As a business BrightPool are highly committed to achieving 100% compliance. The number of hours I spend dedicated to this cause is highly reflective of the financial services market I work in. With high level FSA regulations in place and the need for ‘zero’ or ‘minimal risk’ candidates to join businesses, the ever heightening compliance requirements keep on rising and we react accordingly.

I have previously found myself asking candidates to present me with bank statements to prove that they had a level of income that supported them through a short period of non-employment, or to provide passport stamp copies to prove they went abroad for a period (I guess also to prove they were not incarcerated during this time!!). I am all for these checks in principle because businesses must require this information to monitor levels or risk. However, within this market there have been instances where candidates deemed as a ‘risk’ have been removed from the recruitment process. This is not because of their inability to perform the duties within the role but because of a default on a credit card payment years before!!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this as I know that there may be some people who view this level of detail as a complete invasion of privacy. I would also like to hear people’s thoughts on where they think compliance can possibly go from here? It is already a very intrusive process but I fully agree it is one that we must abide by. Also, at what point can a person say this is affecting their human rights?

Natalie Fennell is the Financial Services Account Manager for BrightPool.