conducted. The extent and the nature of the information sought must proportionate and justified.

Our processing operations are registered with the Office of the Information Commissioner and we comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act. We will not undertake any checks without the knowledge of the individual.

Q How long can we retain information on a candidate?

You should establish a clear business need for the records you keep. Retention periods should be clearly defined and based on that need. The Information Commissioner advises that vetting information should be destroyed as soon as possible or in any case within 6 months. A record of the result of vetting or verification can be retained.

Where conviction material is obtained from the Criminal Records Bureau it should be deleted within 6 months of the date of the check or appointment of the applicant or otherwise.

Q Are candidates likely to object to an outside consultancy conducting background checks on them, on behalf of my organisation?

In our experience that is unlikely. Candidates often prefer to keep the process of the background check into their personal information separate from their prospective future employer's organisation. Of course, you would receive a report of the outcome of our process.

Q What can an outside resource provide that we cannot do in house?

You can conduct background checking and security clearance in house, if you have the specialised know how, the contacts, the resources, the time and an understanding of the relevant legal provisions.

However, even if you have these attributes available in house, the requirement for pre-employment background checking is usually an intermittent one and the process is time consuming. Most organisations find it more efficient and cost-effective to contract out this service to a specialist provider such as GSL, to enable their HR people to focus on their core responsibilities.

The focus of our operation and its scale means that we are able to subscribe to information sources that many firms would find uneconomic for intermittent use.