Hiring a new employee has seemingly endless moving pieces to consider. On top of finding and interviewing the right candidate, you also need to ensure they won’t become a liability for your business. 

It’s standard practice for employers to conduct a pre-employment background check in Canada. Employers want to make sure the person they’re hiring is who they claim to be and they do not have a history that may affect their work performance or work environment. The goal of hiring is to improve your company, not invite more risks.

There are several different types of pre-employment background checks. They cover education, employment, criminal records, and more. For example, a criminal background check can be essential for some industries, but not every industry requires them, and it can even open you up to discrimination or privacy issues. 

Today, we’ll dive into what exactly a criminal background screening covers, when you should conduct one and what you need to know before you run a background check.

What is Criminal Background Screening?

A criminal background check references local and federal databases to discover a candidate's criminal history. These pre-employment screenings provide the employer with sensitive information about the candidate, which means the candidate must provide written consent, and several laws are in place that dictate how the information should be obtained and stored.

Additionally, criminal checks are not always necessary. They should only be conducted when your industry requires them, or you can otherwise prove that the results are necessary for the candidate’s potential future role. For example, if you’re in the transportation industry, you will likely want to know if the candidate has ever driven under the influence. 

Three Categories of Criminal Background Checks

There are three primary types of criminal background screenings. You should choose the type of screening that is most relevant to your industry and provides the least amount of information necessary. The three types of criminal screenings are:

1. Criminal Records Checks (CRC): This type of check gathers the least amount of information about a candidate and provides a summary of a criminal conviction. These checks are an ideal option for many industries that only need to know about any convictions and nothing further. 
2. Police Information Check (PIC): In addition to the information obtained in a CRC, a PIC will also discover any pending or discharged charges. 
3. Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC): Also known as a vulnerable sector police check, these checks include the information in the previous two types while providing more detailed information. A VSC also includes detailed information about any sexual offence convictions. Any sector that works with a vulnerable population will require a VSC, such as any company working with the elderly, children, or the disabled. 

Which type of criminal background check do you require? It’s a good practice to collect the least amount of information necessary to inform your hiring decisions.

When Should You Conduct a Criminal Background Check?

Running a criminal background check can only be done once a conditional offer of employment has been made. Additionally, every type of criminal screening requires written consent from the candidate. 

You should only conduct a criminal background check if it’s a legal requirement in your industry or if you can prove that the results are necessary to make an informed hiring decision. For many businesses, that means avoiding a vulnerable sector check online Canada and running a CRC or PIC instead.

Every employer wants to know if a candidate has a criminal history, but you need to be able to prove that it’s necessary for the given role. Not every job will require a criminal screening, and conducting one can open you up to human rights, privacy, and discrimination issues.

Everything You Should Know Before Conducting a Criminal Background Check

There are several essential things to know about criminal background checks to help you avoid discrimination or legal privacy issues. Some important things to understand include:

• A minimum amount of data collected: Canadian privacy laws heavily emphasize collecting the least amount of information necessary for any type of background check. Therefore, any information you collect from or about a candidate should be necessary to perform the background check and nothing more. 
• Written consent is required: Every type of criminal records check requires written consent. Other types of pre-employment screenings, such as employment or education, will not always require consent — but it’s mandatory for criminal records checks. 
• Provide two forms of identification: The candidate must provide two acceptable forms of ID, one of which must be government issued. This requirement helps prevent running criminal checks on the wrong person and that the applicant is who they claim to be. The only exception being if you provide an Equifax eID, two pieces of identification are not required.
• Criminal background screening is reasonably necessary: We’ve touched on this already, but it’s essential to understand that you need to reasonably require a criminal background check. If your industry does not legally require them, use caution when conducting any criminal background check. Make sure you can reasonably prove that a criminal check is necessary for the candidate’s potential role. 

Other types of pre-employment screening are more straightforward, such as education and professional reference checks. However, due to the nature of criminal background checks, they should be approached cautiously and potentially under the guidance of a legal advisor. 

Partner with Hire Performance for Fast Canadian Criminal Background Screening

HirePerformance has over two decades of experience in the Canadian background screening industry. We have an in-depth understanding of the legal requirements that dictate background screening and have helped organizations globally conduct criminal background checks without exposing themselves to legal risks. In addition, our expertise extends to other types of pre-employment screenings to help businesses in every industry get the results they need to hire the right candidate. 

We developed eScreener, our online pre-employment screening platform, by leveraging our industry expertise to create a way for employers to run on-demand screenings and benefit from rapid results. Ready to transform your screening process? Contact Us Today for more information.