The digital revolution and the Covid pandemic have made remote working more prevalent, and in some cases we’re dealing with very remote working. Like an English company hiring someone located in Australia. It might have seemed odd years ago, but not anymore, as there’s no difference if someone working from home is a few miles or a few thousands miles away. All that matters for the employer is that they have a good Internet connection.
However, this does not mean a multinational company should forego basic background checks.
How to do a background check remotely
In our modern interconnected world, getting a background check is easy. If you’re a London-based company and you want to hire a highly-recommended professional living in Australia you can get a certified police check on them in no time. You don’t even have to rely on the prospective employer to send you a police certificate you might have trouble verifying.
English companies are increasingly using an accredited local agency which can be contacted online. Australian National Character Check (ANCC) which is accredited with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), the country’s criminal intelligence agency is becoming an increasingly popular option for English companies that have operations and employees in Australia. Ordering a national police check from ANCC only requires inputting identity information for the prospective employee and you will receive a 100% valid police certificate directly to your email within 2-3 business days. This type of online Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check is totally accurate and will list all the criminal offences that individuals might have committed in all Australian states and territories.
Keep in mind that in order to do so you must obtain the signed consent of the potential employee. Also, according to Australian law, offences committed more than 10 years ago will not be disclosed under the Spent Convictions Scheme.
This type of police check can be used for individuals or when using an Australian-based company as a local contractor. The overseas employer has every right and is directly interested in knowing who the people are who are going to work for them.
Social media screening
Another tool many businesses use these days is screening a potential employee’s social media profile. A recruiting agent located overseas can access an individual’s social media profile just as easy as one living in the same city.
Human Resources managers typically review an individual’s public posts looking to assess the job applicant’s character to see if they seem trustworthy and if they would fit in with the organisation. At the same time, an HR manager might have a look at a candidate’s friends as this also provides valuable information about a person.
There are many privacy concerns about this practice, but it’s quite common nonetheless. Theoretically, an employer might find himself in a difficult position as turning down an application based on the information gathered from social media could result in a privacy violation lawsuit. However, this issue can easily be bypassed and a smart recruiting agent won’t even mention they’d accessed a candidate’s social media profile.
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