Case note 312002 [2021] NZPrivCmr 2: Employer carries out belated criminal background check on employee
A caregiver applied for a role at a care home. As part of the application process, they filled out a form consenting for management to carry out a Police background check on them. Unbeknown to the caregiver, no check was carried out. They were nonetheless hired and started shortly after.
More than a year later, the caregiver had an acrimonious employment dispute with the care home. During this period, management investigated the caregiver’s record.
The situation culminated when the care home gave the caregiver a print-out of a Police vetting report it had recently obtained. Management informed the caregiver that they were being dismissed due to their failure to disclose previous convictions, as well as inappropriate conduct relating to the employment dispute.
The caregiver complained to our office.
Read the commissioner’s findings and decision on the privacy commissioner’s web site.