Know More. Risk Less.

In today’s competitive business environment, attracting and retaining the right people is critical not only to operational success but to safeguard your company’s reputation, data security and compliance obligations.

Your business needs to be confident that your employees are trustworthy, qualified and the right cultural fit for your organisation.

Having the right people sets the benchmark for your organisation’s values. By prioritising transparent and ethical practices, you promote a workplace culture where trust, accountability and integrity thrive.

About Us

The OPRA Group is a comprehensive People Solutions provider, dedicated to supporting businesses across a wide spectrum of HR operations. With a team of CIPD-qualified professionals, we act as an extension of our clients’ HR departments, offering expert guidance and strategic collaboration.

  • We offer tailored solutions that align with each client’s unique culture and goals.
  • We foster long-term partnerships built on trust and understanding, empowering organisations to make informed decisions about their workforce.
  • We stay up to date with evolving legislation and industry best practices, offering peace of mind that our clients meets both legal and ethical benchmarks.
  • Our proactive approach means we’re always one step ahead, anticipating needs, mitigating risks, and delivering outcomes that drive business success.

Clients trust us not just for our expertise, but for our unwavering commitment to excellence and integrity, this is reflected in the precision and care we bring to every aspect of our services.

pre-employment screening

Pre-employment screening is a vital process that helps employers assess the suitability and reliability of potential hires before making a formal job offer. It typically involves a series of checks such as verifying a candidate’s identity, employment history, educational qualifications, and criminal record.

These screening checks ensure that the individual is legally eligible to work, possesses the required skills and experience, and aligns with the company’s standards for trustworthiness and integrity.

By conducting thorough pre-employment checks, organisations can reduce the risk of hiring mistakes, safeguard their workplace, and maintain compliance with industry regulations.

re-vetting

Re-vetting is a proactive process of periodically re-screening existing employees to confirm they continue to meet the standards required for their roles. This practice plays a critical role in helping organisations mitigate risk, uphold regulatory compliance, and maintain trust across their workforce.

It is vital in sectors such as finance, healthcare, education, and national security, where organisations are legally bound to comply with re-vetting checks to ensure that employees remain suitable and qualified over time.

The Financial Conduct Authority mandates that employees in certified roles be re-vetted annually to ensure individuals in influential roles continue to uphold the standards expected to protect the integrity of the financial system.  To maintain safeguarding, the Care Quality Commission recommends ongoing monitoring and vetting of employees, especially in roles involving children and vulnerable individuals.

Did You Know?

  • Companies can be fined up to £60,000 and named and shamed for employing illegal workers.
  • 1 in 5 candidates mis-represent themselves on their CV.
  • 18% of candidates falsify their qualifications.
  • 23% failed background checks in Financial Services alone.
  • Failure to conduct DBS checks can put the safety of children and vulnerable adults at risk.
  • Non Compliance can lead to severe penalties, legal action and criminal convictions.

Why choose OPRA?

The OPRA Group’s pre-employment and re-vetting checks help mitigate your company’s exposure to risk and ensure you are making the right decisions. By aligning with UK laws and sector-specific guidelines, our services prevent fines, failed inspections, and costly hiring delays, enabling organisations to remain fully compliant and operational.

Our vetting procedures are designed to meet the rigorous requirements of both the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and the British Standard BS7858, ensuring that individuals entrusted with sensitive roles are thoroughly assessed for integrity, reliability, and compliance.

In adhering to these standards, we help safeguard our clients’ operations, protect confidential data, and maintain trust across regulated sectors such as government, finance, healthcare, and security. Our commitment to best practices in personnel screening reflects our dedication to risk management, regulatory compliance, and the highest levels of professional integrity.

With The OPRA Group, you gain more than a screening provider; you get a trusted partner, enabling you to build a safer, stronger, and more trustworthy workforce with greater confidence.

Verify

Our in-depth checks validate the qualifications, employment history, and professional references of potential employees. This helps to avoid costly hiring mistakes and protects your organisation from potential fraud or misrepresentation.

Comply

Whether you operate in finance, healthcare, education, or any other regulated industry, our screening process helps you maintain full compliance, protecting your business from legal penalties and operational disruption.

Minimise Risk

Poor hiring decisions can expose your company to financial loss, operational risk, and reputational damage. Our thorough screening process helps identify red flags before employment begins, giving you peace of mind and protecting your organisation’s brand.

Trust

Background checks aren’t just about due diligence, they’re about creating a workplace where people feel confident, respected and inspired to do great things together, laying the foundation for a trustworthy and collaborative culture.

Our Checks

We offer a full suite of background checking services tailored to your business needs. With sector-specific expertise, we place emphasis on understanding your organisation’s risk profile and cultural context.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

References sought from previous / current employers and employment gaps verified.

Why is it important to check a candidate’s work history?

  • Confirms employers, job titles and dates of employment are accurate.
  • Helps detect exaggerations or false information.
  • Prevents hiring individuals who may have misrepresented their experience.
  • Essential in regulated industries, such as finance, healthcare, and education.
  • Demonstrates due diligence and protects the organisation from risk.
  • Clarifies periods of unemployment and the reasons behind them.
  • Confirms that the candidate’s background aligns with the role requirements.
  • Improves hiring decisions, provides confidence in the candidate’s integrity.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

Verification of relevant qualifications, professional certifications and memberships.

Why should you verify a candidate’s education and qualifications?

  • Verifies that the candidate holds the relevant qualifications essential to the job role.
  • Prevents hiring based on falsified credentials.
  • Avoids placing unqualified individuals in critical roles.
  • Protects the organisation’s reputation and operational integrity.
  • Ensures adherence to standards set by professional bodies and regulators.

DIGITAL RIGHT TO WORK

Certification using Home Office-approved identity documentation verification technology.

Why use Digital Right to Work checks?

  • IDVT leverages Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and facial recognition to verify identities quickly and accurately.
  • Detects fraudulent documents with ease and strengthens your defences against identity theft, money laundering, and other forms of fraud.
  • Reduces operational costs by automating document authentication.
  • IDVT supports compliance, helping you avoid penalties and maintain a trustworthy reputation.

CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS

Basic, Standard and Enhanced level DBS check to verify criminal convictions.

What will a Disclosure and Barring Service check?

  • Basic level criminal check covers unspent convictions and conditional cautions
  • Standard criminal check covers spent convictions, unspent convictions, conditional cautions, cautions, reprimands, and warnings
  • Enhanced criminal check covers a comprehensive review of all criminal background and activity and a human check by the local police force

CREDIT HISTORY

Financial check for adverse information on a candidate’s credit background.

What does a credit history check show?

  • Adverse financial check on an individual’s UK Credit background.
  • Details of any CCJs, bankruptcy, voluntary arrangements and notices of correction.
  • Confirms an individual’s address and if they are on the electoral roll.
  • CIFAS check.

GLOBAL SANCTIONS

Global check for international sanctions imposed due to high-level criminal activity.

What is a Global Sanctions check?

  • Global check against high-level criminal activity and fraud that has led to international sanctions being imposed on an individual.
  • Uses data from over 300 enforcement agencies and criminal courts.
  • Offers a global perspective, covering multiple jurisdictions, to uncover any criminal activity or fraud regardless of where it occurred.
  • Check against HM Treasury Sanctions, FCA, Bank of England, PEP and Terrorism.

INTERNATIONAL
CRIME

Check an individual’s international criminal activity and any regulatory penalties.

Why is an International Criminal record check required?

  • Verifies that a candidate has no criminal record in countries where they’ve lived, worked, or travelled extensively.
  • Helps prevent hiring individuals with histories of fraud, violence, or other serious offenses.
  • Required in sectors like finance, healthcare, aviation, and education.
  • Aligns with international standards and country-specific employment laws.

ANTI-MONEY
LAUNDERING

Identify individuals who may pose a risk of involvement in financial crime.

What will an Anti-Money Laundering check show?

  • Identifies individuals linked to money laundering, fraud, terrorism financing, or other illicit activities.
  • Essential in regulated industries for roles involving financial responsibility of access to sensitive data.
  • Protect your business from financial crime, reputational damage and regulatory penalties.
  • Avoid onboarding someone who could misuse your systems or assets.

DIRECTORSHIP

Check whether a candidate holds/has held directorships in registered companies.

What is the purpose of a Directorship check?

  • Commonly used for senior hires or roles involving financial, legal, or strategic responsibilities.
  • Reveals current directorships that may conflict with the new role.
  • Checks if an individual has been disqualified from serving as a director or has been involved in companies that were dissolved, liquidated, or faced legal issues.
  • Confirms the candidate’s claims about leadership roles and business experience.
  • Demonstrates due diligence in hiring and governance.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Searches the internet for social media profiles, highlighting any negative activity.

What is a Social Media check?

  • Review an individual’s social media profiles and highlights any negative activity, posts, blogs and comments.
  • Checks Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest and all major social media channels.
  • Calculates the associated risk level of activity.

PUBLIC MEDIA

Google search for associations between the candidate and illegal activity.

What will a public media check show?

  • Identifies red flags such as discriminatory remarks, illegal activity, or behaviour that contradicts company values.
  • Flags any mentions in news articles, blogs, or forums that could indicate legal issues, scandals, or unethical behaviour.
  • Especially relevant for senior hires, public-facing roles, or regulated industries.
  • Ensures candidates haven’t been involved in fraud, litigation, or regulatory breaches.

DVLA

Check against DVLA records, identifying any points, endorsements or changes.

Why should you conduct a DVLA check?

  • Ensures that individuals are legally qualified and safe to operate vehicles.
  • Confirms employees who drive for work hold current, valid driving licenses.
  • Ensures drivers meet the necessary criteria for specific vehicle types or roles.
  • Identifies drivers with penalty points or disqualifications that could pose safety or legal risks.
  • Aligns with legal and regulatory standards, reducing exposure to fines or reputational damage.

Pricing

We recognise that each company is its own entity and will therefore have different requirements. Whether you’re a global organisation or an SME, your screening needs won’t necessarily be consistent; therefore, we don’t tie clients into a contract.  You will only pay for the services you need, when you need them.

We have signature, premium and re-vetting packages shown below, however we also offer a bespoke modular service rather than employing a ‘one size fits all’ approach, in consultation with you we’ll build a personalised package so you can pick and choose which checks you need.  You will have the flexibility to adapt the model at any time, adding or removing products to suit organisational demand.

Re-vetting

£ 100

Per Person
  • Credit check
  • DBS check (basic)
  • Global Sanctions
Speak To Us Now

Signature

£ 150-£ 220

Per Person
  • 3,5,7 year referencing
  • Credit Check
  • Right to Work Check
  • DBS Check
  • Global Sanctions
Speak To Us Now

PremiumPOPULAR

£ 220-£ 250

Per Person
  • 3,5,7 year referencing
  • Credit Check
  • Digital Right to Work
  • DBS Check
  • Global Sanctions
  • Directorship Check
  • Anti-Money Laundering
Speak To Us Now

FAQ's

How do I request candidate screening?

If you have not previously used our services, please contact the Compliance Team at peopleservices@theopragroup.com. A member of the management team will reach out to you to discuss your requirements, the process and pricing.

 

If you are a current client and have a new case, please email screening@theopragroup.com

How long does the screening process take?

We always attempt to complete screening cases as quickly as possible. However, there may be occasions where delays are caused due to reliance on third-party suppliers, such as DBS checks, which can take time depending on the level of complexity.  If we encounter a delay, we will contact you to discuss the situation.  We appreciate that there may be situations where cases are more urgent. If you bring these to our attention, we will raise the case as a priority, allocate resources accordingly and try to fast-track completion.

How will we be kept updated throughout the screening process?

Our client portal will enable you to view the progress of each individual’s screening case in real-time.

The portal utilises a traffic light system, indicating which checks have been completed and those that are outstanding, while also highlighting any issues. If we identify an adverse check during the process, we will notify you immediately. You will then have the opportunity to discuss it with the candidate. You can contact the team at any time, email screening@theopragroup.com

How is candidate data stored?

Candidate data is stored on our cloud-based screening system. The technology we use prioritises the security and privacy of candidate data. We fully support compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ensuring that all personal information is handled lawfully and transparently. The platform aligns with sector-specific standards, such as the BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) and BS7858, which are critical for industries with heightened security requirements. By integrating these compliance frameworks, we provide organisations with the peace of mind that every candidate screening is thorough, legally compliant, and auditable.

With robust encryption, secure data storage, and detailed audit trails, our solution not only protects sensitive information but also supports your organisation’s obligation to maintain transparency and accountability throughout the recruitment and onboarding process.

Who do I contact if I have any questions or concerns?

If you email the Compliance Team at screening@theopragroup.com. A member of the team will contact you as soon as possible.

Testimonials

“The benefit of using the services of The OPRA Group is the knowledge that this important function is both professionally and accurately administered. Regular updates are provided that show progress on each individual in the system and this can be invaluable in audit situations.”

Head of Operations

“Prior to engaging The OPRA Group the screening process was time consuming and a function that whilst a key element of what we do was deemed as potentially secondary to actually providing the service. I now have more time available to manage the service and spend time with colleagues and customers with the secure knowledge that screening is in good hands.”

Senior People Partner

“When outsourcing a key support function, it is essential that you go to a company that understand your needs and can provide this valuable support. The OPRA Group continually meets this requirement.”

HR Director

“The OPRA Group have always treated me with the utmost respect, as if I were their only customer. In this way I know my business is valued by them and that why I continue to go back to them for all my employee screening needs.”

CEO

CORE VALUES

Excellence

Committed to providing excellent levels of service

Innovation

Always developing innovative & creative solutions

Collaborate

Work collaboratively striving to achieve your goals

Inclusion

We value diversity, equality and treat with dignity & respect

Integrity

Our relationships are based on trust, honesty & respect