Comprehensive Guide to Conducting Background Checks in Macau

Macau features strong economic growth. Irrespective of the working conditions, it is one of the best countries to settle for employment. It is an ideal place for global entrepreneurs and employers to hire a talented workforce. This is due to factors like a transparent regulatory system, implementation of anti-corruption laws, attractive investment incentives, etc. Moreover, the country ranks 116th globally in terms of GDP.

International companies must comply with the local regulations in Macau while hiring employees. One of the crucial components of the responsible hiring process is conducting background checks. It simplifies the process of managing a team worldwide.

Thus, it is vital to understand the laws regarding background checks in Macau. The pre-employment background check in Macau follows a systematic approach.

The following guide discusses everything you must know about running a compliant HR background check in Macau. 

What is Employment Background Verification?

Background verification entails tasks like gathering, storing, and processing the professional and personal data of an existing or potential employee. Usually, employers accomplish this process to verify employment records, academic information, criminal records, credit records, social media records, etc. While conducting background checks in Macau, companies can also assess employees’ personal and professional behavioral characteristics.

It is imperative to conduct these checks before hiring candidates to uphold workplace integrity. Hiring reliable candidates for the job helps employers maintain productivity.  Employers can verify this while conducting background searches in Macau.

The employee screening procedure depends on the industry and local regulations. Companies must conform to local laws when conducting background checks in Macau.

Companies can conduct a pre-employment background check in Macau in several ways. They can accomplish this by hiring an HR department or outsourcing it to professionals handling employee screening.

Presently, most companies are using services from third-party firms to maintain compliance while simultaneously saving resources.

Benefits of Background Checks in Macau

Let’s go through the various benefits of conducting a pre-employment background check in Macau.

Upkeep the standard of job applications

• Many employers have mentioned that incorporating background checks in their job descriptions has significantly enhanced the quality of applications.
• It decreases the number of applications with information discrepancies in aspects like academic qualification and employment history and academic qualification.
• Implement rigorous screening processes to ensure improvement in applicants’ quality and hiring practices.
• Conducting background checks in Macau will keep unqualified applicants away, thus maintaining workplace integrity.

Saves the company’s time and resources

• Hiring unsuitable candidates for a job position severely impacts productivity and leads to the iteration of the hiring process.
• Usually, employers invest a considerable amount of time and resources in hiring processes. The iteration of these processes is expensive.  Hence, hiring the right candidate the first time is beneficial.
• To save time and resources, employers can hire candidates with the relevant qualifications and experience by performing background checks during interviews. 

Prevent financial and legal experience liabilities

• Background searches in Macau are one of the preventive measures that companies employ in the country.
• Verifying a candidate’s financial and criminal records help employers to protect the company from financial and legal liabilities.
• Cautiously screening candidates helps employers to create a safe workplace.

Maintains workplace safety

• An employer is responsible for maintaining a secure environment at the workplace.
• When employers conduct a background check on their employers, they will try to adhere to the company’s compliance and safety standards. Hence, they make the workplace secure.
• It is recommended to conduct background checks on both old and new employees regularly. This will ensure that they are conforming to the company’s policies and procedures.
• Certain job positions need an employee to deal with confidential company materials. So, an employer must ensure that employees are reliable.

Helps in maintaining compliance

• Companies should stay protected from unnecessary fees, lawsuits, risks, and fines.
• This is possible if the hiring process is compliant.
• Employers must respect applicants’ legal and professional rights and conform to local labor rules and regulations.
• Employers can maintain such compliance by conducting background checks in Macau. Also, it helps them protect the company’s reputation.

Are Background Checks Legal in Macau?

Employers can conduct background checks in Macau in compliance with local rules and regulations.

No legislation exists to govern employee screening in Macau. But, employers should ensure compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Law of Macau. Also, companies must be cautious about the legislation for discrimination when performing such searches.

Employers must get the applicant’s consent before conducting such background checks in Macau. Also, they have to notify the candidate about the intention of gathering their data. Companies must also ascertain that they take all the vital steps to safeguard the data and only possess it once needed. Candidates must be able to access their data to incorporate corrections wherever appropriate.

Things to Consider When Performing a Background Check in Macau

Companies can consider the following aspects when conducting employee background screening in Macau. 

Criminal record

• Third parties can’t conduct a criminal background check in Macau on a candidate.
• Companies can set a condition that employees should demonstrate that they have no criminal record.
• The criminal record search in Macau is a countrywide search performed through their Court Repository.
• The corresponding search will indicate felony-level convictions in the last seven years.
• The report may contain case type, file location, file date, case number, disposition information, charge information, and sentencing information.
• Macau’s data privacy legal framework ensures that the processing of personal data occurs transparently and by respecting an individual’s privacy.

Social media check

• Incorporating social media checks in the HR background check in Macau helps companies to assess publicly-accessible details on social media platforms.
• Employers can collect this personal data only if it’s relevant and mandatory for employment.
• When performing social media checks, employers can determine some personally protected attributes of the candidate.
• Employers should not discriminate for any protected attributes against candidates.

Credit report

• The credit report is a vital component in the company background check in Macau because it helps employers to assess a candidate’s financial records.
• No restrictions exist on conducting such searches. But, employers must comply with the Personal Data Protection Act (Act 8/2005) to ensure data and privacy protection from data subjects in Macau
• Employers must conduct credit checks for finance-related positions or executive-level positions in a company. It avoids legal and financial liabilities. 

Employment history

• Conforming to Macau’s background check laws, there are no restrictions imposed on assessing employment history.
• Through employee background checks in Macau, companies can validate employment history. Moreover, this check helps them verify details like past employers, duration of employment, positions held, etc.
• Employers can also contact references from the employee’s past employers.   

Education history

• Employers can verify an employee’s academic degrees and relevant credentials specified in their resumes.
• They can contact the educational institutes stated by candidates to verify their qualifications.
• Usually, this check of the employee screening in Macau reveals the employee’s details like name, address, school’s country, dates of attendance, degrees or diplomas conferred, and course of study.

Information Essential for a Background Check in Macau

Before proceeding with employee screening in Macau, employers should notify the candidates through personal information collection statements. It is recommended that employers should get consent in written form before performing such searches.

The below list shows the essentials that employers need to conduct a background check in Macau:

• Applicant’s name (English or Portuguese, or Chinese)
• Date of birth
• Address
• Email address
• Phone number
• Macao SAR Resident Identity Card issued by the Immigration Department
• Details of educational qualifications like school name, date of attendance, major, location, and release form.
• Details of former employment like name of the employer, contact information, date of employment, and release form 

Furthermore, employers should conduct medical checks in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Law of Macau. Moreover, employers can seek out medical information pertinent to the job application only.

Process Involved in Background Checks in Macau

The steps described below help you while conducting employee background checks in Macau.

Step 1: Hire an in-house team or partner with a third-party firm

• Companies can build an in-house team to perform background checks in Macau.
• They can alternatively partner with third-party solutions well-versed in framing compliance strategies and conducting background checks. 

Step 2: Instruct and obtain consent from candidates

• Companies should inform the candidate about reasons for conducting background checks through personal information collection statements.
• Employers should take their consent beforehand.
• It is recommended and a responsible practice to take written consent.

Step 3: Collect the necessary data for processing

• Employers can collect necessary documents based on the types of background checks.
• Employers should retain the collected information with themselves for only as long as required.

Step 4: Conduct background checks

• Employers can proceed with background checks only after procuring all the required documents.

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

Background checks in Macau are not mandatory; however, they are inevitable to enforce responsible hiring practices. Hence, all employers are advised to perform background checks while hiring.

Employers can perform criminal background checks in Macau for industries vulnerable to legal liabilities. Examples of these industries are education, childcare, healthcare, finance, teaching, and insurance industries.

Companies can verify financial records for executive positions or finance-related positions like accountants.  Moreover, employers can verify the employment history and academic background for almost all job positions to validate whether the candidate is suitable for the position. 

Employers can ask about certain illnesses or conduct medical checks if it is pertinent to the job position. For instance, medical checks can be applicable for jobs involving heavy lifting. 

How Multiplier Helps With Background Checks

Maintaining compliance with local rules and regulations is obligatory while hiring globally. Due to language and cultural barriers in Macau, it can be challenging to hire and manage employees. Besides, the difficulty in understanding the local laws makes the company vulnerable to financial and legal liabilities.

Employers can partner with firms like Multiplier to discard these complications when conducting background checks in Macau.

Multiplier owns reliable partners for providing global employment and hiring overseas. It doesn’t directly assist in the background searches in Macau. However, our PEO-EOR platform streamlines employee onboarding and payroll administration processes. Besides, Multiplier provides payroll management services according to local regulations. We offer services in 150+ countries, including Macau.