Build trust, safety, and resilience through better hiring.
Discover how adopting the national hiring standard can strengthen workforce safety, protect organisations, and support fair and effective recruitment. The guide provides clear, practical guidance to help employers meet national hiring standards and make confident, risk‑aware hiring decisions.
Every organisation relies on the quality, integrity, and capability of its workforce. From frontline and manual roles to administrative and professional positions, ensuring the right people are hired into the right roles is critical. As hiring risks such as fraud, modern slavery, and skills misrepresentation continue to evolve, employers must go beyond basic checks to safeguard their people, operations, and the wider public.
The national hiring standard guidance has been developed in collaboration with Better Hiring Institute in collaboration with UK government bodies, leading experts, and industry partners including Reed Screening, Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS), Disclosure Scotland, the GLAA, and Fullbrook Strategies. Drawing on the principles behind BPSS and BS7858, this guide sets out what good, safe, and fair recruitment looks like in practice.
This resource explores how robust pre‑employment checks, detailed referencing, and risk‑aware screening can support organisations in making sound hiring decisions. It highlights emerging and long‑term risks across talent pipelines and supply chains and shows how stronger hiring practices can deter unsuitable candidates before harm occurs.
Why download the national hiring standard guide?
Protect your organisation and the public: Understand why robust, standard‑aligned pre‑employment checks are essential to protecting your workforce, third parties, and wider society
Hire with confidence: Learn how to gather and assess information from multiple sources to make fair, safe, and well‑informed hiring decisions
Strengthen safer recruitment practices: Discover how effective vetting and referencing can help deter unsuitable candidates, reduce risk, and prevent issues before onboarding
Reduce exposure to emerging risks: Gain insights into hiring fraud, modern slavery, and vulnerabilities across supply chains—and how better hiring standards help mitigate them
Support fair and inclusive hiring: Understand how to balance safety and compliance with fairness, consistency, and positive candidate experiences
What’s inside?
Clear guidance on meeting the national hiring standard and improving recruitment assurance
An overview of employer responsibilities in conducting robust pre‑employment checks
Practical advice on safer recruitment, vetting, and detailed referencing
Insights into emerging hiring risks, including fraud, exploitation, and long‑term workforce vulnerabilities
Alignment with recognised frameworks such as BPSS and BS7858
This guide is designed for HR leaders, talent acquisition teams, compliance professionals, operational managers, and anyone involved in recruitment, screening, or onboarding who is responsible for hiring safely and fairly.
The guidance offers more than a checklist; it’s a framework for building trust and resilience through recruitment. By accessing the national hiring standard, you’ll gain the insight needed to strengthen hiring decisions, protect people, and support sustainable workforce practices.
Download your free copy to explore the principles, risks, and practical steps behind faster, fairer, and safer recruitment. Your copy is available to download at the top of this page.