Is Verifiable, Signed Consent Required by the
Majority of Education Institutions and Employers
before they will Release Information about Their
Students or Employees, Past or Present?
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Summary
As an international leader in employment screening, BackCheck is asked to verify the employment and education history of tens of thousands of individuals each year. To accomplish this task efficiently, BackCheck has assembled a database consisting of the verification policies for most of the major employers and almost all education institutions in the United Kingdom and North America. The overwhelming conclusion based on an analysis of BackCheck’s internal database, plus the published requirements of major employers and schools, is that signed, verifiable consent must be provided by the applicant before employers or education institutions will release historical information about their students or employees.
Verifying the information on an applicant’s CV is a common hiring practice and a cost-effective tool that should be part of your risk management programme. Since 12% of candidates embellish their education history, and 33% of candidates misrepresent their employment history, verifications from past employers and education institutions provide invaluable information.
Work history and education records are considered private information, and as such it is the norm for organisations to protect these records, only releasing information with the explicit consent of the candidate – consent that includes the candidate’s signature. Best practice dictates that to verify employment or education history, one must go directly to the source of the information, such as a school’s registrar’s office or the payroll department at an employer. BackCheck’s typical turnaround time for these checks is three (3) to five (5) business days when the candidate has provided their signed consent. Without signed consent, the likelihood of obtaining either an employment or education verification is very slim.
BackCheck audited several hundred background checks that had been conducted on behalf of UK employers in 2009. Over 80% of employers required verifiable signed consent before releasing information, while 90% of schools required signed consent.
BackCheck offers a variety of ways for our clients to gain their candidates’ verifiable signed consent – such as customised paper consent forms and our proprietary paperless eConsent system, which gathers an electronic signature that is accepted by both employers and education institutions.
To facilitate industry best turnaround times and completion rates, BackCheck keeps a close record of the verification requirements of each institution it contacts; Background checking without timely results and high completion rates is hardly worth the investment. As a best practice leader, BackCheck works hard to bring you the most complete solutions that will deliver the most thorough results, at an affordable price.
| 30% of candidates misrepresent their Employment History |
