Following the release of the KPMG and Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) labour market report, which showed UK employers are hiring part-time staff at the fastest rate in three years, Jack Mellor, CEO of Personnel Checks, says: “As more employers turn to part-time and flexible hiring, recruitment checks cannot become more flexible too. Flexible staffing should never mean lower screening standards. Employers must ensure that the same level of due diligence is applied across every role, regardless of the contract type or number of working hours.
“Part-time staff can often be overlooked in the screening process. However, they can have access to the same sensitive information, systems and customer-facing responsibilities as full-time employees. Risk is determined by access, responsibility and trust, not by the number of hours someone works.
“When employers are hiring quickly to meet short-term demand, there can be pressure to speed up recruitment. That should never mean background checks become a box-ticking exercise. A shorter working week or a temporary contract does not reduce the need to understand who someone is, verify their employment history and assess whether they are suitable for the role.
“As flexible hiring becomes an increasingly important part of workforce planning, organisations that apply the same robust screening standards to every employee, regardless of contract type or working hours, will be better placed to protect their customers, colleagues and reputation.”
