Patrick is Zinc's VP Revenue, with extensive experience access exec search, graduate program solutions, psychometric testing and HR and talent technology.
Background checks are often the forgotten middle child in the hiring process: once you’ve made a new hire, they’re the last step before they officially join the company. And if you’re onboarding a new employee, they’re often an obstacle to a quick start date.
In my view, that just highlights why they’re so important.
We speak to companies everyday that know they should be doing background checks properly, but might have internalised some common myths about what that looks like.
We’ve put together a list of the ones that come up the most frequently, and busted them so you can hire confidently and protect your company from risk.
So, have a read and let me tell you why you’re myth-staken.
Myth 1: Not every employee needs a background check
If you’re an employer with a large, low-level workforce, it can be easy to think that you don’t really need to background check your employees beyond right to work (RTW) and identity verification.
But that leaves you open to risk — especially insider threats. Whether it’s theft, sexual harassment, or other low-level issues, background checks on every employee can help keep your workforce and company safe.
Research from Varonis suggests that the average employee at a large organisation has access to an average of 10.8 million files. According to the UK government, 99% of businesses with at least 10 employees handled digitised data in 2024.
That means every employee you hire, regardless of their role, has the potential to harm your company. I believe that every company should know three things about their employees:
- They are who they say they are
- They’ve done what they say they’ve done
- They aren’t a risk to your people or organisation
This doesn’t mean barring absolutely anyone with a criminal record from ever working for you. But if they have a history of fraud, maybe they shouldn’t have a company credit card.
In 2023, Zinc partnered with InToo and found that 85% of employers across the UK have candidates fail background checks. If you’re hiring more than 1,000 employees annually, that number goes up to 97%.
Just think about what you’re missing if you don’t thoroughly background check your entire workforce.
Myth 2: Background checks are long/hard/time-consuming
Now this one is true — with traditional background checking providers.
Outdated platforms and manual processes mean your talented HR team has to spend time on manual admin, when they could be having a bigger impact on your business. It takes days, if not weeks, for references to come back, and you’re often left in the dark as to progress.
That’s why we built Zinc as a tech-first platform. No unanswered questions, no manual uploads – just all your key checks, automated. We integrate with HMRC to provide employment verification in sessions. Global criminal checks and seamless referencing take the stress out of background checks, answer your questions, and make the process simple for candidates.
We’re so confident that we’ve published our live turnaround times on our website.
And you know what’s longer than extra checks? IBM found that insider-related breaches take an average of 292 days to find and contain.
You decide which is a better use of your time: fixing data breaches, or preventing them in the first place.
Myth 3: Background checks are just for regulated industries
If you’re in a regulated industry like finance, healthcare, or education, you know that background checks are essential. This myth has been busted for you from the beginning — your checks are regulated and you have to do them.
For everyone else, you still want to know who’s working for you. Every company is vulnerable to insider threats and cyber crime.
Our research with InToo found that 35% of candidates in publishing, 32% in logistics, and 29% in telecommunications failed their background checks, proving that threats can come in any industry.
Myth 4: I only need to background check permanent employees, not contractors
Contractors have the same level of access to your systems as employees — sometimes more, depending on the service you’re providing. If you bring someone untrustworthy in, they can still cause problems.
Anyone can misrepresent qualifications or have red flags. FCA regulations and the ECCTA’s “failure to prevent fraud” provision pretty clearly covers contractors, so it’s important to screen everyone who works for you — whether they’re on your payroll or not.
Myth 5: Background checks are too invasive
Do background checks collect a lot of personal data? Of course.
But you need to be clear that people are who they say you are, and that you can trust them, not just for your own peace of mind but also for due diligence.
Thanks to GDPR, UK screening is heavily regulated. Take DBS checks as an example: the level of DBS checks you can run is heavily dependent on the role and responsibilities. The ICO and CIPD both advise transparency, limited data use, and relevance — meaning a compliant background check avoids excessive intrusion.
Always stay in line with data regulations, and pick a background checking provider with airtight policies on how it’s being used. (That’s Zinc — if you want to learn more, book a time to chat.)
Myth 6: If I run background checks, candidates might drop out of the process for competitors
If you’re worried about candidates dropping out, you need faster background checks.
In all seriousness, every hiring manager knows the pain of getting a candidate through a lengthy hiring process and having them pull out at the last second. And one report found that 78% of job seekers would drop out (or consider dropping out) of a long, complicated process.
If candidates are dropping out of the process due to background checks, there are two reasons:
- It’s taking too long, and they could’ve found a better offer somewhere else in the meantime
- They have something to hide
The first one you can fix by finding a background provider that turns around checks quickly. (If you didn’t above, check out Zinc’s turnaround times here.) The second one you want to avoid.
A background checking platform or process that prioritises transparency and clearly communicates what’s going on to candidates is one of the best ways to avoid losing qualified, trustworthy candidates.
Myth 7: Background checks are one-and-done
I asked one of our account executives, Beth Knight, what she thought about this one. She didn’t hold back.
“Except for qualification and referencing, all checks are redundant once you do them,” she said. “It’s your responsibility as an employer to prevent insider threats and find out if your employee’s circumstances have changed.”
The “failure to prevent fraud” provision and the ECCTA specifically call out re-checks as one of the requirements for safe and secure workforces.
Annual re-checks are required in certain industries like finance. But it’s best practice across many more. Life circumstances can change at the drop of a hat – bankruptcy, criminal convictions, fraud. All these can leave you vulnerable to insider threats from employees.
Final thoughts: Background check myths, busted
Your employees aren’t out to get you. But you can’t abdicate responsibility for keeping your company safe and secure, either.
At Zinc, we’re working to make your background checks as simple, safe, and stress-free as possible. To learn more about how we can help your organisation improve checking and avoid risk, book a time to chat.
