For certain positions and at certain companies it is a requirement to know your status in this credit database, but refusing this consultation could also end your hiring process.
In the credit information centers, both positive information (which is never deleted) and negative information (which is deleted after a while) are reported. In this sense, every time we pay on time and make proper use of our credit products, we generate positive reports that raise our credit score, explained the expert Juan Camilo González, director of Financial Planning of TranquiFinanzas.com.
However, “knowing the ‘status’ of a person in Datacrédito is a common practice in Colombia, especially in some sectors such as finance and in some positions for people who will manage financial resources of a company. The important thing is that the person understands that he cannot be consulted in credit information centers without having given express authorization for that purpose, “added González.
Know job offers for the financial sector.
“This was provided by Law 1581 of 2012 and its regulatory decrees regarding the protection of personal data in Colombia, since you must have authorization from the owner of the information, to access databases containing sensitive and private information. Likewise, it is common to carry out the consultation in the selection processes, it is also common for the applicant to confer his authorization so that the coach can evaluate the profile, “added Adelaide Portilla, legal manager of Adecco Colombia.
In practice it is normal for a candidate to be discarded for a financial position if it is reported in Datacrédito.
On the other hand, consultation in the risk centers can not only be given for the selection process. The truth is that it can be presented with the authorization of the worker when organizations establish audit controls or when the need arises to consult their managers and positions of great impact such as the financial area, seeking to mitigate risk with the active personnel of the organization.
“It must be clarified that if (the consultation in Datacrédito) is used as an assessment criterion, it would not be considered discrimination, it would be a selection criterion that allows knowing the behavior of the candidate compared to the other applicants and an objective selection of the possible worker,” Portilla warned.
The Financial Superintendence also says that the report in credit information centers only serves to study the risk and credit analysis, so that to make hiring or firing decisions it must be assessed with other elements of judgment that affect the purpose (of hiring or firing), and that the employer can not rely solely on information related to compliance with obligations to make decisions.
“If any irregularity or disagreement is noticed, the entity that regulates this aspect in the selection process in Colombia is the Ministry of Labor, through the Agency for Management and Job Placement,” added the Manager of Adecco.
“The information can be consulted for free once a month directly at the offices of Datacrédito, or through a right of request. Both Centers also offer an online service that can cost between $ 7,500 and $ 18,000 per month to access all the information they have about you without having to go to the offices, “concluded González.