Hiring a new employee carries a degree of risk, particularly if their background has been misrepresented, either via lies or other forms of deception. In order to mitigate this risk, RecruitNZ offers a comprehensive range of pre employment checks.

Pre employment screening is economical and highly recommended before an offer of employment is extended.

Background checks for employment are particularly relevant for roles that comprise access to financial and

banking systems, or involve working with children, the elderly, disabled people, or other vulnerable individuals.

Types of pre employment checks available from RecruitNZ

Below is a list of the various types of pre employment checks we can provide. It is a matter of selecting the appropriate checks according to the role you are recruiting for – we are happy to provide advice around this, based on our years of experience.


ACC check

This reveals serial ACC claimants to help you manage your business risk. An ACC check is particularly relevant to physically demanding roles, such as construction, manufacturing, warehousing, and so on.

Computer packages

Evaluate candidates’ proficiencies in Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint, in addition to typing skills and data entry accuracy.

Credit and debt check

It is prudent to run a credit and debt check for roles that require trust and financial responsibilities. It will provide details on a candidate’s credit and debt situation.

Criminal record check

This check is relevant for roles where someone is visiting clients’ homes (e.g. a kitchen installer), or where they will be working with children, elderly or vulnerable people. Criminal history checks are available for New Zealand, Australia, and most other countries.

Drug and alcohol testing

Drug and alcohol testing is particularly relevant to roles where health and safety is paramount, such as warehousing, forklift driving, driving company vehicles, working on construction sites, and working with any tools or machinery.

Driver license check

This pre employment check is recommended if you are recruiting professional drivers, or supply employees with company vehicles.

Immigration check

As an employer, it is your responsibility to check that potential employees have the right to work in New Zealand. There are significant fines if you employ someone who does not hold an appropriate permit or visa. If you require additional support or advice around immigration matters, please contact our partners at VisaAide.

Learning style inventory

This assessment covers sales preference indicator, work attitude indicator, Jung type indicator, and ADAPT assessment.

Police vetting check

The police check for employment is appropriate when employees work with vulnerable members of society, such as children, the aged, or disabled people.

Psychometric assessments

RecruitNZ primarily uses Extended DISC® for psychometric assessments. Other personality and psychometric tests are available, depending on your needs.

Reference checks

Reference checks are an integral part of RecruitNZ’s recruitment process. We will always call a candidate’s

previous manager, or another person who is familiar with the impact the person has had on the company’s bottom line. The reference check conversation lasts for at least half an hour, and is very comprehensive. This gives us the ability to ask detailed questions where there are potential red flags, or to hone in on topics where the referee is hesitant to provide an answer.

Skills assessment

A wide range of aptitude tests are available for assessing candidates’ skills and competencies. Our international recruitment division can also organise pre employment testing in the Philippines.

Verification of qualifications check

Some individuals may commence a qualification but fail to finish it – or they may entirely falsify their credentials. To prevent the problems that may arise from hiring personnel who lack the skills they claim to possess, it is advisable to undertake a qualifications check.

We have been working with Recruit NZ for over 4 years now. 

The team is great to work with and we know that they will consistently find the right fit of candidates for our company.

I really appreciate the way they follow up after the new recruit has started to see that both the employer and employee are satisfied.

We also use their HR Consulting division which is invaluable both for us as business owners and the staff."


Ben Heath | General Manager | Furtex Limited

Do you have questions about pre employment checks?

Please contact us for advice and information, we’ll be glad to help you.

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