Security clearance

acs_2

I have security clearance and I was asked questions regarding whether id sought reductions in loan repayments, if I had CCJs, If I had any out standing action against me and the like. SC clearance is a fairly high level of vetting and each case is heard on its merits and there is an opportunity for an applicant to give supporting evidence. Thereafter, there is right of appeal if unsuccessful. What you must understand is that there is no hard and fast pass or fail and it depends on the nature of your job and the circumstances presented.

For example, if you're going for a job at the bank of England and as part of your role you'll have unsupervised access to high levels of cash, the vetting agency will probably scrutinise your financials to the enth degree and id hazard a guess that you'd be unsuccessful on the grounds that you could potentially be bribed or swayed etc.

I hope that helps in some way!

DigForVictory

+1 for not mentioning your situation to your line manager who is not involved in vetting. Not in the Need to Know circle at all. Vetting folk, yes, management chain No.
Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

paddyrg

The main point of clearances is to make sure you cannot be blackmailed. You are handling secrets, not (I assume) cash, so honesty is more important than how well you've managed your finances.

Being explicitly honest means you can't be blackmailed for people to get those secrets. 'Get me this file or I'll tell your employers xyz and you'll lose your job' / 'Tell them what you like, they already know it all'

[Deleted User]

I'm a civil servant who just went through SC for a new role too. I have some defaults from 3 years ago, declared them and it wasn't an issue. As people have said, it's generally only when you lie you have problems.

I'm sure you will be fine.

sophie7286

As long as you declare everything you will be fine.

Yorkie1

Another one for saying declare everything on the form. No need to discuss with your manager unless they already know the full story.

The clearance is indeed done remotely. The extract above is for DV, which is the level higher than SC and is really really thorough compared to SC. They even research your grandparents for DV, if memory serves right!

As others have said, they want to know whether you are likely to be open to blackmail or similar pressure from those who would want to misuse information you will have access to. Nobody here can say 100% what the outcome of your check will be, other than to say if you're not up front, and they find something, then the job will definitely not be offered.

There was a thread on here a month or two ago where someone wanted to apply for a civil service job with a caution or reprimand for an assault of some description some years in their past. They almost didn't apply for the job because they thought they'd be written off from the outset. In the end they did apply, were honest with the clearance check, and got the job.

LUCKYAMB

As promised an update on my security clearance. I was cleared!

It was difficult explaining everything, but I was brutally honest. They sent me an extra form to give a more detailed explanation on my financial situation. It was tough, being honest with myself as well as telling a total stranger.

I didn't tell my new manager, as per the general consensus on the replies. I am soooo glad I didn't as the security unit don't tell your place of work anything, either you are cleared or not.

Making payments really helped, they are reviewing my clearance in a couple of years to ensure I am still making payments. As long as I keep them up, it will be fine.

Also the staff at the security unit were very helpful, and I didn't feel I was being judged at all. I did take much longer than it normally would, around 3 months rather than the expected 6 weeks due to all the extra paperwork I had to hand in.

I hope this has helped someone, onwards and upwards!!:j

Yorkie1

Well done and thanks for the update.