Employee Background Checks in Israel: Rules and Best Practices

Israel is a hub of innovation in various sectors like cybersecurity, financial technology, semiconductors, aerospace, automotive, life sciences, food technology, and water technology.  

With over 330 multinational companies in the middle eastern country having a geographical area of just over 8000 sq. miles, Israel presents an ideal choice for business expansion or inspiration. 

A crucial part of business expansion is hiring local talents, and Israel has an adequate skilled workforce. However, an informal recruitment process could expose companies to information leaks, financial embezzlement, sabotage, or even theft, eventually damaging the company’s image and its clients’ trust.

Here is why responsible hiring practices like background checks are globally included in the recruitment process. Fortunately, employment background checks in Israel are permitted with minimum compliance burden on the employer. 

Continue reading the sections to learn more about the local laws and regulations regarding background searches in Israel. 

What is Employment Background Verification?

Employment background verification authenticates candidates’ academic and professional claims during the interview. Usually, background checks on prospective candidates cover. 

• Authentication of documents presented by the candidate
• Verification of reference details, professional training, and academic certificates 
• Comprehensive background search for corporate anti-espionage, financial debt history, locating direct or indirect connections with competing companies, or even health history  

Background screening may occasionally be necessary for existing employees, possibly when work conditions change, a promotion or salary raise, or any employee is reportedly under financial risk.  

Benefits of Background Checks in Israel

A pre-employment background check in Israel helps employers and companies hire talented professionals without the risk of associating with candidates who have

• Financial debts and open liens
• Banking restrictions and guarantees
• Obligations to companies or private parties
• Legal cases implicating their role and reliability
• Criminal record and connections to investigations and arrests

The significant benefits arising out of conducting employment background screening in Israel will result in 

High standard of incoming job applications

• Only genuine candidates tend to submit applications when background verification is made mandatory as part of the hiring process. 
• Recruiters who notice discrepancies in education and work history can filter out candidates with a thorough employee screening in Israel. 

Finding the best fit

• A pre-employment background check in Israel eliminates the need to repeat the hiring process until they find the right fit.
• Thus, employee screening during the hiring process ensures that companies find the right candidate with the necessary qualifications and work experience.   

Optimizing company time and resources

• Constant changes may hamper productivity since employers keep filling vacancies instead of concentrating on core business activities. 
• Companies can make an informed decision the first time with thorough background checks. 
• Conducting criminal background checks may also ensure a safe workplace. 

Align with responsible hiring practices

• Industries like childcare or palliative care, hazardous industries, and financial and banking industries are vulnerable to errant employees. 
• Aligning with responsible hiring processes like conducting criminal background checks in Israel or simple HR background checks avoids employers’ risk liabilities.  

Are Background Checks Legal in Israel?

Yes, employment background checks are legal in Israel. 

Laws and regulations governing employment background checks in Israel include  

• Protection of Privacy Law, 5741-1981 (PPL)
• Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.
• Prevention of Employment of Sex Offenders in Certain Institutions
• Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law
• Various labor court judgments

Employers can perform background screening in Israel as long as they aren’t violating the parameters set in these laws and regulations. 

Continue reading to understand the limitations of conducting pre-employment, employee background checks, HR background checks, and criminal background checks in Israel. 

Things to Know When Performing a Background Check in Israel

Employers can dedicate an HR team to look after the background screening process. They are also free to contract background checks in Israel to third-party service providers without a specific workplace privacy law. 

Whatever the case, here are essential parameters to consider when performing employment background checks in Israel – 

Criminal record

• Verifying candidates’ criminal history before hiring or during employment is crucial to ensure workplace safety. 
• However, employers are usually restricted from performing a criminal background check in Israel on prospective candidates or existing employees. 
• But exceptions exist such that under the law for the prevention of employment of sex offenders in certain institutions, employers must obtain a certificate of confirmation from the Israeli Police. 

Credit report

• There is no specific workplace law in Israel requiring applicants to disclose their financial information.
• However, credit checks are crucial for managerial positions in almost any sector. 
• Therefore, employers must receive consent for storing and using such data for background searches in Israel. 

Employment history

• Candidates’ employment history may help employers determine their behavior in the workplace and working patterns. 
• Employers can contact references provided from the previous workplace to verify it. 
• It also ensures that the candidate possesses the required expertise for the job. 
• However, Israel’s employment (Equal Opportunities) law restricts employers from seeking applicants’ military medical profile ratings.
• Use of ratings in any decisions affecting employment, terms, training, dismissal, or benefits is strictly prohibited. 

Education history

• Academic qualifications certify whether the applicants have acquired the required technical knowledge to handle the job position. 
• Employers can also contact the institutions where the candidate obtained an education. It ensures that applicants have submitted accurate information and are qualified for the role. 

Social life

• Recruiters rely on social media profiles to assess the prospects’ behavioral traits, personalities, political opinions, beliefs, etc.
• As part of an HR background check in Israel, employers may access the candidates’ public profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram. 

Information Essential for a Background Check in Israel

Israel’s background check law does not distinguish between general information like address and telephone number, bank account number, and national ID number and sensitive information like personality data, intimate affairs, political opinions and religious beliefs, financial status, and state of health for data protection.

Therefore, employers seeking the above information to perform background checks in Israel must notify prospective candidates or existing employees about the following.

• the purpose of the information request
• how will the information be shared and processed
• whether there is a legal duty to provide the information or whether a response is voluntary 

Employers or third-party contractors storing such information must enable access in Hebrew, English, or Arabic to process data anytime at the request of the candidates. 

Further, employee monitoring & surveillance also forms a core part of employee screening in Israel. 

It includes the issues of monitoring and surveillance of electronic communication, internet use at the workplace, video monitoring, location monitoring (for remote work), telephone use, employee frisking at the workplace, or use of biometrics. 

Usually, employment contracts elaborate policies regarding employee monitoring & surveillance. The courts of Israel review matters related to employee privacy rights based on the European Union directives. 

Process Involved in Background Checks in Israel

There are no specified steps to conduct background checks in Israel. Employers must follow the given steps for conducting a company background check in Israel. 

Step 1: Notice of information collected 

• Employers must notify their prospects or employees to seek information not available in the public domain for employment background checks. 

• Employers are responsible for getting consent if they outsource the background search task to third-party service providers. 

Step 2: Gather information 

• Employers must collect all the necessary documents for employee screening in Israel. Usually, a third-party professional is hired here. 
• The most common documents required for background checks are academic qualifications, certificates, and documents from the previous workplace. 

Step 3: Pre-employment background check

• Verifying work experience: Employers can review all the references given on the applicant’s resume for past work experience. 
• Verifying academic qualifications: Companies can verify certifications and educational qualifications as declared in the job application. 
• Verifying publicly accessible data on social media: Employers are not restricted from assessing character traits from the candidate’s social media profile. 
• Verifying other relevant details: Companies can demonstrate their employee’s medical records and credit checks. While employers cannot force them to take a physical health check, it may result in employment termination.  

Industries and Situations That are Most Suitable for Background Checks in Israel

Israel’s background check law mandates criminal background checks for prospective candidates interviewed for working with children or persons with mental or developmental disabilities. 

Employers may put employees in high security or susceptible positions under a polygraph test to determine their credibility in exceptional circumstances, which otherwise is restricted. 

Further, financial and medical history checks are usually performed as part of background searches in Israel for specific posts, like managerial positions, positions requiring access to other people’s personal and financial records, profiles with access to trade secrets, or work in hazardous industries. 

How Multiplier Helps With Background Checks

Israel balances out economic opportunities for both employers and employees well. Adequate employee privacy protection and lower compliance burden on employers make local hiring easier. 

Employers must follow local laws and regulations for responsible hiring and team management in Israel. Conducting employment background checks in Israel may result in financial and legal obligations if laws and rules get misinterpreted.  

Fortunately, Multiplier offers solutions to avoid risk liabilities while performing pre-employment background checks or employee screening in Israel. 

Employers can partner with global employment compliance solutions like Multiplier and eliminate all risks concerning global employment and hiring abroad.

With help from our third-party vendors, global companies and entrepreneurs looking to establish their presence in Israel can follow responsible hiring practices.