Screening is a jurisdiction problem, not a form
Most screening providers sell a package and quietly deliver less of it in the countries where the package is not lawful. The candidate is cleared, the certificate looks the same, and nobody tells the employer that one element was silently dropped.
We take the opposite position. Every order is resolved against a country register of 198 jurisdictions before initiation, and the delivery position for each element in that country is stated: delivered as standard, delivered with consent where permitted, consent not sufficient, or replaced by a compliant control package. You know what was checked, what was not, and why.
Because the module lives inside Cogent OS, screening runs on the same worker record as certifications, clearances, assets and dispatch history. Clearance status is operational data that blocks scheduling when it lapses - not a PDF in a folder somebody has to remember to open.
What a full screen covers
The check set is agreed per role and jurisdiction. These six are the elements from which every package is composed.
Identity
Government photo identity verified at source rather than accepted as a scanned copy.
Residence history
Address history for the preceding five to seven years, reconciled against documentary evidence.
Employment verification
Direct verification with each former employer - not a reference letter supplied by the candidate.
Education verification
Direct verification with the awarding institution, including qualification level and award date.
Criminal record
Police clearance certificates, DBS and international equivalents, obtained per jurisdiction.
Drug testing
Risk-banded rather than blanket - delivered where lawful, replaced by a control package where not.
198 jurisdictions, four delivery positions
The rules engine resolves every order against the country register before initiation. Where an element cannot be delivered lawfully, that is stated on the order rather than discovered at audit.
The 10-panel schedule, and its limits
Delivered risk-banded rather than blanket: where testing is lawful and role-relevant we deliver the standard schedule with consent; where it is not, the requirement is met by a documented control package instead.
An oral-fluid option is available in markets where the legal framework is oriented toward impairment at the time of testing rather than historic use. Results travel in a sealed lane - visible only to authorised roles, never to the requesting manager by default.
A note on specimen validity: creatinine, nitrites and pH checks test the integrity of the sample, not the person. They detect dilution, adulteration or substitution. They are not, and are never reported as, findings about the candidate.
Defensible, documented, consistent
A screening result is only useful if the employer knows what to do with it - and can show that the same rule was applied to the last candidate.
Sector overlays
Finance, network operator and aviation-style overlays add elements and tighten thresholds where the sector or the operator requires it, applied consistently across the population rather than per hiring manager.
Adjudication matrix
Each finding type maps to a documented position - clear, review or adverse - so decisions are made against a rule rather than a mood.
Employer-action guidance
What the finding permits you to do, and what it does not, in the jurisdiction where the candidate sits.
Ops, customer and candidate
Three views of one module. Flat, matte and built for people working a queue - not for a product screenshot.
Our screening team's workspace: verification queues by check type with live turnaround, quality control and release, the country rules engine, and expiry and renewal management.
Your team's view: order a screen in three clicks and watch every element progress live, with reports, renewals and access control in the same place.
Consent-first, candidate-friendly and mobile-ready: a six-step journey with e-signature and live status, so candidates are not chasing anyone by email.
Consent first, then orchestration
Screening does not expire quietly
A clearance obtained two years ago and never revisited is a compliance gap wearing a certificate. Expiry is treated as operational data: every element carries a validity period per sector overlay, and the platform manages the renewal rather than trusting a diary.
Renewal alerts fire at 30 days or fewer before expiry, and scheduling is blocked against a lapsed clearance or induction - so an expired credential cannot be dispatched to a site that requires it. Re-screening cadences follow the sector overlay: annual for some network operator requirements, at role change, or on a fixed cycle where the client's own policy sets one.
The audit position is the point. When a regulator, an operator or an acquirer asks who was cleared for what and when, the answer comes out of the system with the evidence attached.
Four structural differences
One record, not a spreadsheet
Screening sits on the same record as certifications and assets, so clearance status and expiry are operational data with an immutable audit trail behind them.
A 198-jurisdiction rules engine
Every order resolved against the country register before initiation, with each element's delivery position stated rather than silently dropped.
Sealed sensitive lanes
Drug testing and criminal-record results travel in sealed lanes visible only to authorised roles - not to the requesting manager by default.
Auditable end to end
Consent, orchestration, verification, adjudication and decision are all timestamped in an immutable audit trail, per element and per case.
Questions buyers ask
How does consent work under GDPR?
Consent is captured by e-signature in the Candidate Portal before any check is initiated, scoped to the specific elements being run in that jurisdiction. Candidates see what is being checked and why. Where consent is withdrawn, in-flight checks stop and the position is recorded. Consent alone is not treated as sufficient where local law says it is not - in those six jurisdictions we do not test regardless of what the candidate signs.
What happens when a check returns an adverse finding?
It enters the review band rather than triggering an automatic rejection. A named adjudicator applies the adjudication matrix, the candidate is given a right of explanation before any adverse action, and the decision plus its rationale is recorded on the case. Employer-action guidance for that jurisdiction is provided alongside the finding, so the decision is defensible.
Can we buy screening without buying your workforce?
Yes - it is offered standalone as well as inside our talent programmes, and a full trial per candidate is available so you can see the candidate journey, the evidence pack and the turnaround before committing. Standalone clients use the Customer Portal and get the same country register, sealed lanes and audit trail.
How long is screening data retained?
Retention is set per element and per jurisdiction, driven by the lawful basis and the sector overlay rather than by convenience. Evidence is held in the vault for the retention period and then deleted, with the deletion recorded. Sensitive-lane data carries the shortest retention consistent with the audit obligation. Specific periods are agreed and documented per contract.
How is re-screening handled?
Every element carries a validity period per sector overlay. Renewal alerts fire at 30 days or fewer before expiry, scheduling is blocked against a lapsed credential, and re-screening runs on the same case record so the history is continuous. Where a client policy sets a fixed cycle - annual, or at role change - the platform enforces that cycle rather than relying on a reminder.
Want to see the candidate journey?
We will run a full trial screen per candidate so you can see the portals, the evidence pack and the turnaround before you commit to anything.