How to check a candidate before hiring

Tell the candidate what you will check and get their consent. Then confirm identity from an original ID (Aadhaar via its QR code or DigiLocker, PAN or voter ID), call previous employers on numbers you look up yourself, ask the candidate to share their EPFO passbook or UAN service history if they worked in PF jobs, and check what past employers recorded about them. For cash, driving or home-access roles, also ask for police verification.

Step by step

1. Consent first. Tell the candidate what you will check and why. Ask only for what the job needs.
2. Identity. See the original ID. For Aadhaar, scan its QR code with the official mAadhaar app or ask them to share it from DigiLocker. A masked Aadhaar (only the last 4 digits) is enough for most jobs.
3. Past employers. Find the employer’s number yourself (their website, GST record or REFFNET profile) instead of using the number on the CV. Ask about dates, role and whether they would rehire.
4. PF history. Workers in PF-covered jobs can download their EPFO passbook or service history from the EPFO member portal or the UMANG app and show it to you. You can’t look it up without them.
5. Work record on REFFNET. Use Hire check in the app with the candidate’s mobile number or Aadhaar: it shows jobs past employers added and the candidate confirmed, clean-exit badges and any disputes. Candidates can also send you their trust card link.
6. Police verification for drivers, security, domestic help and cash roles: most state police run an online citizen portal for employee or tenant verification.

Handle personal data carefully

• Don’t keep photocopies of Aadhaar you don’t need; a masked copy is safer.
• Store documents where only the owner or HR can see them, and delete them when no longer needed.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 expects you to collect only what you need, with consent, and to keep it safe.

Red flags

• No reference can be reached, or every reference is a mobile number with no business behind it.
• Dates that don’t match between the CV, the PF history and what the employer says.
• Reluctance to show an original ID.

After you hire

Add the person under My Team in the REFFNET app and send the invite on WhatsApp. When they confirm, their verified work record starts, and when they leave you can mark a clean exit. That helps good workers get their next job faster.