Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Employment lawLatest NewsEmployment contractsHR practiceRecruitment & retention

Background checks are neglected by employers

by Jane King 30 Nov 2004
by Jane King 30 Nov 2004

A CV-checking expert is warning that too many employers are taking unnecessary risks through the inadequate monitoring of existing staff and new recruits.

Steve Bailey, founder and managing director of vetting firm RWC, believes HR should do more to check employee backgrounds and claims made by candidates, instead of relying on word-of-mouth referrals or written references.

“Most corporations spend a fortune on internet security and physical security such as getting into buildings, and yet most crime is caused by your own staff, who aren’t even checked,” he said. “It’s like giving a ship a lick of paint when it’s got a great big hole in the bottom.”

Bailey’s company conducts more than 10,000 checks every year across all industries, yet he remains astonished at the low take-up in comparison with the US.

“American corporations will check about 80 per cent of candidates properly, while here, less than 10 per cent of employers bother,” he said. “The UK has a lot of catching up to do.”

Senior directors are Bailey’s biggest concern, as one in 10 lie about their date of birth when being appointed â€“ possibly because of fears over ageist attitudes. Such dishonesty can wreak havoc on pension plans, he said.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

A recent background check on a leading FTSE 100 company also uncovered a finance director who was not a chartered accountant.
“He was a highly competent individual, but he had been signing off the accounts for the past four years when he wasn’t qualified to do so,” Bailey added.

He also said that media, outsourcing companies and financial businesses are the best sectors for dealing with background checks.



Jane King

previous post
DWP warned to assess IT systems before cutting jobs
next post
CBI sees Pension Act as a wasted opportunity

You may also like

Trainee GP who displayed Palestine flag sues for...

17 Sep 2025

Graduates face ‘white-collar’ recession in jobs market

17 Sep 2025

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder quits over Unilever’s social...

17 Sep 2025

Inflation unchanged at 3.8% in August

17 Sep 2025

Tech firms to plough £30bn into ‘AI Growth...

17 Sep 2025

Retirement at risk – why we all need...

17 Sep 2025

Sky to cut 600 jobs as it ‘reshapes’...

17 Sep 2025

MPs reject Lords’ amendments to Employment Rights Bill

16 Sep 2025

Failure to prevent fraud: Only 29% training staff...

16 Sep 2025

The rise in ‘workplace fawning’ and how it’s...

16 Sep 2025

  • Workplace health benefits need to be simplified SPONSORED | Long-term sickness...Read more
  • Work smart – stay well: Avoid unnecessary pain with centred ergonomics SPONSORED | If you often notice...Read more
  • Elevate your L&D strategy at the World of Learning 2025 SPONSORED | This October...Read more
  • How to employ a global workforce from the UK (webinar) WEBINAR | With an unpredictable...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits Live
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise