Pre-employment background checks help employers verify candidates, meet legal and regulatory requirements, and make more informed hiring decisions.

But effective pre-employment screening is not simply about running as many checks as possible.

Employers need to determine which checks are appropriate for the role, process candidate information lawfully, apply their screening policy consistently, and have a clear process for dealing with discrepancies or adverse results.

Getting this wrong can create unnecessary delays, poor candidate experiences, compliance risks, and even failed starts.

This guide covers six best practices for running pre-employment background checks in the UK, including how to choose appropriate checks, manage candidate data, respond to adverse results, and build a more efficient screening process.

Looking for the checks themselves? You can explore all our employment background checks, including example reports, to understand which checks employers should consider for different roles.

 

What are pre-employment background checks?

Pre-employment background checks are checks carried out during the recruitment and onboarding process to verify information about a candidate and determine whether they meet the requirements of a particular role.

You may also see the process described as pre-employment screening, pre-employment vetting, or employment background screening.

There is no single set of background checks that every UK employer should automatically perform.

The ICO advises that pre-employment vetting should be justified by a legal obligation or a significant and particular risk, and that the checks performed should be proportionate to that risk. Employers should not routinely vet every candidate unless there is a legal requirement to do so.

The appropriate checks will therefore depend on factors including the role, responsibilities, industry, regulatory requirements, and risks involved.

 

What is included in a pre-employment background check?

A pre-employment background check can include several different checks rather than one universal screening process.

Depending on the role, an employer might consider:

• Identity verification to help establish that a candidate is who they claim to be.
• Right to Work checks to establish whether an individual has the right to carry out the work being offered in the UK. Employers must conduct the prescribed check before employment to establish a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty.
• Criminal record checks, such as Basic, Standard, or Enhanced DBS checks in England and Wales, where the appropriate level depends on the role and its eligibility.
• Employment history and references to verify previous employment and information supplied by the candidate.
• Education and qualification verification where qualifications, licences, or professional credentials are relevant to the position.
• Credit checks where financial information is relevant and proportionate to the responsibilities of the role.
• DVLA driving licence checks where an employee will drive as part of their work.
• Sanctions and other regulatory checks where required or justified by the organisation’s regulatory obligations or risk profile.
• International background checks where a candidate has lived, worked, or studied overseas and relevant information cannot be established through UK checks alone.

For example, a DBS check does not cover periods when an applicant lived outside the UK, meaning employers may need to consider appropriate overseas criminal record checks where relevant.

 

Why are pre-employment background checks important?

A well-designed pre-employment screening process helps an organisation establish whether a candidate meets the requirements of a role before they start work.

Depending on the organisation and position, screening can help employers:

• meet legal and regulatory requirements;
• verify a candidate’s identity, employment history, qualifications, and other relevant information;
• identify discrepancies before onboarding is complete;
• reduce the risk of unsuitable appointments;
• maintain a consistent and auditable recruitment process;
• protect employees, customers, clients, and the organisation; and
• reduce avoidable delays between offer and start date.

The objective should not be to uncover as much information as possible about a candidate. Instead, professional background checks should be targeted and proportionate to the risks and responsibilities associated with the role.

That principle should form the basis of your pre-employment vetting policy.

 

1) Apply your pre-employment checks consistently

Implementing a documented background screening policy can help you create consistent procedures across your organisation and reduce the risk of different candidates being treated differently without justification.

Your policy should establish which pre-employment checks apply to each type of role, who is responsible for completing them, when checks should take place, and how results are assessed.

As part of this process:

• define screening requirements by role or risk level;
• apply the same criteria to candidates applying for equivalent roles;
• document how discrepancies and adverse results will be handled;
• make sure relevant employees understand their screening responsibilities;
• avoid making assumptions based on a candidate’s nationality or other protected characteristics;
• record decisions where screening results require further assessment; and
• review your policy whenever legislation, regulatory requirements, roles, or internal processes change.

This is particularly important for Right to Work checks. Home Office guidance states that employers should be consistent in how they conduct these checks and should not only check people who appear likely to be migrants.

For organisations recruiting at scale, consistency is also where pre-employment screening software can become valuable. Automating workflows, requirements, reminders, and candidate progress can reduce reliance on different recruiters remembering different parts of the process.

 

2) Be transparent about candidate data and establish your lawful basis

Employers need to understand what personal information they are processing, why they need it, and their lawful basis for doing so.

Candidate consent and data protection are not the same thing.

Under UK GDPR, consent is only one possible lawful basis for processing personal information. In fact, ICO recruitment guidance states that because of the potential imbalance of power between a candidate and an employer or recruiter, consent is unlikely to be the appropriate lawful basis for most stages of recruitment.

Instead, the appropriate lawful basis will depend on the purpose of the processing. Additional requirements also apply when processing special category information or criminal offence data.

However, employers must still be transparent with candidates about their pre-employment background screening.

The ICO advises employers to explain:

• what information is required;
• why the vetting is necessary;
• who will have access to the information;
• how the screening process works;
• how long the information will be retained; and
• which third-party sources may be used.

Some individual checks may also have specific consent or permission requirements. For example, an employer can apply for a Basic DBS check through a Responsible Organisation with the individual’s consent.

Your candidate privacy information and screening process should therefore clearly explain what is happening before checks are carried out.

 

3) Only run relevant pre-employment background checks

More screening does not automatically mean better screening.

The checks you perform should reflect the responsibilities and risks associated with the role.

For example, a candidate who will drive for your organisation may require a driving licence check, while a role involving particular financial responsibilities may justify additional financial or regulatory screening.

The same principle applies to criminal record checks.

A Basic DBS check can be requested for any position, but Standard and Enhanced DBS checks are only available where the role meets the relevant eligibility requirements. Knowingly requesting a higher-level DBS check than legislation allows is unlawful.

A useful starting point is to ask:

• Which checks are legally or regulatorily required for this role?
• Which additional checks are necessary and proportionate to the risks and responsibilities involved?

You can then create screening workflows and policies for different roles instead of applying a single checklist to every candidate.

For a detailed breakdown, read our guide to What Pre-Employment Checks Do I Need?

 

4) Have a process for delays, discrepancies, and adverse results

One of the biggest causes of pre-employment screening delays is not necessarily the check itself. It can be what happens when information is missing, inconsistent, or requires further investigation.

A candidate may provide an incorrect address, employment dates may not match a reference, documents may be incomplete, or a check may return information requiring assessment.

Your process should define what happens next.

For example:

Scenario: A background check cannot be processed.

Possible cause: Required candidate information is incomplete, incorrectly formatted, or inconsistent.

Next step: Review the information supplied, identify what is missing or incorrect, and give the candidate an opportunity to provide or correct the required information.

The ICO specifically recommends having a transparent policy for discrepancies, giving candidates an opportunity to explain them, considering that explanation before reaching a decision, training relevant staff, and keeping records of decisions.

This becomes particularly important when screening large numbers of candidates.

A good pre-employment checks service should therefore do more than submit individual checks. Look for ways to reduce manual data entry, identify incomplete information earlier, track outstanding actions, automate appropriate reminders, and give recruiters visibility over candidate progress.

How can employers reduce post-offer screening delays?

The best way to reduce screening delays is to identify requirements early, collect complete candidate information at the start of the process, and track every required check through one consistent workflow.

For high-volume recruitment, automation can also reduce the manual administration involved in requesting information, chasing candidates, monitoring checks, and compiling final screening records.

 

5) Do not automatically reject a candidate because of a criminal record

A criminal record should not automatically be treated as a failed background check.

What an employer can ask about, what will appear on a criminal record check, and what can lawfully be considered depend on the role and the level of DBS check involved.

For most roles, applicants generally do not have to disclose spent convictions. Different rules apply to eligible positions where employers are legally entitled to request Standard or Enhanced DBS checks, and DBS filtering rules can also affect what information is disclosed.

Where information is disclosed, DBS guidance recommends that employers consider convictions and cautions on a case-by-case basis and assess their relevance to the position. Employers should also keep records explaining employment decisions where criminal record information has been considered.

Your organisation should therefore have a documented process for assessing adverse criminal record information rather than treating any disclosure as an automatic rejection.

Related reading: DBS checks guidance for employers, voluntary organisations and third parties

 

6) Know when pre-employment checks need to be repeated

There is no universal requirement for UK employers to repeat every pre-employment background check every year.

Instead, employers should determine whether follow-up or ongoing checks are required by law, regulation, organisational policy, contractual requirements, or a change in the employee’s circumstances or responsibilities.

For example, where an individual’s Right to Work is time-limited, employers should conduct the appropriate follow-up check before that permission expires.

Other organisations may have legitimate reasons for periodically rechecking licences, qualifications, criminal records, sanctions, or other information where this is necessary and proportionate to the role.

The important distinction is between pre-employment screening and ongoing employee screening.

Document which checks require renewal, what triggers a recheck, who owns the process, and how evidence is retained. This helps prevent checks from expiring unnoticed while avoiding unnecessary repeat screening.

 

What about pre-employment checks for remote and international hires?

Remote hiring does not remove the need for a consistent pre-employment vetting process. Instead, employers need a reliable way to collect information securely, verify identity, request appropriate checks, obtain supporting documents, and track screening without relying on the candidate being physically present.

International hiring can introduce additional complexity. If a candidate has lived, worked, or studied overseas, a UK check may not provide the information required for that period. For example, the UK Government states that a DBS check does not cover time an applicant lived outside the UK.

International pre-employment background screening may therefore involve checks from multiple jurisdictions, depending on the candidate’s history, role, local laws, and the information that can lawfully be obtained.

For organisations recruiting internationally or remotely at scale, centralising these requirements can make it easier to see which checks are complete, outstanding, or require attention.

EBC Global supports international pre-employment screening, helping employers manage background checks across multiple countries and jurisdictions through one platform. This gives HR and recruitment teams a consistent way to manage UK and international screening, track progress, and keep candidate information together throughout the process.

 

How much does pre-employment screening cost?

There is no single cost for pre-employment background screening because the total depends on the checks required, candidate volume, jurisdictions involved, and whether screening is managed manually, through individual providers, or using screening software.

The right comparison is therefore not simply the price of one check.

Employers should also consider the operational cost of collecting candidate information, requesting checks, chasing outstanding actions, correcting errors, tracking progress, and producing an auditable final record.

For higher screening volumes, a centralised pre-employment screening service or software platform can reduce the administrative work surrounding the individual checks.

EBC Global can help you benchmark your existing pre-employment screening process, including the cost of your current checks and administration. With Lite starting from £49 per user, per month, and Pro ranging from £100–£299 per user, per month, employers can compare their existing approach against a more centralised screening solution.

View EBC Global pre-employment screening options and pricing

 

How to choose a pre-employment screening service

When comparing pre-employment screening services, look beyond the number of checks a provider offers.

Consider whether the solution can help you:

• configure screening requirements around different roles;
• collect candidate data and documents securely;
• automate appropriate candidate communications and reminders;
• complete UK and international checks where required;
• track outstanding checks and candidate progress;
• maintain consistent screening workflows;
• integrate screening with your existing recruitment technology; and
• produce clear records and reports for your compliance process.

The best way to run background checks on potential employees will depend on your hiring volume, regulatory environment, internal systems, and the complexity of your screening requirements.

For smaller volumes, individual checks and straightforward workflows may be sufficient. For high-volume, regulated, corporate, or international recruitment, greater automation and centralised oversight can become significantly more important.

 

Using technology to improve pre-employment background screening

Managing background checks through separate emails, spreadsheets, portals, and manual reminders can become increasingly difficult as hiring volumes grow.

EBC Global Pro brings the employment screening journey into one platform, helping employers manage candidate invitations, screening requirements, checks, progress, and final reporting.

The platform supports employment screening processes including identity verification, Right to Work, DBS, employment referencing, credit checks, DVLA checks, sanctions checks, and other screening requirements. EBC Global also provides an API for organisations that want to integrate background checks into existing ATS, CRM, or workforce management systems.

The objective is not simply to run checks faster. It is to create a more consistent screening process, give teams better visibility over candidate progress, reduce repetitive administration, and help prevent avoidable screening delays.

Want to see how it works?

Start a free 12-day trial of EBC Global Pro or book a demo with our team.

 

Note: The information in this article is provided for general educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Employment screening requirements vary according to the role, organisation, industry, and jurisdiction. Employers should seek appropriate legal or regulatory advice where necessary.