The BPSS (Basic Staff Safety Standard) is the level of assessment required for anyone working with or on behalf of a government department. This control was created to help reduce the risk of illegal workers and identity fraud, as well as to protect national security. The BPSS is the recognized standard for pre-employment evaluation of people with access to government assets. It is not a formal security authorization, but its rigorous and consistent application underpins the national security background investigation process at the CTC, Level 1B, SC and DV.
The BPSS consists of a series of pre-hire checks that must be completed before an employee can work on government projects. The main objective of the BPSS authorization, according to the HMG guidelines on BPSS, is to act as a sensible and precautionary measure aimed at “confirming the identity of individuals (employees and contractors) and providing a level of assurance as to their reliability, integrity and trustworthiness.” A check of your work history can reveal a number of issues that could affect your eligibility to fill a position that requires the BPSS. The basic personnel safety standard, also known as BPSS, was established to comply with the minimum level of controls required of all public officials, members of the armed forces, temporary personnel and public contractors or, alternatively, anyone who can access government assets. It is also clear that many companies are now reflecting and completing the four key elements of the BPSS standard, with a clear focus on continuous controls. This is because they have realized that a single control only provides an evaluation of a person at that time.
The responsibility for applying BPSS controls to a candidate generally lies with the human resources function, although the government recommends that human resources work in conjunction with security units and, if possible, with the participation of legal advisors and procurement staff.
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