Social Media checks for businesses
One in every twenty social media checks turns up adverse content. That is a candidate whose public online activity contains something an employer would want to know about before handing over a contract, a classroom or a caseload. A Social Media Check reviews what a candidate has already chosen to make public, applies a consistent standard to it, and gives you a clear report you can defend. No guesswork, no scrolling through profiles at 9pm, no risk of your hiring manager stumbling across information they should never have seen.
WHy run Social Media Checks?
A CV tells you what someone wants you to know. Their public online activity often tells you something else. For roles carrying responsibility for children, vulnerable adults, public money or your organisation's reputation.
The expectation is already set out in statutory guidance in some sectors. Keeping Children Safe in Education states that, as part of the shortlisting process, schools and colleges "should consider carrying out an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates".
The Information Commissioner's Office is clear that if you want to check a candidate's public social media profiles, you must be able to justify why it is necessary, document the specific risk, tell candidates in advance, and keep the person doing the research separate from the person making the hiring decision. Get any of that wrong and a check intended to reduce risk becomes the risk.
A professional Social Media Check solves the process problem, not just the information problem. It gives you a consistent methodology applied to every candidate, an objective review that disregards irrelevant content, a documented audit trail, and a report structured so you can have a fair conversation with the applicant if something is flagged.
What Is A Social Media Check?
A Social Media Check is a structured review of a candidate's publicly available online activity. It looks across social networks, professional networks, mobile-only apps, blogs and vlogs, news and media coverage, e-commerce activity and wider web sources.
The check identifies and reports content that presents a genuine risk in an employment context. That includes explicit material, illegal activity, drug endorsement, racism or sexism, online bullying or harassment, criticism of previous employers, and connections to proscribed organisations.
It also gives you benchmarked indicators covering the candidate's privacy settings, content profile, first impressions and network risk, so you can see how they compare against others in their sector.
Just as importantly, it filters out what does not belong in a hiring decision. Political views, religion, family circumstances and other protected characteristics are not reported.
Which Roles Should Include a Social Media Check?
These checks earn their place where a candidate's public conduct carries real consequences. Common examples include:
Teaching, support and pastoral roles in schools and colleges
Health and social care, including care workers and registered professionals
Roles working with children, young people or vulnerable adults
Public-facing and customer-facing positions
Senior leadership and roles that represent the organisation externally
Marketing, communications and press-facing roles
Charity trustees and volunteer positions in safeguarding-critical settings
Regulated sectors including legal, finance and pharmaceutical
Law enforcement and public sector roles
A Social Media Check is not right for every vacancy. The ICO expects vetting to be proportionate to the role, and screening every applicant regardless of risk is a good way to end up on the wrong side of that expectation. Deciding and documenting why these checks are needed and for which roles is the best way to remain compliant.
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Adverse Financial FAQs
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Most checks are returned within one to five working days, with an average turnaround of around 1.7 days. Turnaround depends partly on how much identifying information you provide at the point of submission.
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Absolutely, yes. As with other pre-employment checks, candidates must be informed that an online search will form part of your recruitment process, and told this as early as possible, ideally in the job advert or application pack.
Depending on your lawful basis you may also need explicit consent from the candidate.
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They look for publicly visible content that presents a genuine employment risk: explicit material, illegal activity, drug endorsement, racist or sexist content, online bullying or harassment, breaches of confidentiality, criticism of employers, and links to proscribed organisations.
They also provide benchmarked privacy, content and first impressions indicators, plus network risk analysis.
Content relating to protected characteristics is filtered out.
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Yes, when they are done properly.
Social Media Checks review information the candidate has already made public, which is lawful under UK GDPR provided you have a valid lawful basis, and the check is relevant and proportionate to the role.
The ICO expects you to document the specific risk you are addressing, tell candidates in advance, and keep the person researching the candidate separate from the person making the hiring decision. Using a professional provider handles the last of those by default.
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No. We only review content that is publicly visible. Private accounts, locked profiles, direct messages and deleted posts are outside the scope of the check, and we do not ask candidates for usernames or passwords.
If a candidate keeps their accounts private, the report will reflect that rather than attempting to work around it.
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No. A flag is a prompt for a conversation, not a verdict.
Content can be misattributed, taken out of context, or years out of date and no longer representative. Findings should be weighed alongside experience, references and the requirements of the role, and the candidate should get a fair chance to explain.
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Yes, subject to your policy, contractual position and a lawful basis for processing. Ongoing screening is most common in regulated sectors and safeguarding-critical roles, and it should be applied consistently rather than in response to suspicion about an individual.
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Education, health and social care, charities and the voluntary sector, legal and financial services, pharmaceutical, law enforcement and the wider public sector. Any organisation recruiting into safeguarding-sensitive or public-facing roles is a candidate for them.
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You can run your Social Media Checks in the same place you run your DBS, Right to Work and ID checks, with one login, one invoice and one support team who know your account. Our checks are delivered through a specialist screening partner with a dedicated analyst team, so you get expert review without adding another supplier relationship to manage.
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Enjoy expert support from the highest-rated customer service agents in the industry and always know where you stand with your compliance.
