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Background check / unemployment check

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    Background check / unemployment check

    Wondered if anyone had experience of "proving" a period of unemployment. Mine was for 8 months, i wasnt claiming any benefits. I did not have a ltd company running . All i did was refurbish my house. I've never understood why PES checks ask you to prove a negative but not for me to question why i suppose. Cheers.

    #2
    Originally posted by Tummy View Post
    Wondered if anyone had experience of "proving" a period of unemployment. Mine was for 8 months, i wasnt claiming any benefits. I did not have a ltd company running . All i did was refurbish my house. I've never understood why PES checks ask you to prove a negative but not for me to question why i suppose. Cheers.
    Pre-employment screening is getting stricter these days, certainly for permies (which I guess you are?).

    I've had to provide personal references for being out of contract for longer than 28 days, so I don't know why you think 8 months unusual. That's easily long enough for you to have been detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.
    "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
    - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

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      #3
      Originally posted by Tummy View Post
      Wondered if anyone had experience of "proving" a period of unemployment. Mine was for 8 months, i wasnt claiming any benefits. I did not have a ltd company running . All i did was refurbish my house. I've never understood why PES checks ask you to prove a negative but not for me to question why i suppose. Cheers.
      Yeah hyphen 'wanted' me to provide evidence of this once for a role with LTSB. Told them the CRB check would prove I wasnt at her maj's pleasure. Incredibly, they said no, you need a statement from a friend, DWP or accountant that you were not working and, the reasons why I wasnt working.

      Told them it was a lifetyle choice and they said 'a what?'

      In the end I told them to **** off as I wasnt going to jump through hoops providing them with information why i chose not to look for work.
      I couldn't give two fornicators! Yes, really!

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        #4
        Classic example of one size definitely doesn't fit all, the approach is clearly aimed at permanent employees.
        In this case by the nature of contracting if we're asked to demonstrate that we're in "employment" 12 months of the year not only is it factually incorrect (many Agents don't get that a MyCo Ltd director is on a salary too) it's impractical and rather daft.
        What they call a personal reference has no value as it's just the word of a mate that as far as the Agent knows is a professional con man.

        Just process for process sake.

        Comment


          #5
          Yes, its another example of how agents and clients in particular see contractors as 'employees.' Trouble is, while contractors continue to meet such inane 'requests' by providing the information, the status quo will remain. They'll continue to see and treat contractors this way.

          People need to refuse to provide this guff but as usual, they cave in like a chocolate teapot.
          I couldn't give two fornicators! Yes, really!

          Comment


            #6
            Get a friend with a decent job who has known you for at least 5 years to say as far as they know you are a decent person.

            Decent jobs are basically any job where information can be found about the person on a register e.g. doctor, solicitor, a company director.

            I should add I've done the checks a few times and have mates who will happily send emails/ complete forms to say this.

            They won't however say what I was doing between contracts as they wouldn't remember and why should they?
            Last edited by SueEllen; 29 March 2015, 13:33.
            "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

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              #7
              Who said you were unemployed?

              You were the director of your company

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                #8
                Originally posted by FatLazyContractor View Post
                Who said you were unemployed?

                You were the director of your company
                No, i wasnt running a ltd at the time, and its a contracting job. I'm fairly pissed off with this crap, as others have said all you need is a friend to say 'yes, you were unemployed' which is pointless, meaningless, and unproveable.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Tummy View Post
                  No, i wasnt running a ltd at the time, and its a contracting job. I'm fairly pissed off with this crap, as others have said all you need is a friend to say 'yes, you were unemployed' which is pointless, meaningless, and unproveable.
                  Just do it.

                  I've done similar a few times and pointed out it was stupid in email as nothing can be proven.
                  "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by cojak View Post
                    Pre-employment screening is getting stricter these days, certainly for permies (which I guess you are?).

                    I've had to provide personal references for being out of contract for longer than 28 days, so I don't know why you think 8 months unusual. That's easily long enough for you to have been detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.
                    Not just for permies had two of these for contracts in the last two years. It was easy to modify the dates on an airline e-ticket, which now "proved" I was on a vacation during a 6 weeks period with no contract. (they didn't accept the fact I was employed through my own limited company)

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