Are Background Checks for Cannabis Retail Employees Necessary?

When Cannabis was legalized in Canada, there was a huge growth in the cannabis industry.

 

While there was a significant positive impact, there were a number of new regulations too. One thing that made it challenging for businesses to adhere to these rules was that everything was so new and there was a lack of clarity in some areas.

 

Today, there is better awareness about employment requirements and workplace regulations.

 

When it comes to working in the Cannabis sector, employees have to undergo some form of background checks, depending on the nature and sensitivity of the job. Some of the common checks employers rely on when hiring employees include:

 

1.Criminal background checks;

2.Reference checks;

3.And credit checks.

 

According to the Cannabis Retailer, employees may also need to undergo a character check. This is when a company tries to gauge the character of the potential employee by speaking with their friends, family members, and/or former employers.

 

Looking specifically at British Columbia, as per the B.C. Worker Qualification Regulation, workers must have security verification to work at licensed cannabis retail stores.

 

To ensure that the security verification stays active, these workers must also pass a security screening test every five years.

 

While these measures are in place to ensure that the industry remains regulated and functions properly, many individuals believe that these restrictions are excessive and make it harder for those looking for Cannabis jobs to get hired.

 

Recently, Business in Vancouver shared that candidates from all major British Columbia political parties shared that they support ending the province’s “worker security verification” system. This topic was discussed at the virtual forum organized by the Association of Canadian Cannabis Retailers (ACCRES).

 

Some of the main arguments were:

 

-The requirements for working in cannabis stores are stricter than the requirements for working in a liquor store.

-It is harder for those looking for jobs to get employed. Even when employers are willing to cover the cost of these verifications, background checks can take a while to be completed and that causes unnecessary delays.

-It costs $100 to get the security verification done and the test needs to be done every 5 years. This adds another layer of complexity to the process.

 

On the flip side, as Cannabis is a regulated industry, these checks help keep all stakeholders involved safe and ensures that employers have the required information when they’re making hiring decisions.

 

Additionally, background checks don’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.

 

At Triton Canada, we enable employers to conduct different types of background checks including employment history verifications, education checks, driver’s abstracts, credit checks, reference checks, and more.

 

All these are done within industry-leading turnaround times. Some of the checks can be done within just one-to-two business days.

 

To learn more about our solutions, call us on 1-844-874-8667 or visit triton.clientwebdev.com  for a free quote.

 

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