BS7858 Security Screening

Best Practice Procedure.

Published by the British Standards Institution, BS7858 is considered the best practice procedure for employees working in a secure environment.

Businesses and industries across the UK use BS7858 to enhance their security and recruitment processes. This type of screening isn’t just used for individuals employed in security.

It can apply to any employee working in an environment where the safety and security of property, goods or people is a requirement of the employer’s operations or where it is in the public interest to use such security screening.

Employment Screening to Meet the Standard.

Accurate can help employers achieve compliance with the screening standards set out in BS7858 by conducting the following checks:

Employment referencing covering a period of 5 or 10 years.
This covers all employment and activities during the screening period, and allows us to perform gap analysis.

Analysis and evidencing of employment gaps.
BS7858 requires more in-depth analysis and evidencing of employment gaps than standard employment screening – all gaps of 31 days or more must be qualified.

Criminal record checks.
BS7858 requires that a basic DBS check is conducted for non-SIA registered employees; however, Accurate are also able to offer standard or enhanced DBS criminal record checks, if the role for which the employee is applying meets the relevant eligibility criteria.

Address history verification.
Checks against the publicly available electoral register are run in conjunction with UK credit (financial standing) checks.

Financial standing checks.
Also referred to as credit checks, these checks look for public records including bankruptcies and County Court Judgments (CCJs) and must be completed before the candidate starts employment.

Verification of SIA License.
This doesn’t always apply but is vital for security positions.

Global Sanctions.
The Global Sanctions and PEP check is a database search which consults a number of important UK and international sanction lists. It also includes information pertaining to politically exposed persons (PEPs). Global Sanction checks are required for BS7858 compliance.

Two-Stage Screening Process.

Screening is carried out in two stages. The initial ‘conditional’ screening lets the candidate start work as soon as they have met the minimum requirements. In the meantime, the full screening process continues, with the results being passed to the employer as soon as they are available.

Accredited Provider.

Vero Screening Limited trading as Accurate is audited annually by the National Security Inspectorate for ongoing compliance to the required standard. Our standard of screening is so high we have held NSI Silver certification since 2014 and continue to work with authorities to keep our screening at an industry leading level.

Approval number: 6535