• Why do employers request background checks?

[CA]

Depending on the position the candidate has applied for, employers may wish to carry out a background check on a potential employee.

A check may collect employment references, verify academic qualifications, check criminal and credit history, social media records, or even the candidate's activity during a certain period.

This is to ensure the candidate is a right fit for the role and to prevent fraud relating to falsification of documents and discrepancies in CVs.

The main reasons for employers to do background checks are:

• Determining whether the candidate is a safe and appropriate for the role
• Keeping the business and employees safe
• Verifying the candidate is qualified
• Complying with governmental laws and regulations

The reason a background check is required is always the employer's discretion, so if you are unsure why your checks have been requested, we would advise to discuss this with the company requesting your checks.

Whilst we have taken care to ensure that this information is accurate, we update articles regularly. If you feel something is incorrect, please use the feedback buttons below to tell us how we could improve.