July 21st, 2022 | Sterling

Working From Home – What Are The Risks For Employers?

The pandemic shone a bright light on the capacity for entire workforces to work remotely or in a hybrid fashion that enables employees to have a more balanced work/life balance and avoid the need for long commutes to offices.

Most companies recognised the plethora of benefits for employees and are therefore continuing to offer flexible working options even after the most dire effects of the pandemic have passed. Employees have also warmly embraced the opportunity to work remotely and EY estimates that 90% of employees want the option to continue working from home.

However, as flexible and remote working is becoming a longstanding option for many employees, it’s prime time for businesses to consider the conditions and ramifications of this type of work.

Without the opportunity to meet with employees face-to-face on a regular basis, there is less opportunity to review an employee’s work directly, less chance to assess their demeanour and timeliness, and also fewer opportunities to chat about what is happening in their lives.

This is where rescreening can come in handy.

What is rescreening?

Rescreening is the process of performing checks on employees at periodic intervals to ensure that you are kept abreast of all potential issues with your workforce. Employees are constantly evolving, both inside and outside of work, so it is vital to maintain visibility of risks and red flags and devise an appropriate solution.

Regular rescreening gives employers the opportunity to review an employee’s background and assess whether any personal life issues have cropped up, such as criminal charges, negative media or financial issues, that may affect their suitability for their role and/or the workplace.

Why rescreen?

Rescreening is vital for ensuring that your workforce continues to be safe and appropriate. It also protects your business from potential financial or reputational risk on an ongoing basis.

Rescreening can help you:

• save time and money in the long-term – your people are your ultimate resource but so is the risk they pose to your company’s brand and reputation. Ensure you’re aware of all potential issues so that you can plan ahead and devise solutions.
• protect your company and your brand – employees have access to sensitive information and are the representatives of your brand and company to the general public. Make sure you are aware of any potential issues with your employees to protect your company from negative media and their potential impact on customers.
• ensure that your entire workforce feels safe in the workplace – employees are in close proximity and are in regular contact, hence having one “bad apple” in the workforce may put your other employees at risk.
• mitigate risks in high-risk situations like a merger or acquisition or when considering certain employees for a promotion or transfers – make sure you have all your bases covered by rescreening your employees and ensuring your workforce is safe and appropriate.

 How to rescreen?

Rescreening is a straightforward process as personal details have generally already been collected upon onboarding. Rescreening can therefore be ordered and completed straight from the Sterling portal in just a few steps.

We offer tailored packages for rescreening, whether you’re a small, medium or large-sized company, and we have great rates on our rescreening packages. We’d love to assist you to protect your most valuable resource – your people – on an ongoing basis. Contact us here to have a chat about your business needs.

This content is offered for informational purposes only. First Advantage is not a law firm, and this content does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice.  Information in this may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information.

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