Employee Screening Regulations and Compliance.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates over 50,000 organisations. n order to hold a position of responsibility and become an ‘approved person’ at a financial firm, an individual should know and meet the FCA’s regulatory requirements.

As part of this, employees are expected to meet a ‘fit and proper’ test, comply with the Statements of Principle and Code of Practice, as well as report any information which could affect their suitability as part of FCA screening tests.

An individual’s propriety will be judged on their honesty, competence, capability and financial soundness which is assessed through financial checks.

Senior roles, sensitive positions and jobs with contextual vulnerabilities require not only an assessment of experience and technical ability, but also of qualitative attributes and potential reputational risk. It is therefore vital that an employer has access to objective, independent intelligence regarding any high-level applicant.

Under the FCA SMCR ‘Fit & Proper’ rules apply to Senior Managers, Certified Persons and all staff under conduct rules within the following industries:

• Consumer credit firms
• Payments service institutions
• E-money firms
• Insurance companies
• Home finance providers
• Financial investment organisations or advisers
• Co-operative societies
• Sale and rent back firms
• Community benefit societies
• Working men’s clubs
• Retail intermediaries
• Companies who provide regulated organisations with products or services, such as, software providers, call centres, recruitment agencies and building or maintenance firms.

FCA screening is required for anyone who is an ‘approved person’ working in a controlled function role. It is not relevant for all employees working for an FCA regulated organisation (listed above), instead screening is enforced on an individual basis referencing the career role the person intends on taking.

A collection of multiple background checks run in accordance with the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 must be completed. These checks include:

• Financial checks, such as a credit report and analysis of any CCJs or declared bankruptcies
• ID validation
• 5 years’ worth of employment validation and gap analysis
• Highest qualification verification
• DBS check
• FCA register validation search and disciplinary validation
• UK directorship and disqualifications check

The FCA screening/recreening process ensures that only those who are qualified for a role and meet “fit and proper” criteria will be employed or continue to be employed by your organisation. This ensures your company is only accountable for its actions and not the actions of someone else.

Rescreening is the process of screening current employees after a period of employment, compared to the traditional background screening of potential employees pre-hire. This best practice is now an FCA requirement across multiple industries.

The need for rescreening and the frequency it is undertaken will vary. Typical instances of when employers may rescreen employees are:

• Annually – For regulated positions. In particular, if the role is Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated and falls under the Senior Managers Regime (SMR) then annual rescreening is required to demonstrate that employees are fit for their role.
• Periodically – For companies who rescreen, this is often processed in cycles. For example, employees may be screened once every three years, meaning that within a three year cycle all employees are rescreened. This has the added benefit of spreading the cost of rescreening over three financial years.
• Before a move to a higher-risk position – Moving to a managerial role, perhaps with control over budget, may require a rescreen, particularly if the initial screen was for an entry level role. This could also apply if a role is given new responsibilities which make the job higher risk.
• When moving internationally within your company – Unless you have a global screening policy in place, it is likely that candidates will be screened to different standards in different locations.
• Following a merger/acquisition – If a company is bought out by another, it is possible that the background screening may have not been to the same standard, and candidates may need to be rescreened.

Vero offers a range of FCA screening services, from high-risk to low-risk applicants, we have the perfect solution for your needs. We can provide you with a free, no-obligation consultation. Our innovative technology will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your employees are vetted and safe.

When you are hiring anyone, you plan to trust them with private information. That trust is elevated when working remotely. The very same technology that makes remote work possible also gives new hires access to proprietary client and company information. Just because you work from the comfort of your own home does not mean you should forget the security precautions of the office.

The responsibility is on the hiring manager to protect the company from anyone who could pose a threat. Therefore, criminal convictions, motor vehicle records, education history, and employment history all need background screening before you can finish the hiring process.

Hiring remote employees does not have to be hard. Vero has systems in place to make employment background checks for remote workers easy.

Vero can research everything from employment background, to social security number trace, and even drug tests. We update you in real-time following each background screening report.

We pair you with professional background screeners. Vero integrates with your company and becomes an extension of your HR team during the background check process. Vero Screening gets you better, faster results, and always keeps a direct line of communication open.

As international job candidates become more common and hiring across international frontiers the norm, international background checks enable employers to make more informed hiring decisions.

Since there’s no global database that allows employers to review information for applicants all in one place, international background checks ensure records are checked in each country where the applicant has lived.

International background checks help your business:

• Make informed decisions based on reliable results from global databases and sources.
• Ensure your candidate’s employment history is accurate.
• Confirm your candidate has the skills and experience required
• Reduce the risk of a bad hire
• Ensure a consistent, globally compliant approach to background screening processes

What’s included in an international background check is entirely up to you. We can create bespoke packages to meet your specific needs. That said, the following information is usually included in international checks, where available:

• Criminal record checks
• Education verifications
• Employment and professional references
• Credit (financial integrity) checksHandling UK Data Overseas staff will be subject to GDPR UK, DPA, SMCR as well as their own Data Protection and information privacy legislation.

Each country has varying laws about the type of criminal records that are available and who is allowed to access them. Each country also has its own discrimination laws that govern how an employer may use the information within a criminal record.

In the current era of globalised workforces, it’s more important than ever for organisations to protect themselves, their brand reputation and their employees by ensuring they have a well thought out and consistent global screening policy.

We can help you identify the legal, social and cultural screening requirements and prohibitions and considerations in each of the countries you intend to hire in. For each country where workers have personal, work and education history, we’ll help you find out if there are existing regulations concerning background screening. It’s important to be aware that failure to meet country-specific regulations could result in your business being non-compliant in that country, or leave you open to claims your background screening process is discriminatory.

Screening applicants from different backgrounds and in different countries requires that HR deal with prospective employees from a multitude of cultures and nationalities, all with their own expectations and regulations.

From an international perspective, the process of screening applicants from different nationalities can be more difficult than from a local perspective. Not every country has the same hiring regulations and requirements, meaning that the process of screening applicants from different nationalities can be more complicated.

• Navigate Local Laws & Requirements
• Right To Work
• Data Protection/GDPR
• Handling UK Data (FCA/SMCR)
• Anti Money Laundering

Our international background screening and pre-employment checks have been developed to span the globe. Vero can help wherever your recruitment and talent acquisition takes you.

Employers are legally allowed to run background checks on potential hires provided they comply with applicable law. Employers don’t have free rein; there are a number of complex, ever-changing regulations surrounding the collection, use, and disposal of personal information obtained during employment screening that vary from country to country. Compliance with these regulations is critical.

We understand the importance of conducting background checks in a compliant manner, and we are here to help! Vero offers a number of services to help you comply with these regulations, including consultations, document reviews and compliance assessments.

We can help you avoid costly fines or lawsuits by providing a full suite of services, and avoid costly fines or even worse, legal action. We’ll tell you exactly what the rules are and how to keep your business safe and sound.

Are you looking for a way to make sure your company is fully compliant with the local data protection laws?

It’s important o know the local data protection laws of the country where you’re hiring and conducting your international background screening. As an organisation which processes large volumes of personal data, we take our responsibility to protect the personal data seriously.

Any personal data you provide to us will only be used solely for your employment screening exercise. We employ strict technical and organisational measures to safeguard the secure collection, processing, use and storage of your personal data and our employment screening services are conducted in a manner which is compliant with the principles set down in Article 5 of the GDPR.

• Lawfulness, fairness and transparency
• Purpose limitation
• Data minimisation
• Accuracy
• Storage limitation
• Integrity and confidentiality
• Security standards

Whether you’re just starting out or looking for an expansion opportunity, Vero likewise aligns with international privacy legislation beyond GDPR including APPS, POPIA, CCPA and many more. We have a team of experts who can help you navigate the complex international privacy laws that are in place today and you can feel confident knowing that we have your organisation’s best interests at heart.

Vero is ISO 27001:2013 certified. This is a testament as a supplier to our commitment to keeping your data safe.

Information security is crucial to our organisation – allowing the safe transfer of data to and from the various data providers we work with and protecting the information we hold.

For Vero, information security performs three important roles. It protects our ability to function, enables safe operations on the data stored in our systems and protects the data we collect and process.

“Information security and data protection remain at the heart of everything we do and at the forefront of all of our minds. We will be constantly evolving, improving and auditing our systems in order to provide the best possible service to our customers.” – Georgina Wilson.

Vero’s approach to information security covers a raft of technical, organisational and operational controls. We prioritise the integrity and confidentiality of your data and your candidates’ data at all times, using a formal Information Security Management System (ISMS) which is fully compliant with the internationally recognised standard ISO27001.