Frequently Asked Questions for employers

More and more businesses across the world are starting to screen their potential candidates and existing employees. It’s increasingly obligated by law in certain sectors to do so e.g. in Healthcare, Finance. However, for many businesses, it’s one of the first steps you can take to guarantee the integrity of your staff, strengthen your risk management and hire teams that are built on mutual trust and transparency to support your company’s growth potential.

Validata has automated the entire screening process and offers this service through a secure online environment. Verification of candidate information is done by Validata directly at the source with vetted international data partners. Screening with Validata is more reliable and quicker and employers can guarantee that the entire process is privacy compliant.

Validata screens candidates within a secure online environment called Valluga. Within this environment, both the employer and candidate can access their own account. The employer must specify who they want to screen and which profile is best suited for the candidate, Validata then takes over the entire screening process. Once all checks are complete both the employer and candidate are notified and can review the report online. Validata also has an in-house support team that can answer any screening queries, and follow up with candidates guaranteeing a quick turnaround time.

Validata uses various external partners to perform the checks. For example, Ladok, Nuffic, and Company Info are permanent partners for the verification of local and international diplomas. WValidata has made agreements with the regular partners regarding the processing of the data and the security requirements. All the data suppliers we work with can be found in our privacy statement.

Validata Group holds several certifications that guarantee the quality of its services. These include:

• The ISO 9001 certification, is an internationally recognised standard in the field of quality management. This certification sets requirements to secure and improve processes concerning customer satisfaction.
• The ISO 27001 certification, is a standard focused on information security. The standard describes how an organisation should deal with information security, to ensure the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of data.

In addition, Validata has a POB license issued by the Dutch Ministry of Justice and is a recognised member of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). In Sweden, Validata is registered with the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection.

Yes, it is possible. Validata offers an advanced API that makes it easy to integrate with your existing HR software. Our integration ability means that you can screen candidates from directly within your existing ATS or HR system.

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Yes, Validata works for multiple multinational companies and screens candidates and employees located all over the world. Today, Validata offers its screening solutions to more than 1000 clients across Europe, where we screen candidates from more than 60 countries.

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After the candidate has provided the required data, the average turnaround time of a screening at Validata is 1-2 working days. Elements that have a longer turnaround time include criminal records from abroad and the verification of foreign diplomas.

A screening cannot be conducted without the candidate’s knowledge, that’s why it’s very important that communication is upfront and clear for the candidate. Validata manages the entire screening process after the employee has been notified by the employer. They are sent an email with clear instructions on how to complete the screening, reminders if they fail to submit information on time, and we also have an in-house support team that is available for extra support.

In our secure environment Valluga, both the employer and candidate have interim insight into the progress of the screening process.

In addition, we work with interim reports per background check: when a component has been completed, an interim report is presented with the findings. As an employer, you can regularly check the statuses of checks.

Validata’s secure online system offers various options for sharing customer-specific documents within the screening. This can vary from an upload whereby the signed document is part of the entire file or the document can be presented in a fully digitised format to be signed and stored.

Generally, an employer has no legal basis upon which to require an extract from a candidate’s criminal record at the Police Authority. There are some exceptions for employers within certain sectors e.g. Healthcare and Law enforcement.

Yes, Validata offers the possibility to extend and or design screening profiles. We can work with you to ensure that the screening fits your organisation’s needs Want to speak to one of our specialists? Contact us directly.

Validata has an in-house support team to help clients and candidates with their questions. Our team is available from 8:00 to 20:00 by phone at +46 (0) 84413840 and email at support@validatagroup.com.

Yes, it is possible to run reports in our screening application. For this purpose, the relevant screening data that you select is compiled and this information can then be exported as a CSV or PDF file.

Once all of the candidate’s data has been verified, Validata provides a screening report containing the results in our online environment, Valluga. In the report, we present the objective findings per background check.

Once the screening is completed, both client and candidate are notified via email. The screening report can then be downloaded directly from the screening application.

The screening report is reviewed by the employer. To make an objective judgment, it is smart to indicate in the screening policy which departments and employees are responsible for this.

No, we only report objective findings. We verify the information that the candidate provides us with and we do not pass judgment on possible deviations that occur.

Should serious findings come to light, we advise the employer to enter into discussion with the candidate and to make these deviations negotiable.

No, as an employer you do not need a candidate’s consent to screen them. An employer has a legitimate interest according to the GDPR (see below). It is, however, up to the employer to have an up-to-date policy in the area of screening, reflecting the GDPR’s framework of proportionality and subsidiarity. It is also important for the employer to always inform the candidate of the screening. Screening cannot be done without the candidate’s knowledge.

An employer or prospective employer has a legitimate interest (as defined in Article 6.1 f in the GDPR) to assess a candidate´s reliability. The employer, therefore, has the right to determine whether and to which extent the candidate´s personal data must be verified. Such verification must reflect the proportionality and subsidiarity requirements within the GDPR. You can read our privacy statement for more information.

Screening with Validata means that you must comply with all privacy legislation (GDPR). Subsequently, as an organisation, you must consider the screening elements needed for the various employee groups and the degree of candidate and employee privacy invasion. In addition to these requirements of proportionality and subsidiarity, there is an obligation to provide information. A screening policy is an important guideline that supports you to properly comply.

The norm is that almost all data is kept for 90 days (3 months). It is also possible to safely store all data and reports with Validata in a separate environment upon request.

It is legally required to store personal data on servers within Europe. The data centers are hosted by AWS in Frankfurt with a backup in Ireland.