When Background Screening is Nobody’s Job, Everyone Pays the Price
As the UK races to hit Net Zero, nuclear and other critical infrastructure sectors are ramping up, and so are screening requirements. If pre‑employment screening lacks a clear owner, confusion, delays, and lost workers quickly follow. Jayne Lee, Head of Candidate Services at Rullion uncovers how this task often gets stuck in the HR admin pile, and why outsourcing early is now a board‑level strategy.
Why Ownership Matters in Screening
In critical infrastructure industries like nuclear, utilities, and transport, starting a project without the right people cleared for site access is like trying to run a race with your shoelaces tied together. Background screening isn’t just an administrative task. In regulated sectors, it’s a legal and operational requirement that can directly impact your ability to deliver.
Yet, for many companies, especially those new to regulated work, screening becomes what Jayne Lee, Head of Candidate Services at Rullion, calls a “homeless task.”
“It gets shuffled between HR and admin, squeezed in around other priorities, and often starts too late. That’s when confusion, bottlenecks and missed deadlines start creeping in.”
The result? Delays, lost talent, and in some cases, workers walking to competitors who can get them on site faster.
If you want to keep projects on track, someone must own screening from day one.
Why Screening Gets Left Without a Home
Companies entering regulated sectors for the first time often underestimate the complexity of screening. Jayne sees it often:
“HR or admin teams end up doing screening on top of their day jobs, with no dedicated vetting team, so it gets passed from pillar to post.”
With teams already stretched, screening is squeezed in alongside other priorities, often without the right tools, processes, or authority to drive it forward. No one has a complete view of progress, meaning delays go unnoticed until it’s too late.
This is especially common when screening is a brand-new requirement. For example, a construction firm winning its first contract on a nuclear site.
BPSS on Regulated Sites
One client Jayne worked with was contracted to build roundabouts and access roads for a nuclear facility. They were experts in roadworks, but they’d never operated on a regulated site.
Because the site was controlled by the nuclear regulator, every worker - from site managers to tarmac crews - needed full BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) clearance before stepping on site.
BPSS includes:
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Right to Work check
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Identity verification
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Employment reference check (last three years)
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DBS check (criminal history record check)
At first, the client tried to manage it themselves. Reference requests went unanswered for weeks, workers grew impatient, and some left for other suppliers who promised faster starts. Project milestones began to slip.
With Rullion’s background screening services in place, clearances were completed in days rather than weeks. Communication with workers improved, and the client could focus on delivering the project instead of chasing paperwork. The result? A workforce cleared, compliant, and on site, ready to get the job done.
Why This Challenge Is Growing
The UK’s nuclear industry is expanding rapidly. The government plans to quadruple nuclear capacity by 2050, aiming to generate 24GW, enough to power around a quarter of the country’s electricity needs. This means thousands more workers needing clearance each year.
And it’s not just nuclear. Energy, utilities, and transport projects are facing similar compliance pressures. With more suppliers feeding into large, multi-year projects, the competition for skilled labour is intense. If your clearance process is slow, you risk losing workers mid-project to faster-moving competitors.
The Risks of No Ownership
When no one owns screening:
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Delays multiply – Requests for references or documents sit in inboxes without follow-up.
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Workers walk – Contractors move to other suppliers who can clear them faster.
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Costs rise – Idle staff, delayed starts, and potential penalties from clients all hit the bottom line.
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Reputation suffers – Clients notice when you can’t mobilise on time.
Why Outsourcing Early Works
For companies with constant churn, high contractor volumes, or no dedicated vetting team, outsourcing screening isn’t a “nice-to-have”, it’s a strategic move.
The benefits include:
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Dedicated resource – A team whose sole job is to get people cleared, fast.
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Faster turnaround – Rullion averages 7–8 days for BPSS compared to the 30–40 days typical in the market.
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Compliance confidence – Every check is completed, documented, and ready for regulator review.
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Scalability – Processes that can handle 20 or 2,000 workers with the same consistency.
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Worker retention – Keeping candidates engaged through proactive communication.
You can read more about the impact of slow or incomplete screening in our related article: 5 Pre-Employment Screening Mistakes That Cost You Time, Talent and Trust.
Give Screening a Home from Day One
Whether you outsource or build an internal team, the key is ownership. That means:
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Assigning a responsible person or partner before contracts are signed.
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Building screening into mobilisation timelines, not starting it after workers are recruited.
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Tracking progress in real time so delays can be fixed immediately.
Screening as a Competitive Advantage
In regulated sectors, background screening is more than compliance, it’s a competitive edge. When you make it someone’s job from the start, you keep projects moving, workers engaged, and clients confident in your delivery.
For high-volume, high-pressure projects, outsourcing to a partner who lives and breathes screening frees your team to focus on what they do best - while ensuring your workforce is cleared, compliant, and ready to go
This article is part of the Confessions of a Screening Expert series, where Sibel Akel, Marketing Director at Rullion, speaks with Jayne Lee and other industry leaders about the realities of screening in regulated sectors.
