Domestic staff like housekeepers, nannies, caregivers, and personal assistants spend significant time in your home, business, and around your family. You place immense trust in their hands. If not appropriately vetted, you are putting your family and business at risk. You can be a victim of theft, fraud, or worse. Let’s understand the importance of background checks when hiring domestic staff.
IMPORTANCE OF BACKGROUND CHECKS
Hiring domestic staff without proper background checks can expose homes and businesses to preventable risks. Background checks provide a clear picture of the candidate. Some of the reasons why you should conduct background checks are given below.
1. PROVIDES SAFETY AND SECURITY
Safety and security are among the top reasons for conducting background checks on domestic staff. You are allowing virtual strangers into your home and trusting them with your loved ones and valuables. Thorough background checks help uncover any history of violence, abuse, theft, or other concerning behaviors. It lets you make informed decisions about who to allow into your home.
A background check can reveal past convictions for theft, fraud, offenses, and violent crimes. Such revelations would disqualify the candidate from domestic employment involving proximity with family members. Background checks also verify identity and address history. You don’t want to grant access to an imposter harboring ill intentions in your home. Background checks are the best way to avoid compromising your family’s safety, children, elderly parents, and home.
2. HELPS UNCOVER PAST MISDEEDS
Background checks allow you to uncover past misdeeds of the candidate. Domestic staff often deal with vulnerable populations like children, seniors, and people with disabilities. You must clearly understand the candidate’s past before you onboard them. Background checks verify information provided by the candidate and bring hidden facts to light.
A thorough background check will help reveal if the candidate might hide prior arrests, convictions, firings, or disciplinary actions. You can also discover if the candidate has changed jobs frequently, suggesting issues with workplace conduct.
3. MAINTAINS COMPLIANCE
For some domestic staff positions, background checks are a legally mandated prerequisite for hiring. Federal, state, and local laws require extensive background screening and checks before employing domestic staff in certain roles.
The Department of Homeland Security requires completing the I-9 form and E-Verify checks to confirm work authorization for all domestic staff hires. It applies regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time, or freelance employees. Passing a criminal background check is mandatory for nurses and healthcare professionals providing at-home care. Failing to run the necessary checks can result in steep fines or criminal penalties.
4. PREVENTS NEGLIGENT HIRING LAWSUITS
Homeowners and businesses can face lawsuits for failure to exercise reasonable care in selecting domestic staff who endanger or harm others. If a domestic employee commits theft, abuse, or any crime, the employer can be held legally liable for negligent hiring if they did not run background checks. These lawsuits can involve substantial settlement costs.
Proper background checks demonstrate that the employer has followed the required procedures and protects you from negligent hiring lawsuits.
5. VERIFIES SKILLS AND CERTIFICATIONS
Background checks allow you to verify the qualifications and certifications claimed by domestic staff candidates. Checks can validate educational credentials, professional licenses, driving records, and relevant training certificates. Hiring employees without verifying skills and certifications is a significant liability issue. Your liability insurance provider can deny coverage if your employees do not carry proper permits and licenses.
Verifying skills helps you feel confident that you are hiring competent and qualified candidates best suited for the specific job duties. It also demonstrates to candidates that you seriously validate qualifications claimed on resumes.
