What are the benefits of background checks in Romania?

First and foremost, conducting a thorough background check can assure you that a potential employee meets all the necessary qualifications before you onboard them.

Second, background checks help to protect your company from any legal liability issues that may arise due to negligent hiring practices. These checks can also deter workplace theft and fraud by ensuring you only hire qualified and thoroughly screened individuals.

By conducting a comprehensive background check prior to onboarding new employees, your company will help create a more secure working environment for existing team members. This practice demonstrates to new and existing employees that your company takes security seriously and is willing to invest in making sure every employee is who they say they are.

What are the types of background checks in Romania?

Whether you're relocating an employee to Romania or planning to hire residents of Romania, you'll need to make sure your new employee has completed a medical background check. Otherwise, all other background checks are at your discretion.

Note that Romania is covered by the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR, (EU) 2016/679, which ensures the data protection and privacy of all individuals in the EU and European Economic Area regardless of where your company is located. This means:

• The data you collect from a candidate must be limited to what is necessary to determine their ability to perform their role
• You must inform/obtain consent from candidates to share their information with any third parties
• All other data processing related to pre-employment background checks must comply with the GDPR

Here are a few common types of background checks in Romania and what type of information you're allowed to gather for each.

Criminal record check in Romania

Despite how professional a candidate may seem, you should always check their criminal history in Romania.

A criminal background check allows you to collect information from various sources to verify a person’s identity and criminal history. In Romania, this type of background check may include checks for any pending court cases or prison sentences as well as any prior convictions or arrest records. It can also include checks for driving violations or traffic incidents and any warrants issued by law enforcement agencies.

Employment history check

You'll want to perform a work history check in Romania to verify an individual’s work experience. You can check any prior jobs the candidate held within the past five or so years as well as the dates the individual began and ended the job. This check can also include any professional achievements related to their work experience.

By verifying the candidate’s work experience, you gain a better understanding of their skill set, qualifications, and overall suitability for a particular role. This also allows you to assess whether the candidate has sufficient training to succeed in their new position.

Medical screening

The only required pre-employment screening in Romania is the medical examination. The Romanian Labor Code requires employees to receive a medical certificate from a labor medicine doctor to confirm that the candidate is fit to work. Note that this health screening must not include a pregnancy test.

Credit history check

Performing a credit history check on a potential candidate is imperative if you'll be counting on them to handle finances for your company. This type of check verifies an individual's financial history, including any current debts, outstanding loans, past bankruptcies, or court proceedings related to the individual’s finances. It can also include screening for any other financial commitments, such as alimony payments or mortgages.

Education history

You can ensure that your candidate has the exact credentials and education history they've stated on their application by performing an education history background check. This will verify the individual's degrees or certificates as well as any prior schools, universities, or training courses they attended. You can also check for any other special qualifications or honors the person may have gained while studying.

Social media check

Social media checks are becoming more commonly included in pre-employment background checks. This type of screening involves verifying the candidate's online presence by searching for their activity on social media platforms. It may also include checks for any other public profiles, such as those on professional networking sites or blogs.

Performing a social media check can give you valuable insight into the candidate’s character and help you uncover any negative past or present activities that could be detrimental to your team or your company's brand.

Requirements for a background check in Romania

The only required background check for hiring in Romania is medical screening.

Although each background check will require specific documents, here is a general list you can use to start:

• Proof of citizenship
• Proof of residence
• Date of birth
• Full legal name
• Proof of education history, such as degrees, certificates, and other relevant education qualifications
• Proof of finances, such as bank accounts, debts, and loans
• References from previous employers

Steps in conducting background checks in Romania

Here are the steps that you as the employer should follow to conduct background checks in Romania:

1. Gather all documents to perform the necessary background checks.
2. Ensure that the candidate completes a medical exam.
3. Request each background check from the respective sources. For example, you should source the candidate's employment history from their previous employers.

Are employee background checks legal in Romania?

All employers are allowed to perform employee background checks in Romania. Although some data is restricted and there are laws around what kind of information can be gathered, you'll be able to perform all the various types of background checks listed previously in this article as long as comply with the relevant regulations, including the GDPR.

If your company fails to follow all the guidelines and laws, it will incur significant penalties from the Romanian government. Full compliance is mandatory when hiring in Romania.

Planning to hire in Romania? Here’s how Skuad can help

Navigating Romanian legal documents and regulations can be complicated. You need to be intimately familiar with local laws and regulations regarding background checks to prevent legal liability for your company. Skuad conducts background checks when you make us your EOR partner.

Instead of investing the time and resources needed to ensure complete compliance with Romanian laws, Skuad is ready to help you hire and manage remote employees in Romania quickly and easily. And when you partner with Skuad, our legal experts also support you in background checks in Romania.

When hiring a global workforce, including talent in Romania, it pays to check your potential employees' criminal, financial, and past employment records. With Skuad, you can properly vet employees along with easily build a globally distributed team of trusted individuals. To learn more, talk to Skuad's experts today!

FAQs

What shows up on a background check?

The information gathered during a background check will depend on the type of check performed. Here's some of the information typically included in background checks:

• Credit history
• Criminal records
• Employment verification
• Medical history
• Social media history
• References
• Educational qualifications

How do I get a criminal record check in Romania?

A criminal record check can be obtained through the Romanian Police General Inspectorate. They will pull all of the individual's previous criminal history, including past arrests, warrants, convictions, and any pending court cases in Romania.

How do they do an employment background check?

As an employer, you can perform a background check on any employee as long as you follow all Romanian and EU laws and regulations around gathering and processing information. Education, financial, criminal, and medical checks are all allowed under Romanian law.

How long does a background check take?

The type of background check performed will dictate how long it takes to process. Medical clearance can be granted on the day an examination is performed, whereas a criminal record check can take 3 to 4 days to complete.

What causes background checks to fail?

Any pre-existing medical conditions or current health issues that would cause an employee not to be able to perform their job would be cause for failing medical clearance. Past criminal arrests, warrants, or pending court cases will cause an employee to fail their police clearance certificate. All other background checks are at the discretion of the employer.