A background check is a process that is performed by an individual or organization to confirm that a person is who they claim to be.
Background checks let you verify the accuracy of information by looking up a person’s criminal history, educational background, career history, and other former endeavors.
Businesses frequently run background checks on potential hires in China before making an employment offer.
Common prerequisites include having no felony convictions, a certain level of schooling, certain credentials, and references from prior employment.
what are the benefits of conducting a background check before hiring a candidate?
- Make a well-informed hiring decision – If you have all the information you require, you can be sure that the hire you’re making is the right one.
- Reduce workplace risks – You can determine whether a candidate has a history of violence by researching their relevant criminal history.
- Verification of candidate claims – Background screening can be used to confirm a candidate’s claimed identity, credentials, education, and experience.
- Reduce the possibility of claims or lawsuits based on careless hiring – Negligent hiring claims arise when an employer knew (or should have known through due diligence) that an employee was a significant recruiting risk.
- Improve regulatory compliance – A third-party background screening provider with in-house compliance experts can help your business build a screening solution that complies with local regulatory requirements, which can vary by city and job type in addition to your industry standards.
Background checks can take many different forms and are used in many different situations.
To further ensure that the applicant’s information is accurate, we will examine the three most popular in China.
Criminal background check
The PRC Ministry of Public Security and its local counterparts maintain a database of criminal records for Chinese citizens called the “Criminal Record Database.”
Specific jobs can only be performed by people who have never been convicted of a crime, hence candidates must get a Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (“CNCC”) from a local public security agency before performing such jobs (“CNCC Jobs”).
Employers aren’t permitted to look up a candidate’s criminal history in the database; instead, they should ask them to do so or hire a private investigator.
According to Article 217 of the PRC Company Law, senior managers, including the manager, deputy manager, and person in charge of financial affairs of a company, as well as the secretary of a board of directors of a listed company and other individuals specified in a company’s articles of association, is the CNCC positions previously mentioned.
According to the law, anyone who has been convicted of a crime involving bribery, corruption, theft of property, or encroachment of property and who has served less than five years of their sentence is unable to serve as a director or senior management, as defined in Article 217.
If a position falls under the scope of CNCC Job requirements, employers are required to request a CNCC from candidates before making any job offers.
When offering a job or letting go of an existing employee, if the position is a CNCC job, an employer must adhere to applicable laws and regulations by using criminal history to determine employment status.
As far as we are aware, no law prohibits an employer from turning down a candidate with a criminal record if the position is not CNCC-related. Additionally, the employer is not required to explain their decision.
Some commercial investigation companies have access to the Criminal Record Database thanks to connections with neighborhood public security offices. For a fee that often ranges from USD $2,000 to $2,500, they will reveal a job applicant’s criminal history.
This could be a useful technique to obtain the applicant’s criminal history without requiring them to obtain it, but its legality is in doubt for two main reasons:
- A criminal record is private, and purchasing one from a commercial investigator may be considered an invasion of the applicant’s privacy.
- The Criminal Record Database is considered a state secret, and purchasing records from a commercial investigator may be illegal under laws protecting state secrets.
Qualifications check
To confirm education and credentials, employers may request the relevant diplomas and/or certificates. Certificates and credentials can be forged, and employers can check their veracity if necessary.
Employers can check job applicants’ higher education credentials, whether earned in China or abroad, using a website designated by the PRC Ministry of Education (CHESICC).
If the applicant’s education was completed outside of China, the employer may request that the applicant produce a certificate issued by the ministry certifying their education.
In the case of specific qualifications, you can check the website of the relevant domestic professional organization, such as the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, to see if the applicant has a professional qualification, such as a CPA certificate, to see if this is true.
References provided by former employers
With the consent of a job applicant, an employer may ask a former employer for a reference and use that reference to help determine whether or not to hire the applicant.
It’s crucial to get written permission to prevent potential privacy violations.
But in some cases, especially for certain positions, checking references may not be sufficient.
An applicant might have connections to businesses they failed to disclose during the application process due to a conflict of interest with a previous employer.
Alternatively, the applicant was a party to a civil or criminal lawsuit.
Or, if the applicant held an executive position, scandals that took place while he was in charge tell volumes about his ability to make sure that his staff members abide by the law and the rules even though they do not directly implicate him.
You can get some of this information in publicly accessible business and court records, but for other information, you’ll need to utilize more sophisticated research techniques.
Employment Background Check in China
Background checks are increasingly being taken into account when employing staff in China to prevent issues and additional expenses down the road.
With the help of our PEO service in China, we can assist businesses in running a background check on potential hires to ensure that all of the information is accurate.
