Why all this gratuitous hostility against EU citizens lately?

onetwothreefourfive

It's probably not hostility as such - it's probably confusion or not understanding from the employers because the rules are so complicated.

If you make your argument in a polite and constructive manner to employers (e.g. sending them links to the relevant government advice) without making accusations of hostility etc, then you have the best chance of getting somewhere.

Do you have any other ID, like a driving licence?

asajj

I think you don't understand the point. If you are an EU citizen with the ID card, this gives you full working rights as well as residency. Insisting on a British passport therefore makes no sense. Perhaps check what EU citizenship means in Britain before patronizing people about what is "sensible thing to do".

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/313849/employers_guide_to_acceptable_right_to_work_documents.pdf

[Deleted User]

onetwothreefourfive wrote: »

Do you have any other ID, like a driving licence?

I have a valid UK driving licence, but this alone cannot be a genuine proof of entitlement to work. It might be useful in a DBS, but I passed it already last month, even only my ID card. I don't have a copy of the DBS as the company that should have hired me paid for it.

But in this particular case there was no mention of a DBS. If the recruiter had mentioned a DBS I would have understood why he would have insisted on a passport. He just said: "That's it, then", as if to say, I'm done with you. I asked him if he was aware of the fact that an EEA ID card is a valid document in UK and he said no.

These folks are paid to do their job; ignorance is not excused. If that had happened to me, I would have lost my job.

BritishBibliophile

Surely, at the end of the day, there's enough people in the job market for you to be up against a lot of people with identical qualifications and experience. In which case recruiters are going to go for the person that it's easiest to hire.

If Person A has a 3 month notice period and Person B has a 6 month notice period, and they're otherwise neck and neck, Person A will be offered the job.
If Person A lives 15 minutes drive away, and Person B will have to relocate from the other side of the country, Person A will get the job.
If Person A has a Passport and Person B has an ID card which the HR person will have to double check is acceptable, then they'll go with Person A.

They're not going to take your word for it, why should they? If it turns out you're lying then it's their job that's on the line. They don't want to go to the extra work of looking up the Home Office or Foreign Office websites, or start a debate in the office over whether to accept it. Plenty of other EU nationals who are also applying will be using their passports instead, they don't need to be discriminating in favour of British people, any EU passport will be fine.

The job market is very, VERY tough at the moment, making it difficult for people to hire you only hurts you.