Pre-employment screening services
Whatever your size or sector, we are committed to providing you with the screening services you need, from end-to-end staff vetting to one-off checks, in the fastest possible time.
Start a conversation with one of our screening specialists
Send a brief overview of your requirements and we will contact you to find out more about your needs.
Get in touchHow Reed can help you
Reed offers you and your company peace of mind. Our trusted pre-employment screening service, provided through Reed Screening, can protect your business from reputational and financial risk.
Reed Screening’s vision is to create a safer world at work. With over 60 years’ experience, a unique position in the industry, and a dedicated team of over 150 screening experts, we can help you to hire the right people for your business. We offer over 500,000 pre-employment checks and in the past 12 months we’ve conducted checks across 116 countries.
Our screening services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and our vetting specialists will work alongside you to offer the best solution for your business needs.
We complete over a million checks per year and have a wealth of experience across a wide range of industries, from policing and financial services to health and education. While all our checks are conducted by our UK-based experts, we can carry out background checks internationally with no time zone limitations.
Whether you’re looking for criminal record checks (DBS checks), identity verification solutions, right to work checks, or for any other verifications, we have a solution.
The Reed difference
At Reed we pride ourselves in our effective and efficient service - by working with us to screen your workforce we can guarantee a quality screening service that ensures compliance and substantially reduces your organisational risk.
Each year we conduct over a million searches across 116 countries, and we are a trusted partner of hundreds of organisations across multiple sectors, providing accurate vetting results; so much so that we have a 0% error rate on DBS checks versus a 10.8% national average.
Our services are available 24/7 and we have an average turnaround of 5 days across over 500,000 checks.
As industry leaders, we also work alongside several government and regulatory bodies such as the Home Office, DBS, Cifas, Disclosure Scotland, AFODD, and CQC, to name a few.
Keith Rosser, Reed’s Director of Group Risk and Reed Screening, serves as Council Leader for the PBSA, Vetting Lead of CIFAS, the Chair of the CRTB, a Member of ECHO, and Chair of JobsAware - feeding into legislative reviews and defining strategies to benefit the industry.
We work with the government and other screening and regulatory bodies to ensure we stay ahead of the curve when it comes to developments and changes in screening and compliance.
Our 60 years’ experience in recruitment has afforded us the ability to understand a multitude of supply models and organisational pressures, allowing us to best-judge the solution to suit you.
Not only can we work with your company providing one-off, off-the-shelf screening packages, but we are also able to partner with you to offer flexible, bespoke services to fit the needs of your whole supply chain, mitigating any vetting-based risks.
Reed Screening supports a multitude of clients with their international background check requirements, and over the past 12 months we have conducted screening checks across over 116 countries.
Our unique end-to-end coverage means we can support you with a range of services, beyond that of a typical recruitment agency. Whether you need to hire staff, a range of workforce solutions, consultancy services, professional development support or pre-employment screening – we're here to support all of your needs.
We can help prevent your business from risk...
Send a brief overview of your requirements and we will contact you to find out more about your needs.
Case studies
Academies Enterprise Trust
One of the largest multi-academy trusts in the UK appointed Reed in 2019 to help fulfil their supply staff needs.
Adoption Counts
We recruited two experienced, independent assessors within an urgent timeframe for the adoption service, fostering a new relationship because of our efficient and co-operative level of service.
Summit Learning Trust
Our master vendor supply service for Summit Learning Trust has built a strong relationship between its schools and teachers.
Pre-employment screening FAQs
A pre-employment screening check is a verification of information and background of any potential or current employee. You can use employment screening services to determine if employees can handle sensitive or confidential information and to also assess skills relevant to the position.
Reed completes over a million checks per year and has a wealth of experience across a wide range of industries. Get in touch to find out more.
Background checks for employment are an essential part of the hiring process, which is why it’s important to establish a workplace screening policy to ensure the process remains consistent.
Your pre-employment screening process needs to be conducted in a professional manner, ensuring fairness and transparency. It also needs to meet legal requirements and check all your boxes, so you feel confident when screening a potential employee.
A contract of employment doesn’t exist until a candidate has accepted the offer and all conditions have been satisfied, including references and pre-employment checks.
You can withdraw a conditional job offer at any time before the contract is signed if the results of the screening don’t match your expectations. You should make it clear that the offer may be withdrawn if the checks prove unsatisfactory.
Pre-employment checks can vary due to a range of circumstances and what exactly you want to check. On average, basic checks take up to 14 days, while enhanced and standard checks usually take around eight weeks. It may take shorter or longer, depending on the type of check you are doing.
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Our national coverage allows us to offer a recruitment service taylored to your needs, with accurate local market intelligence on salaries, competitors and the best professionals who can help your business thrive.