You will be informed by the company requesting the check when your background check has been completed.

We are looking for an image of a document which is legible and in colour, such as a digital photograph taken with a smartphone or digital camera. Please ensure that the file size is not excessive (ie an image 500kb in size will have the required elements and be legible).

Employers prefer honesty so it is best to declare any negative information rather than conceal it and have it uncovered by the screening process. When providing your consent you declare that all the information provided is accurate.

If we need additional information from you or need to discuss an issue, you will hear from a member of the Credence team.

Our most common employment screening FAQs are regarding the process. Once you have accepted your offer of employment, you will receive an email from Credence requesting you to complete an online screening application form. You can do this through a secure (https) website. In the email, we give you a temporary access code which you can change when you first log in. After logging in, we ask you to enter some details, for example, your employment and education history. The forms are designed so that you will only be asked for information necessary to undertake your background screening. Once you have completed the application form, you can then give consent for Credence to undertake the screening. Depending upon where you have been living within the last 5 to 10 years, there may be other documents you need to upload – but a member of the Credence team will reach out if they are necessary. When Credence have received your consent and associated documents, we will start the screening process, and will report the results to your employer, typically within 10 to 15 working days. You may be contacted by Credence during the process, so we appreciate it if you indicate on the application form how you would best like to be contacted.

As Credence is the data processor and not the data controller, the Data Retention Period is down to the data controller – in most cases, this will be the employer we are conducting the screening on behalf of. Our recommended Data Retention Period for background screening data is 6 months.

The data we collect is used solely for the purposes of conducting your background screening on behalf of your employer. The data will not be sold on or used for any other purposes.

Credence takes your privacy seriously. We comply fully with all the UK data protection laws when processing candidate information: including but not limited to the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. All candidate information is stored on our UK ISO 27001 secured data centre. Credence has also obtained ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2013 certifications, in addition to also holding the Cyber Essentials Certification – an IT security certification backed by the UK government. All candidate personal data held is encrypted, so even in the unlikely event of the data being hacked, it will be completely unreadable.

On occasion, we need to use the help of third party sub-contractors. We work with a limited number of companies, all of whom are required to comply with our terms and conditions and supplier management standards. Those located outside of the EEA are also required to complete a risk assessment and sign the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, ensuring the same level of data protection as the EU and UK standards. If a candidate has not resided or worked outside of the EU, none of their data will be transferred outside of the EU, with the exception of French and Arabic checks, which may be sent to our Egyptian sub-contractor to facilitate smooth communication.