Can I apply?!

AlwaysWorking

Hi. During my daily desperate search online for a job I've seen one advertised for the Passport Office but it states that candidates 'must have no gaps in employment'. Does this mean no one like myself who has been made redundant can apply? That seems a bit unfair and means they'll be missing out on lots of people who are very keen to work! As if it wasn't hard enough to find a job....

lufcgirl

I would assume that it meant that you could explain your history for the past five years or so, including putting in any gaps in employment and the reasons for it.

All they can do is say no!

bristol_pilot

I'm amazed they can stipulate this, as 'no gaps in employment' is very likely sex discrimination on the basis that women are more likely to have gaps in employment (for raising a family) than men.

Tigsteroonie

I personally would translate the "no gaps in employment" to read that they want no gaps to appear on the completion of the Employment section of the application, no unaccounted time. They want you to be honest about periods of time spent "redundant - job seeking" or "full-time parent".

PasturesNew

They will want to fully check everything about your background. Every address you have lived at, every job you have had, everything you've done. A gap is allowed, any number of gaps are allowed, so long as you can account for that time.

It's just for the extensive background checking purposes.

BlueIsTheColour

Yeah basically they want to know exactly what you have been doing, that can include unemployed time etc.

Good luck with the application

AlwaysWorking

Lol, it's an advert I don't imagine will get many responses...it also states:
'Must be able to provide references from all employers
Must be able to provide references for all Schools, universities attended etc'

It'd be a nightmare to get a reference from ALL the people who have employed me over the years..not to mention schools and universities...all for £6.50 an hour....

montyrebel

of course you can apply,all they can do is say no,they cant stop anyone applying

dizzyg_2

I went through this process a couple of years ago. I had quite a large gap in my employment (6years) due to being a SAHM. This was never an issue and I got the job.

The referencing was a nightmare though. They contacted my old school and Saturday job I had a teenager. All you need to do is provide them with the right information and adresses and they will chase them up. If they can not obtain all references (which is what happened to me) they will ask for a personal reference.

From applying to starting employment took almost a year so keep looking in the meantime. Unfortunatley the job didn't work out for me because the shift pattern I was on was 10hour days four days a week and did'nt fit into my family life.

If you want any more info please feel free to PM me and I will help if I can and good luck.

debtfreein4years

I applied for this through an agency (search) in november last year. it was ok to get all the checks and now im still waiting on a start date! it depends on the office where you are wanting to work as ive been told durham isnt providing start dates. to be honest, ive given up but i still email them to check if there is any news.

shreddy

I had the same requirements when I was Cabnin Crew a few years back, we needed a 5 year checkable work history to get our security passes. If you have gaps like some people on my course did you just need to be able to prove your wearabouts. For this they will accept references from people such as your doctor, dentist, solicitor, university lecturer etc. No one was refused based on gaps in their CV.

K