Health and Social Care

Background screening solutions for care and support services

Speak to our team

We carry out over 1 million background checks per year

Trusted by over 1,800 organisations to deliver accurate screening for critical hiring decisions

Our UK-based team is available whenever you need us

Our teams are vetted in line with BS7858 standards, providing an added layer of trust and security

Safer recruitment, backed by trusted data

 

Hiring in health and social care carries a higher duty of care than many other sectors. Employers must be confident that candidates are suitable, qualified and safe to work in sensitive environments.

You need recruitment processes that are thorough, consistent and easy to evidence. Whether you’re hiring permanent employees, agency workers, contractors, volunteers or regulated professionals, your checks need to show that the right steps have been taken before someone starts work.

We support care homes, domiciliary care, community services, hospitals, private healthcare, and more. Let's work together to build a workforce you can trust.

Our background checking solutions help you:

  • Verify candidate identity and employment history
  • Complete appropriate criminal record checks
  • Confirm Right to Work status
  • Check qualifications, professional memberships and role suitability
  • Maintain clear records for internal governance and inspection readiness
  • Give candidates a smoother, more digital screening experience

 

 

Background checks designed for health and social care recruitment

The checks you need will depend on the role, setting and level of responsibility. Experian can help you build a screening approach that reflects your organisation’s policy and hiring requirements.

Criminal record checks

Complete the appropriate level of criminal record check for the role, including basic, standard and enhanced DBS checks, AccessNI checks, Disclosure Scotland checks and PVG checks where applicable.

Identity verification

Confirm that candidates are who they say they are with digital identity checks that support a more secure and efficient screening process.

Right to Work checks

Check a candidate’s legal right to work in the UK through a digital process designed to give hiring teams visibility and control.

Employment reference checks

Verify previous employment and help identify gaps or inconsistencies in a candidate’s work history.

Qualification and professional membership checks

Confirm qualifications, professional memberships or registrations where these are required for the role.

Occupational history and gap checks

Build a clearer picture of a candidate’s employment history, including career gaps that may need to be reviewed as part of your recruitment process.

Social media screening

Identify publicly available online content that may be relevant to role suitability, safeguarding responsibilities or organisational policy. These checks can provide an additional layer of insight for roles involving trust, public visibility or contact with vulnerable people.

Additional checks

Depending on your policy and role requirements, you may also choose from other checks such as adverse financial checks, DVLA checks, international criminal record checks, or specialist compliance checks.

We understand what's important for safer hiring in your organisation

Health and social care organisations often recruit across a wide mix of roles, settings and levels of responsibility. We can help you build a consistent background checking process that reflects the different environments your people work in, from frontline care and clinical teams to support services, volunteers and contractors.


Care homes and residential care providers

 

Make background checks part of a consistent safer recruitment process for people working in residential and supported living environments.

Whether people are delivering personal care, managing medicines, supporting daily activities or working on site, clear screening records can help evidence that appropriate checks have been completed before they start work.

 

We can provide checks for:

  • Care assistants and senior care assistants
  • Registered nurses and nursing associates

  • Support workers and key workers

  • Activities coordinators

  • Registered managers and deputy managers

  • Housekeeping, catering and maintenance teams

  • Visiting professionals, contractors and agency workers

  • Volunteers and work placement students



Domiciliary and home care providers



Support safer, more reliable hiring for people working independently in service users’ homes, where trust, suitability and clear records are essential.

For roles that involve lone working, entering private homes or supporting people with personal care, background checks can help create a more consistent and auditable approach to recruitment.


We can provide checks for:

  • Home care workers and domiciliary care assistants

  • Live-in carers

  • Reablement workers

  • Personal assistants

  • Field care supervisors

  • Care coordinators and schedulers

  • Registered managers and branch managers

  • Rapid response and out-of-hours care teams

  • Agency workers and self-employed care professionals

 

Hospitals and private healthcare providers



Verify the people joining clinical, administrative and support teams with checks that help evidence identity, employment history, professional standing and role suitability.

In healthcare settings, different roles may require different levels of screening. A consistent process helps hiring teams apply the right checks while maintaining clear records across departments and workforce types.


We can provide checks for:

  • Doctors, consultants and medical practitioners

  • Nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants

  • Allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists, radiographers and occupational therapists

  • Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians

  • Theatre, ward and outpatient teams

  • Laboratory and diagnostic staff

  • Reception, booking and patient administration teams

  • Porters, estates, facilities and cleaning teams

 

Community health and care services



Support recruitment across community-based services where employees and volunteers may work across multiple locations, visit people in their homes or support people with complex needs.

For distributed teams, digital background checks can help improve visibility, reduce manual administration and support a more consistent approach across services.


We can provide checks for:

  • Community nurses and healthcare assistants

  • Support workers and outreach workers

  • Mental health support workers

  • Rehabilitation and enablement teams

  • Transport and patient support teams

  • Service coordinators and case workers

  • Volunteers, peer support workers and befriending teams

  • Mobile teams, contractors and temporary workers


Children’s, specialist and complex care services

 

Strengthen safeguarding confidence with appropriate checks for people working with children, young people or adults with additional care and support needs.

Where roles involve close contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults, employers need recruitment processes that are thorough, consistent and easy to evidence.


We can provide checks for:

  • Children’s support workers and residential care workers

  • Foster care and adoption support teams

  • Mental health and behavioural support teams

  • Complex care nurses and clinical support workers

  • Therapy and rehabilitation teams

  • Family support workers and outreach teams

  • Volunteers, agency workers and visiting specialists


Head office, operational and support teams



Build confidence across the wider workforce, not only frontline care roles. Many non-clinical employees still handle sensitive information, manage services or work in environments where trust matters.

Screening requirements may vary by role, but a clear policy helps organisations apply checks consistently and maintain stronger governance across the whole workforce.


We can provide checks for:

  • HR, recruitment and onboarding teams

  • Finance and payroll teams

  • IT, systems and data teams

  • Compliance, quality and governance teams

  • Regional and operations managers

  • Training and development teams

  • Customer service and complaints teams

  • Procurement and supplier management teams

  • Senior leaders and board-level appointments

 

 

Why choose us?

Trusted screening expertise

Experian combines data, technology and screening experience to help organisations make more confident hiring decisions.

UK-based, UK hours

Our UK-based team means you'll have a dedicated account manager working when you work and available via phone, email, and live chat.

Clear visibility and control

Track check progress and candidate status through digital tools designed to reduce manual administration.

Support for compliance-led hiring

Build a more consistent, auditable approach to pre-employment screening and safer recruitment.

 

 

FAQs

 

 

Further reading

Guide

Right to Work Checks in the UK

An employer’s guide to getting RTW checks correct and ensuring you have a statutory excuse for employees.
Blog

What is a DBS Check? DBS Checks Explained

We answer your most popular questions on DBS checks, including costs, how long they take and more.

Speak to an expert about background checks and safer hiring.

Personal DBS check: Unfortunately we're unable to help with your individual DBS check, and you will need to organise with your employer. 

Please click on the link for your country for more information:

England or Wales  |  Scotland  |  Northern Ireland

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