One in four employers checks applicants’ credit histories; 17% do so when hiring for all positions and 9% for some. Especially often they are interested in the credit history of applicants for management positions, positions related to material responsibility, conclusion of contracts and organization of deliveries.
As for applicants, only one in ten had to face a request for a credit history check when applying for a job, while 75% are sure that such a procedure has passed them.
The survey finds that, compared to 2019, companies began doing credit checks on candidates more frequently: four years ago, 15% of companies did this, today, 26%. The number of job applicants who report having undergone a credit history check has not changed since 2020: Employers can perform the check discreetly and deny employment to unreliable candidates on formal grounds.
“The credit histories of potential employees allow us to form an idea about the applicant, identify his possible salary expectations, clarify consumer behavior,” explains Farida Mirzabalaeva, associate professor of the Basic Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation “Human Resource Management” from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. – Most of the time, credit history is important when appointing to positions with financial responsibility, access to financial resources, positions with the ability to manipulate the organization’s financial resources. A person with large loans , bad credit history, exposes himself to great temptations and additional risks for the employer when hiring such employees. Credit history is proof of suitability.”
