Not many credit card users are aware that their credit utilisation has a considerable influence on their credit score. If you have multiple credit cards that have their credit limit mostly used it reflects that you are not able to manage your finances and will negatively affect the credit score. However, if you use the credit limit prudently i.e., just…
Recruiting workers from outside the UK has become harder since Brexit, but employers with skilled jobs are still looking for the best talent around the globe to fill vacancies. Despite this, a recent survey has shown that around half of the members of staff arriving from overseas have no background vetting at all, compared with three quarters of staff from…
Although background screening or pre-employment checking are commonly used terms in private sector companies, governments and security jobs will often use the term vetting instead. In October 2020 the UK government issued new guidance, designed to let both applicants and recruiters within government know a bit more about the security vetting process. Security vetting is all about minimising risks in…
There’s no shortage of jokes about lying on your CV, and the reason why most of us chuckle when we hear them is because we all know someone who’s inflated their GCSE grades or exaggerated their experience. It’s seen as fair game to embellish your CV, as long as it gets you the job. Employers know it goes on though,…
Security clearance can mean a lot of different things, but in the UK is generally used when dealing with jobs in defence and national security. These jobs are sensitive in nature and could involve being privy to secret information or national secrets. People employed to work in the Army, or in the control room of a nuclear power station have…
Every company will have its own approach to how they check up on people who are applying for jobs within their organisation. There are only a few situations in which employers have a legal obligation to screen candidates before hiring, so companies are free to make their own decisions about how to approach screening. The key concept which should be…
It sounds like a riddle – when is a job offer not a job offer? Employers are increasingly carrying out a wide range of screening tests on staff before employing them, and it’s standard to make any job offer conditional on passing whatever tests the employer wishes to put in place. Most often, these conditional offers are associated with criminal…
If you run a small or medium sized business, you will be well aware how busy your HR department can be, dealing with everything from disciplinaries to payroll. Often, pre-employment checks and screening can fall towards the bottom of the priority list, which means the checks are rushed or just overlooked altogether. Could outsourcing the checks to an external provider…
If you are running one of the many companies which is starting to delve deeper into the background of people applying for positions, should you have a written policy on it? Most HR organisations agree that background screening is a positive step which companies can take to minimise the risk of employing someone who is at best unsuitable for the…
Employers can see how tempting it is for employees to tell a few white lies on their CV. Giving yourself a team leader position when you were just a team member, tweaking A-level grades, extending employment periods to cover gaps. Who’s going to notice and why does it matter? Most candidates aren’t aware that in the UK, lying on your…