Background check of public sector employees

Who is covered by the public sector?

The public sector includes a wide range of organisations and activities run by the state, regions (formerly county councils) and municipalities. These organisations are tasked with providing services and functions that are considered to be in the public interest.

Here are some examples of organisations included in the public sector:

• State authorities: These include various ministries and central authorities responsible for specific areas, such as the Swedish Tax Agency, the Social Insurance Agency and the Police Authority.
• Regions: Responsible for health care, public transport and development in each regional area.
• Municipalities: Responsible for the municipality’s primary schools, social services, emergency services, water and sewage, and planning and construction in the municipality’s area.
• Publicly owned companies: Companies that are wholly or partly owned by the state, regions or municipalities and that provide services or products, such as energy supply, public transport and housing.
• Educational institutions: Public schools, universities and colleges funded by the state to provide education from pre-school to higher education.
• Hospitals and health care facilities: Publicly funded hospitals and other health care facilities that provide health care services to the population.

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Recommended background checks for the public sector

Whether the job role is classified or not, some form of background check should always be carried out on public sector employee. Which checks should be included depends largely on the job role, but the following are recommended:

Criminal record check

Criminal record checks are used to identify any criminal convictions an individual may have. This is particularly relevant for professions in the public sector working closely with children and young people such as teachers, childcare workers and social workers, or in positions requiring high integrity and security clearance such as in the police or judiciary. This check should always be included when hiring in the public sector to prevent, for example, gang crime from infiltrating the organisation.

Verification of diplomas

Verification of diplomas ensures that a candidate has the training they claim to have. This is crucial for professions that require specific higher education  or professional qualifications, such as doctors, nurses, teachers and senior government officials.

SVT’s Uppdrag granskning  has conducted an investigation that shows that 3 out of 24 government ministers have CVs based on inaccuracies, which can have devastating consequences and affect Swedes’ trust in those who will govern the country.

Checking references and previous employment records

This check confirms an individual’s previous role and work period. It is important for all types of management positions in the public sector, such as heads of departments, project managers and senior officials where the ability to lead and co-operate is critical.

Credit check in the context of employment

A credit check can provide insight into an individual’s financial stability and responsibility. This can be relevant for positions in the public sector that deal with financial funds or resources such as financial managers, purchasing managers and financial management officials. Performing credit checks can reduce the risk of financial crime within the organisation.

Checking PEP and sanctions lists and negative publicity

Background check on PEP and sanctions list and negative publicity is important to identify possible risks related to corruption, money laundering or other illegal activities. It is particularly relevant for persons in high public office where there is a risk that their position could be inappropriately exploited. This concerns, for example, politicians, senior civil servants and people in senior positions in public sector finance and foreign ministries.

Read more about Validata’s different background checks

Confidentiality and ethics: the two important aspects of a background check

 1. Relevance of the check to the applicant’s professional role

Background checks play a crucial role in a public sector recruitment process, but it is important that these checks have a clear relevance to the applicant’s professional role. For example, a background check for someone applying for a job as an assistant does not need to be as extensive as the background check for someone applying for a job as a financial manager.

Tailoring background checks to the specific position ensures that the information collected is both relevant and necessary to assess a candidate’s suitability. This helps to protect the privacy and rights of both the employer and the applicant. Moreover, it helps the employer to focus on the qualifications and experience most relevant to the job, leading to more fair and efficient hiring decisions.

2. Background checks and the GDPR

Conducting background checks in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is of utmost importance to protect the individual’s personal data during the recruitment process. The GDPR imposes strict requirements on how personal data can be collected, processed and stored. Among other things, you must inform the candidate about how and why their data is processed and protect the candidate’s personal data against loss and unauthorised processing.

Failure to do so risks a fine of up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher. In addition, the reputation of the organisation will be damaged and confidence in the business will be affected.

Background checks help you create a safe workplace

With Validata’s background checks for public sector employee, you can create a safe and secure workplace. When you know who you are hiring, you can minimise the risk of hiring someone with bad intentions and check that the person you hire is the right person for the job.

Our secure Valluga software makes it possible to perform large-scale background checks with a short turnaround time, saving your HR department valuable time. You don’t have to spend time checking different data from different sources, but get everything about the candidate in one clear digital check report. The verification process is transparent for both you as an employer and for your candidates, and we ensure that all GDPR requirements are met. Validata is also ISO certified with 2700 and 9001, and recently implemented ISEA 3000 type ll rapport, which is an important stamp of high information security, where your candidates’ data is handled with the highest quality.

Contact us for more information about background checks for the public sector.

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