The key facts

  • Buying information about a candidate from illegal databases carries sanctions even if the data itself is lawful
  • Education, qualifications and experience may be checked; criminal record certificates only where the law provides for it
  • Consent to data processing must be a separate document drawn up in advance

Screening job applicants: where the legal line lies

Employers have been warned about the legal risks of vetting candidates through illegal databases. As judicial lawyer Elena Shalaton told Gazeta.Ru, buying information about an applicant from leaked databases and collecting excessive details about their personal life can land a company with fines and lawsuits.

What can and cannot be checked

According to the lawyer, the first things to verify are the details needed to assess professional suitability: education, qualifications and experience. The mere fact that information about a person exists online does not give a company the right to compile any dossier it likes — the purpose of the check, the scope of the data and the legal basis for processing it all matter in their own right. A criminal record certificate or medical documents may be requested only in cases where the law provides for them for a specific job; for an ordinary vacancy, such a demand cannot be justified merely by the security service's wishes. «Even data that the law permits, if obtained illegally, carries severe sanctions,» Shalaton stressed.

How to conduct a check properly

For reference checks, the lawyer advised obtaining the candidate's consent in advance. If data processing is based on consent, the document must be specific and clear, and by law it must be drawn up separately from other documents the person signs. Shalaton also recommended that employers avoid «probiv» bots, buying leaked data and obtaining closed information through acquaintances, define an acceptable vetting procedure in advance, and ensure the protection of the data collected. Earlier, the outlet notes, employers were already urged not to draw conclusions about candidates from their search queries about dismissal.