Background Check in Argentina

What are the Benefits of Background Checks in Argentina?

Conducting a background check in Argentina offers the following benefits:

Better applicant quality

Employee screening at the beginning and midway through the hiring process ensures that applicants provide the correct information in their resumes. 

This will encourage application accuracy and reduce any discrepancies. Additionally, as an employer, you will only attract applicants with verifiable qualifications, ensuring better applicant quality. 

Deflect negative publicity and company cost

A dishonest employee can add cost to your company. Their fraudulent nature can attract penalties and also lead to a negative reputation. 

Furthermore, the lousy press also leads to financial losses. You can avoid these situations by verifying your employee’s records and checking for past criminal activity.

Ensuring workplace and staff safety 

Globally, almost 17.9% of employed people reported that they had faced workplace violence and harassment. 

You must ensure workplace safety for the staff, which can be assured by employee screening. If your organization is accused of negligent hiring, then there are hefty penalties for it.

What are the Types of Background Checks in Argentina?

Whenever hiring locally or conducting an international hiring process, you can conduct the following background checks:

Criminal record check in Argentina

Criminal record checks are crucial to ensure workplace and client safety. You can verify the employee’s data from official platforms like the National Registry of Persons or Registro Nacional de las Personas. Such official platforms provide information on any criminal records or pending cases.

Employment history check

In Argentina, you can check employees' employment history. This verifies the accuracy of their work experience and whether a candidate fits the job profile. To do this check, you must verify the previous employment dates, job titles, roles, and cause of resignation (if applicable). 

Medical screening

Specific job roles have predetermined health requirements, which can be verified with medical screening. This covers any physical examination, fitness tests, and drug tests (generally prohibited except in certain safety-sensitive jobs). However, any employer cannot discriminate against applicants based on medical screening. 

Furthermore, under PDPL provisions, an employee can withhold such information. Non-compliance with the requirements will result in severe penalties.

Credit history check

You can conduct a credit history check to verify a candidate's trustworthiness and financial responsibility. In Argentina, credit checks involve verifying the credit report, like loan details, payment history, and bankruptcies. 

Credit history checks are more common for job posts that require extensive financial transitions, such as accounting, banking, and executive-level positions.

Education history

Some candidates overstate their academic credentials, giving them an undue advantage over others. Thus, confirming the academic credentials ensures that a candidate provides accurate information and has the right qualifications. 

In this check, you have to verify the academic degrees, attendance, and extracurriculars from the educational institutions. You can either directly contact the authorities or do an online check.

Social media check

You can verify a candidate's public information through social media checks. This helps you understand a person's professionalism, persona, and suitability for the job. However, ensure you adhere to privacy laws; otherwise, you'll incur hefty penalties.

Requirements for Background Check in Argentina

Employee screening in Argentina is quite common, although the verification practices might vary across industries. Here are some of the general requirements for a background check:

• Applicant authorization: Before you do a background check, you should take written approval from your employee. This permits you to verify personal data like criminal records, social media, or health issues. 
• Identification documents: You can only proceed with employee screening in Argentina with a valid identification document. You'll need documents like a national identity card or passport, which examines a person's identity and helps in screening.
• Compliance with local laws: In Argentina, the PDPL, or Personal Data Protection Law, protects citizens' data rights. Therefore, you must comply with the laws and respect your employees' confidentiality. 
• Notifying the results: You should inform your employee once the background check is completed. You must share any adverse results or findings so that the employee has a chance to challenge them, if necessary.

Steps in Conducting Background Checks in Argentina

While conducting a background check in Argentina, you can partner with an EOR like Skuad to ensure full compliance. A background screening involves the following steps:

Step 1: Obtain the consent of the candidate

Seek your employee's written consent. Begin screening after getting the approval.

Step 2: Collect the documents

Collect the required documents. You can ask your employees to share a photocopy of the required documents. 

• Identification documents:
  • The candidate’s identity card includes a passport, visa (if applicable), and other documents. 

• Educational documents:
  • Diploma, degree certificate, or any other professional certifications and licenses

• Professional documents:
  • Professional references and work experience certificates
  • Previous employer contact information

• Criminal record:
  • Candidate's criminal record certificate, credit history report (if applicable)
    

Step 3: Do your investigation

Run the various background checks. This step can be broken down into smaller steps like:

• Check your employee’s data with their previous office. 
• Cross-check any presence of criminal records. 
• Check with the educational institutions to examine their educational background. 
• If needed, send personnel on-site to verify data.
• Verify the credit history of the employee. 
• Run through their social media account to check any public information.

Also, conduct a pre-employment background check. In this step, you can verify:

• Job references are mentioned in the application. This verifies any claims of an employee’s previous roles. 
• Professional associations are especially applicable to medical professionals, lawyers, and accountants. Their associations can check their membership validity. 

Step 4: Review the reports

Thoroughly analyze the information collected and look for any discrepancies with the information provided by the job applicant. Inform your employee of the background check results.

Are Employee Background Checks Legal in Argentina?

Employee screening in Argentina is legal, provided it adheres to PDPL provisions. The Personal Data Protection Law protects the data rights of an individual in the country, and you must keep in mind the following compliances:

• You must have your employee’s consent before conducting the legal checks.
• You must inform your employees of the reason for the background check and the information that will be collected.
• Any sensitive information, be it religious belief or health conditions, is safeguarded by PDPL.

Planning to Hire in Argentina? Here’s How Skuad Can Help

Any foreign company must establish a local entity to hire employees and conduct background checks in Argentina. 

The alternative is to partner with an established EOR like Skuad, which helps with hiring and employee screening in Argentina. 

For Skuad to do a background check in Argentina, you must partner with Skuad EOR.

Skuad offers services to businesses in over 160+ countries to reduce liability risks and comply with local laws. So, while you focus on growing your business, let us handle hiring and payroll-related activities!

Take your next step with us! Explore Skuad now!

FAQs

Q1: Are background checks legal in Argentina?

Yes, background checks are legal in Argentina. However, they must comply with PDPL, the Personal Data Protection Law. Moreover, your employee's consent is equally important before conducting background checks.

Q2: Can a background check be done in a different country?

Yes, background checks can be conducted in a different country. However, it can be a time-consuming process paired with compliance issues. The ideal solution would be to partner with an EOR like Skuad for a quick solution.

Q3: Are background checks international?

Background checks are conducted internationally, although the process might vary country-wise. It covers social media checks, work authorization, education history, employment history, etc.

Q4: Do immigrants go through background checks?

Yes, immigrants in Argentina go through background checks. This ensures any foreigner residing in the country, temporary or permanent, does not pose any threat.