It’s hard to escape the ongoing fallout from the Mandelson political scandal, but in short, the failure to follow the proper procedure when Mandelson was vetted for his (now former) role, and in particular the decision to act against the UK Security Vetting’s advice to not grant Mandelson security clearance for the ambassador role in January 2025, continues to have repercussions. While it’s unlikely UK Security Vetting will be involved in recruitment for most businesses, there are many industries where pre-employment vetting is a necessity, and all businesses should be carrying out right-to-work checks to confirm that new recruits are legally entitled to work in the UK. Getting things wrong or being misled at the pre-employment stage can be both embarrassing and costly, so employers should take the time to get it right.
Informing potential applicants
At the outset of any recruitment process, highlight what pre-employment checks will be required before a candidate can commence the role. This will make it clear what is required and ideally would discourage those who know they cannot pass the checks from applying for the job. It also ensures that whoever is responsible for recruitment has addressed their minds to what checks are required at an early stage which will help avoid a situation where a required check is perhaps missed.
Satisfying the law and specific sectors
In terms of legal checks that must be carried out for all roles, it is essential to confirm that the potential recruit has the right to work in the UK. Failure to do so can result in the employer being subject to a hefty fine and criminal prosecution. Further legal checks that may be required depending on the nature of the role in question include, DBS checks (needed for those working with children or vulnerable adults, for example), qualification checks for roles where specific qualifications are required (e.g. medicine or law), driving licence checks if the role involves driving and potentially a health assessment for certain physically demanding or safety-critical jobs.
Checking the facts
While not a legal requirement, it is good practice to ask for references and for confirmation of a candidate’s employment and education history if this has not already been provided. Think about the information you are hoping to glean from a reference and perhaps ask specific questions with this in mind. However, it is important to remember that some employers have a policy of only giving standard references and in such circumstances it may not be possible for them to respond in as much detail as a future employer may like.
Making a job offer
Once the company has settled on the preferred candidate, when making them a job offer be sure to make the offer conditional on them passing pre-employment checks. Gathering all this information and verifying its validity prior to making an unequivocal commitment to employ an individual will ensure that the right candidate gets the job and that the company does not find itself on the hook for breach of contract should the candidate fail to pass any of the checks.
While it may sometimes seem like a lot of red tape, pre-employment checks are there to protect everyone, including the employer. It is always worth taking the extra time to carry out such checks thoroughly and remember, if one such check throws up information suggesting that the candidate may not be the right fit for the job, heed the warning! As demonstrated by the Mandelson situation, failure to do so could very well come back to bite!
