New job offer - reference check and current employer

Misolav_slavin

Hi there,

I have been offered a new job following an interview a week or so ago. I have completed email forms and have filled in my information for a background check to take place which usually takes 4-6 weeks they have said.

I have a 4 week notice period at my current place of work. The new company will not give me a start date until the background checks have taken place as of which they will.need to contact my current employer fr a reference.

I have attempted to try and get some sort of provisionAl start date but to no avail.

I feel a bit uneasy about my current employer having a call requesting references when I haven't handed my notice in.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

Thanks

General_Grant

Misolav_slavin wrote: »

Hi there,

I have been offered a new job following an interview a week or so ago. I have completed email forms and have filled in my information for a background check to take place which usually takes 4-6 weeks they have said.

I have a 4 week notice period at my current place of work. The new company will not give me a start date until the background checks have taken place as of which they will.need to contact my current employer fr a reference.

I have attempted to try and get some sort of provisionAl start date but to no avail.

I feel a bit uneasy about my current employer having a call requesting references when I haven't handed my notice in.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

Thanks

The new company are being sensible in not giving you a start date. If they did give you a date you could feel under pressure to resign. This way you don't have to resign until they can confirm that you have passed all the referencing requirements.

Don't resign but, as you know the prospective employer will be contacting them, let whoever will receive the reference request (and your line manager if it was just to approach HR) and say you have been looking to improve your situation and that a prospective employer is likely to contact them.

Depending on the situation with your current employer, they may even try to make you a better offer in order to try to retain your services.

[Deleted User]

You also need to think of it another way and that's if "these checks" come back sooner and you are then expected to start sooner...

Ideally we would all like things written in blood but that isn't always how it always goes.

Not envying you - sorry. You are best being as proactive as you can in trying to follow the situation as close as possible and possibly spelling out your fears VERY clearly, to these reference checkers you are just another number. I often wondered how the one person who was employed in this type of situation managed on a date then brought forward but from sounds of it there wasn't much of a leaving do.

zoe321

I know how you feel, we've all been there. but to be honest your employer will find out anyway when he gets the reference request so inform him earlier it looks better. you could make up any excuse that maybe the other job is closer to home or it is more in line of what you would like to do with your career. that way your employer is ready and also if they have to replace you they have enough time to take on someone else. i also felt like that never told anyone I had interviews with other companies but because I needed a reference from employer I had no choice but to tell him that someone will contact him, my contract was ending anyway so it was all good