Month: August 2018
Many companies operating fleet who introduce a vehicle tracking system for the first time would, of course, be concerned in the impact on their employees when installing mobile workforce tracking or a GPS vehicle tracking across their entire operation.
The rise of commercial vehicle tracking across the relevant industries dependent on running the most cost-effective and efficient fleet they possibly can has meant many changes of working practice, not least for the vehicle drivers.
Introducing change of an employees working conditions, obviously requires great care to be taken, not least from a legal point of view and how it affects their individual contracts of employment.
Essentially, there are two key differences to be determined when instigating mobile workforce solutions:
Business use only or – Business and Personal use.
Business Use …
Fitting a vehicle tracker into a vehicle to be used only for day-to-day, strictly work related business, e.g. delivery van, it is recommended that employees driving the vehicle should be informed not only that the system will be fitted, but also why it is being fitted, how it works and exactly the nature of the data to be collected and what its use will be and how it is intended to benefit everyone at the company.
It is important that employees fully understand and appreciate all the objective reasons for wishing to obtain the information that will be provided from the system and why it is needed to help with business efficiency and improvement. Concerns and objections raised by employees obviously need to be discussed to reach agreement on fitting the system but legal advice should be sought if agreement cannot be reached.
Business and Personal use…
Essentially, the same considerations as in business use only but with the addition of taking into account that the system will provide data on the vehicles movements outside working time. Concern may be raised by employees that this data could be used to obtain information about their private lives and if so, could be seen as an infringement of their human rights.
Once again, it is strongly advised and to be made absolutely clear that the data collected by the system will only be accessed for data relating to working hours only, unless the vehicle is stolen or in an accident. Employees need to know as to who will have access to the data and its use for business.
Company contracts of employment should be redrawn so there should be clause which allows for the fitting and/or use of the system in any vehicles provide for company/personal use.
The pre-employment background check is becoming more and more common place. As employers work to protect their places of employment from individuals that aren’t the best for the job or could pose a dangers to others, these background checks happen to be the tool of choice. After all, your past can say a lot about the person that you are and the person that you are likely to be, too. Yet, if you don’t have anything to hide in your past, should you really worry about what happens when a background check is done on you?
You Don’t Want It
Even for many individuals that have nothing in their past to be worried about, this type of privacy invasion is enough to bother them. In most cases, you can refuse to have one done, assuming that it isn’t a legal requirement for the position with the home such as when you are working with children or in the police department. Yet, doing this could potentially stop you from being hired anyway. Someone that refuses a background check is okay, but someone else that applies for the same position with the same qualifications and passes that pre-employment background check with flying colors is more likely to obtain the position.
Another concern that many have is the fact that the information on their pre-employment background check could mistakenly provide the wrong information. Perhaps there is information on your background check that is wrong. You could be suffering without realizing why. Or, perhaps it will uncover something that is potentially harmful but shouldn’t have anything to do with the current position in question. Sometimes, information can be taken out of context by the investigator and it could, ultimately effect your position with the company. Even some information that may be illegal for the investigator to consider in the hiring process could turn up. Although they technically can not use this to not hire you, it may leave them with a bad taste in their mouths, which could sway them the other way for other reasons.
Background checks are a potential nightmare for some individuals. If you have nothing to worry about, or so you think, you should still run a background check on yourself to determine if there are any potential problems lurking there. Doing so can at least give you peace of mind. Everyone needs to know what is in their background check.
Defining questionable “employment gaps”
Questionable employment gaps are periods on a resume or job application that can’t be verified. Some of the most popular false claims used to cover employment gaps are:
– Freelancing
– Business Owner
– Fictitious Out Of Business Company
A clever and sneaky employee can get these lies past an employer who is not conducting a careful and thorough employee background screening. Most employers do not have the in-house resources to verify these claims. When an employer conducts a background check on their own they will usually only get information on the position held, dates of employment and if the candidate is eligible for rehire.
Fortunately, even for freelance and closed businesses, there is a paper trail. Genuine freelancers and business owners must apply for a fictitious business name and a business license. This is a requirement for most cities regardless of where the work will be performed. For a freelancer, a business license is required even if he or she works from home.
Unfortunately, tracking this information can be confusing and time consuming for most personnel departments and small business owners. Getting the most accurate information is usually best left to a professional pre-employment screening firm, such as Accu-Screen, Inc. They have the resources and experience to readily search and provide the most up to date and accurate information.
Questionable “employment gaps”
Employers need to be careful not to jump to conclusions because freelance and business information may not be readily verified. When this occurs, the employer should request clarification from the job applicant. An employer should ask for references from past clients, projects worked on and milestones. Most freelancers and business owners should be able to give you business references, detailed information on projects and accomplishments.
Similarly, for a situation where a business is no longer operating, a job seeker should be able to provide verification of employment. Verification can include paystubs, tax return, offer of employment letter or proof of any type of recognition received, while employed at the company.
A red flag should be raised if the job seeker can’t provide additional information to verify claims of freelancing, owning a business or a company that is no longer open for business.
Problems with employees who lie about “employment gaps”
When an “employment gap” is discovered, an employer needs to be concerned about the reasons for it. Periods of employment gaps that can’t be verified may be associated with:
– Incarceration
– Involuntary termination
Some job seekers are unlucky while others are just plain deceitful. A professional employment background screening firm, such as Accu-Screen, Inc., can help get to the bottom of these issues by obtaining the most appropriate and accurate information.
When an applicant has these issues in their past or fails to report them, an employer should proceed with caution. These issues need to be handled confidentially and with diplomacy. The issue should be addressed and clarification should be reached before a job offer is made.