Recruitment and appointment

What type of information can an employer obtain about an applicant?

Background check procedures means that the institution must have carried out a valuation and a risk assessment to determine which positions, information, subject areas and infrastructure it is important to regulate access to. The legal basis for background checks is the employer's responsibility to appoint the right person to the position and the applicant's consent when applying for a position that requires specified qualifications, or the applicant's explicit consent to the collection of background information. What information an employer may obtain will vary based on the nature of the position, including the qualification requirements and other legal or contractual requirements that apply.

• The right to obtain additional information depends on the nature of the position and whether there are any restrictions in law, regulations or principles. There are restrictions on the right to obtain information about the applicant, set out, among other things, in the Working Environment Act and the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act, cf. inter alia the Working Environment Act Section 9-3 first paragraph and Section 13-4 first and third paragraphs, as well as the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act Section 30 first paragraph. There are some exceptions in the individual provisions.
• The employer may not emphasise information that cannot be obtained according to law, regulations or principles, even if such information has been provided with the job seeker's consent.

What does a background check include?

Background checks usually have four main parts: Identity checks, verification of education and work experience, credit checks and business interests, as well as searches in open sources. The background check should be appropriate to the position that is advertised. It is important that applicants are informed that a background check can be carried out, what this means and that written consent is obtained from the applicant before a background check is carried out. Some institutions choose to buy background check services.

If the position is in a discipline or subject area relevant to the Export Control Regulations for knowledge transfer, it is particularly important to consider security and to carry out a risk assessment when the position is advertised. The proposals below are based on the Veileder for sikkerhet i ansettelsesforhold ('Guidelines for security in employment relationships' – in Norwegian only), developed by PST, NSM, the police and the Norwegian Business and Industry Security Council. See also the Norwegian Data Protection Authority's resource page for background checks (in Norwegian only).

Internationally, useful tools and information have also been developed in connection with the recruitment and appointment of researchers; the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) and the European Charter for Researchers and a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The latter resource specifies general requirements for the researcher role and its associated rights and obligations.

Proposed assessments and procedures for management and administration

• Consider which positions/areas of responsibilities at the institution require background checks.
• Develop a procedure for background checks at the institution to standardise procedures in accordance with regulations (e.g. for export control of knowledge transfer and the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act) and ensure that responsibility for background checks is assigned in the organisation.
• In the absence of resources for satisfactory background checks, in-depth discussions of academic issues can help to verify that the person has the background they claim to have. Bibliometrics can also be used to check compliance with CVs and to analyse people's and institutions' possible ties.
• Prior to employment, applicants for the position should be informed that the Export Control Regulations could affect their professional development and work. This applies in particular to disciplines covered by the Export Control Regulations for knowledge transfer. The institution may consider incorporating this reservation as a separate clause in the employment contract.