It ensures that only staff who have been independently vetted are employed.

ID theft is a potential minefield for all organisations employing staff. Two dangers which are of particular concern are the appointment of professionally unqualified staff and the appointment of (unbeknown) dishonest employees into positions of trust. Getting this right is particularly important when staff are being appointed to posts in highly sensitive areas such child and vulnerable adult welfare, IT and Finance

It helps to reduce the incident and cost of employee theft and fraud.

Employee theft and fraud is increasing year by year. There is strong evidence that errant employees, including temporary staff, are increasingly focussed upon the theft of confidential customer and corporate data in addition to the normal theft of physical company assets, such as cash. The centralising of operational activities and advanced IT technology means that fraud can now be perpetrated at all levels in an organisation including relatively junior staff especially if they have access to confidential company and client data.

It ensures that only vetted staff are employed by third party service providers and recruitment agencies

An ever increasing number of employers now outsource their support services to third party providers and in doing often lose control over the integrity of the staff who have access to their assets and data. A similarly situation also arises when contract and temporary staff are recruited through external employment agencies. The need for employers to ensure that such staff are independently vetted is particularly critical when placements are being made in vulnerable, high risk areas.

It ensures compliance with regulatory corporate governance standards.

Employers are under increasing pressure from regulators, shareholders and customers to show they are managing their operational risks in a professional and transparent manner through the implementation of sound internal control procedures. Screening potential new staff and periodically screening existing staff is an important part of this process.