Complete Guide to Conducting Background Checks in Venezuela

In Venezuela, foreign investments are encouraged and protected by a new legal framework, mainly through the provisions outlined in Decree 2095. The country imposes no major legal implications on the companies establishing a business entity in Venezuela.

As per Statista, the unemployment rate of Venezuela declined to 6.47% in 2021. With increased job opportunities, employers must conduct a thorough pre-employment background check in Venezuela. This helps to shortlist suitable candidates for the job and reduces potential legal liabilities for the employers.

Read about how to conduct a compliant background check in Venezuela here.

What Is Employment Background Verification?

Employment verification is commonly used to establish a candidate’s credibility during the job application process. Employers or third-party service providers may perform background checks and employment verification to validate a candidate’s work history and past employment.

In addition to basic employment details like job titles and responsibilities, employment verification checks may also assess a candidate’s job performance, qualifications, professional conduct, and disciplinary actions.

A background search in Venezuela helps employers and hiring managers filter through the candidate pool and identify the most qualified applicants for the job opening.

Are Background Checks Legal in Venezuela?

Companies can conduct an employment background check in Venezuela after attaining a written consent from the potential candidate or existing employee.

The Venezuela background check law protects job candidates and employees from having their criminal backgrounds investigated. The Labor Law prohibits discrimination based on criminal history.

While credit checks are not explicitly banned, the Credit Card Law prevents financial institutions from disclosing financial information without authorization, which it can revoke.

Verifying educational degrees and contacting previous employers are allowed, and employers are not obligated to disclose reasons for not staffing a candidate to reduce discrimination risk.

Things to Know When Performing a Background Check in Venezuela

Performing a pre-employment background check in Venezuela requires knowledge of the country’s laws and regulations. Here are some important things to know:

Employment history

• Verification of past employment to confirm work experience
• It may include the employer’s name, employment data, the reason for leaving, and rehiring eligibility.
• Salary information will be given if available for disclosure by the source.

Education history

• Verifying the academic status of any educational level, such as college and post-grad.
• It may include the institution’s name, attendance, graduation date, degree, major, honors, and awards.

Criminal record

• It is generally not permitted to investigate a candidate’s criminal history for employment or a current employee, except in limited circumstances authorized by law when doing a criminal background check in Venezuela.

• The law protects against discrimination based on their criminal history, and only public authorities can sometimes request criminal records for security and social interest reasons. Requiring criminal records or a criminal background certificate from candidates is prohibited.
• Similarly, female applicants cannot be required to undergo medical tests to determine pregnancy. However, HIV testing is permissible when the position involves public health matters.

Credit report

• While no laws prohibit credit checks on current or potential employees in Venezuela, financial institutions are barred by the Credit Card Law.
• It prohibits sharing the personal financial information of credit or debit cardholders with any company or institution without their prior authorization, which they can withdraw.

Social life

• Employers can verify information about job applicants from publicly available sources, including social media.
• Employers can conduct background search in Venezuela covering education, family, and other information at any stage of the hiring process.
• Employers may request references from candidates or contact their previous employers. However, the data collected must be relevant to the position being applied for.

Information Essential for a Background Check in Venezuela

Performing a background check in Venezuela typically requires the following information:

1. Candidate’s full anime
2. Social Security number
3. Date of birth
4. Email address
5. Education records
6. Past employer details
7. Identity cards
8. Resume checks
9. Address

It may also include gathering information on the individual’s social media and online presence and verifying personal and financial information such as credit history. In some cases, medical tests may be required, but these are limited to positions involving public health concerns.

Ensure that the information collected is relevant to the work being applied for and obtained in compliance with Venezuelan laws and regulations.

Process Involved in Background Checks in Venezuela

The procedures for employee background screening in Venezuela may differ depending on the type of check and the organization doing the review. The following are examples of typical process steps:

• Step 1: Getting the candidate’s permission: Before running any background checks, the candidate’s written permission is required.
• Step 2: Collecting relevant information: Collecting relevant data is essential to conducting a background check in Venezuela. It may include the individual’s personal information, work history, academic performance, criminal history, credit history, and other relevant information.
• Step 3: Verifying information: After collecting all data, verify the details against relevant institutions and authorities. Employers can contact previous employers, colleges, and references, and organize criminal and credit checks.
• Step 4: Reviewing and analyzing results: It is crucial to assess the data after being gathered and verified to determine if the candidate satisfies the position’s requirements. Once verified, companies can hire a suitable candidate that fits the requirements.

Industries and Situations That Are Most Suitable for Background Checks in Venezuela

Here are the industries that require HR background checks in Venezuela.

Banking and financial specialists

Regarding financial roles in Venezuela, employers take employment background checks very seriously. It is valid for those applying for positions in small banks, moderate stock brokerages, or extensive IT corporations.

Employee screening in Venezuela often includes criminal background checks and investigations into company misconduct, credit history, theft charges, and fraud or embezzlement charges.

Childcare and educational workers

In Venezuela, anyone who works with children professionally is expected to have a clean background for the safety of minors in care. It applies to private daycares, public preschools, and educational facilities.

As a result, employee background screening in Venezuela is essential for anyone seeking employment in these industries.

A criminal background check is mandatory, but organizations may also search the National Sex Offender Registry to verify your social security number to confirm a potential employee’s identity.

Government employees

In Venezuela, government workers must undergo rigorous background checks despite politics’ prevalent sketchiness and legality issues.

Criminal background checks are mandatory for most government jobs in Venezuela, with Federal jobs requiring more thorough investigations conducted by the United States Office of Personnel Management.

The department is responsible for assessing employee reliability, ensuring compliance with the Venezuela background check law, and issuing security clearances to qualifying candidates.

Healthcare workers

Healthcare professionals have a high level of trustworthiness since they deal with vulnerable people regularly. The medical industry is heavily regulated, and background checks are essential to these regulations.

Any job in the medical field in Venezuela requires an extensive employee screening process, including criminal background checks and verifying identities, education, certifications, and work history.

How Multiplier Helps With Background Checks

Multiplier provides an efficient and comprehensive solution for a compliant hiring procedure. We have trustworthy partners that conduct a thorough background check for you to ensure valuable employees are added to your workforce. We help employers mitigate risks and build a reliable and trustworthy work environment.