UK employers must verify every new hire's right to work (RTW), as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. Beyond statutory RTW checks, comprehensive background screening ensures you hire with confidence.
You can integrate your Employment Hero account with your Zinc account to perform seamless pre-employment checks, ranging from identity verification to global sanctions. This integration now allows you to initiate individual checks or bundled packages and manage documentation directly within Employment Hero.
Inside this article:
- Set up your Employment Hero - Zinc integration
- Perform background checks
- Manage background check data
-
Further information
Set up your Employment Hero - Zinc integration
Integrating with Zinc allows you to automate your background screening workflow.
Once connected, background check results and PDF reports will automatically sync to your candidate and employee files, removing the need for manual data entry or switching between platforms.
- On your Employment Hero platform, click Settings on the main menu.
- Click on Add-ons.
- Scroll down to the Other section to find the Zinc integration.
- Click the Connect button.
- Tick I acknowledge and agree to the above terms then click Submit.
- Enter your API key from Zinc.
- Click the Submit button. You will now see Zinc under Connected Applications.
Perform background checks
As of April 2026, you can now initiate a wide variety of checks, including:
- Right to Work (RTW)
- DBS (Basic)
- Identity Verification
- Address History
- Education & Qualification
- Sanctions
- Social Media
- Financial
- Credit
As of April 2026, the recruitment experience has been updated with the introduction of the Background Checks tab.
To access and use the Background Checks tab to initiate a background check from a candidate's profile:
- On your Employment Hero platform's main menu, click Recruitment.
- Select the Candidates tab (or select a candidate from within a specific Job).
- Select the candidate you want to screen.
- Click on the new Background Checks tab.
- Click Initiate check.
- Select what checks you require. You can run an individual check or a check package (multiple checks).
- Click Continue to read and agree to the terms and conditions.
- Click Initiate. Zinc will then contact the candidate to gather their information.
As of April 2026, the recruitment experience has been updated with the introduction of the Background Checks tab.
To access and use the Background Checks tab to initiate a background check from a vacant job:
- On your Employment Hero platform's main menu, click Recruitment.
- Select the Jobs tab.
- Click on the Candidates tab.
- Select the job you want to perform a background check on.
- Using the left-hand side list, select the candidate who you want to perform a right-to-work check on.
- Select the Background Checks tab.
- Click Initiate check.
- Select either Individual check or (for multiple checks) Check package.
- Click Continue to read and agree to the terms and conditions.
- Click Initiate. Zinc will then contact the candidate to gather their information.
As of April 2026, a Background & Eligibility widget has been introduced for existing employees. This widget provides a single view for background screening and work eligibility.
To access and use the Background & Eligibility widget to initiate a background check for an onboarded employee:
- On your Employment Hero platform's main menu, click People.
- Click Employees List and select the relevant employee.
- In the Background & Eligibility section of their file, click Initiate check.
- Select either Individual check or (for multiple checks) Check package.
- Click Continue to read and agree to the terms and conditions.
- Click Initiate. Zinc will then contact the candidate to gather their information.
Manage background check data
As of April 2026, you can manage Zinc background check information, such as results and documentation, directly in the Employment Hero platform.
You can now perform the following actions while remaining in-platform:
- Download PDF Reports: Once a check is complete, you can download the full report PDF directly from the candidate or employee file.
- Mark as Reviewed: For check results that require a review, you can download and inspect the results, then use the Mark as Reviewed feature to update the status.
- Cancel Checks: If a check was started in error, or is no longer required, you can now click Cancel on the check. You can only cancel checks if they have not been submitted by the candidate or employee.
- Sync Status: An Employment Hero - Zinc integration uses webhooks to update the relevant status information automatically. At any time, you can also click Sync status, which pulls the latest real-time data from Zinc.
As of April 2026, you can use the following steps to access and filter your background checks report:
- On your Employment Hero platform's main menu, click Reports.
- Select the Compliance tab. You will see a report type listed as Background Checks Report.
- Click Background Checks Report (this is a report type).
- Your Background Checks Report will now appear and display the following fields:
- Personnel: The employee's name
- Check Type: What check(s) was initiated
- Status: The status of the check(s)
- Results: The result of the check(s)
- Initiated By: The name of the user who initiated the check(s)
- Date Initiated: The date the check(s) was initiated
- Use the filters at the top of the report to narrow down your data. You can filter by:
- Personnel
- Status (In Progress, Partially Completed, Completed, Action Required, or Cancelled)
- Check Type
- Date Range of Initiation
- Sort the report data by clicking on any column heading. Text columns will sort alphabetically (A–Z or Z–A), and date columns will sort chronologically (earliest to latest or latest to earliest).
- Go to the top right of the report view and click the Download button to download the report.
Further information
If you are looking for further support, visit our Hero Connect Community.
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