Job offer contingent on background checks??

dori2o

A friend of mine was in a similar position as yourself with not wanting his current employer to know he was looking for a new job.
In the end he told his employer that he was looking for a part time job to suppliment his income.  Then when he had his confirmed offer of employment told his old employer he was leaving.
Yes it's underhand, yes it's not the right way to go about it, but you have to do what is right for you.
It might be an option.
Do not feel any loyalty to the employer you work for. They certainly feel no loyalty to you and wouldn't think twice of getting rid of you if they had to/wanted to.

sharpe106

Lurker1 said:

sharpe106 said:

Not sure why you would not tell them if your job looking, it is obvious at some point somebody is going to ask for a reference.

People usually tell their current workplace they are looking for a job once they know 100% definite they have the job or if they were on very friendly terms with the manager.

You never know you have a job until the references are done, you can leave it late but at some point you need to tell them and when they are requesting references I would think would be a good point. Most companies only ask for references when they are wanting to offer you the job. Or at least in the top few. 

AW618

LittleVoice said:

AW618 said:

LittleVoice said:

AW618 said:

Not true in what way?  Once it arrives, they will know.  So you ought to tell them before it arrives, or they will not be happy.  What gain do you think there is in not doing so?

No doubt there are a tiny number of companies who try and get references before interview; they will be vanishingly small as anyone with any sense will not give them permission to do so.  I have never encoutered it personally.

What I had emphasised was the statement that "you need to have handed in your resignation to your current employer before the reference request arrives on their desk".  That is you don't need to actually resign before the reference request is received.  Not only might the potential employer rescind an offer but you might decide you don't wish to accept it.

Employers within the NHS often seek references before interview.  As the NHS is the largest employer in the country that could be a lot of reference requests.

I am speaking of the private sector, I have no knowledge of the NHS, where people may behave differently as it is often a matter of people moving within the organisation.  So your advice may well be fine there.  However, in the private sector I can assure you that almost no employers will tolerate somebody asking for a reference and clearly planning to leave if the reference is successful without proffering a resignation.  In many places such behaviour would mean your days were numbered. 
References should not, and in my experience never are, requested before the offer has been accepted.
Could it be rescinded?  Yes, of course.  That is not your current employer's problem, and they are not going to thank you for trying to make it theirs.  In addition, you will need to serve out your notice if required, and you seem to be assuming the new employer will be willing to wait as long as is most convenient for you, which is not only an unsafe assumption, but far from the best way to start off at a new place.  Trying to arrange everything out of fear that the offer might be rescinded is a very unproductive way to proceed.

I have worked in the NHS - which isn't one single employing body - including involvement in recruitment.

I have been employed by a couple of non-departmental public bodies.  I have been employed in the private sector (multi-nationals, third sector, large and small and medium size British enterprises.  In none of those did receipt of a reference request produce a demand for a resignation - it might even have sometimes led to negotiation of improved t&c.  Perhaps you have worked for more organisations than I have over a 50-year working life.

No, it won't produce an immediate "demand for a resignation" in most cases and I never said it would. What it will do, and probably did do in several cases as you seem to have made a habit of this, is annoy your employer. 
Think about it.  You are going to your employer and saying "If I can get a better job I am off, but I might have to stay if it falls through, so I am not resigning just yet".   If you are using it as bargaining tool then you can always withdraw your resignation when (or if) offered better terms.  

AW618

dori2o said:

A friend of mine was in a similar position as yourself with not wanting his current employer to know he was looking for a new job.
In the end he told his employer that he was looking for a part time job to suppliment his income.  Then when he had his confirmed offer of employment told his old employer he was leaving.
Yes it's underhand, yes it's not the right way to go about it, but you have to do what is right for you.
It might be an option.
Do not feel any loyalty to the employer you work for. They certainly feel no loyalty to you and wouldn't think twice of getting rid of you if they had to/wanted to.

That's not underhand and it is exactly the way to go about it.  The issue here is that a confirmed offer is always dependent on references and checks, and whether you can wait for all those to be done before resigning.

AW618

Lurker1 said:

Update: I finally told my manager to expect a reference request. It was awkward but at least the checks can progress now. Only thing is I do not know when I should ask if she has completed the reference yet because I was told the reference request was sent to her already.

What is going on with the new job, have you arranged a start date yet?  Have you resigned?
Personally I have no idea if reference requests have ever been sent when I have changed jobs, or whether they have been completed.  Why would you even dream of asking this unless the new place asks you to?  
Incidentally your manager shouldn't be expecting a reference request, the company should.  Your company policies might well mean your manager never sees it.  Never give a named person as a reference unless you have something to hide and trust them to hide it for you.

AW618

Lurker1 said:

AW618 said:

Lurker1 said:

Update: I finally told my manager to expect a reference request. It was awkward but at least the checks can progress now. Only thing is I do not know when I should ask if she has completed the reference yet because I was told the reference request was sent to her already.

What is going on with the new job, have you arranged a start date yet?  Have you resigned?
Personally I have no idea if reference requests have ever been sent when I have changed jobs, or whether they have been completed.  Why would you even dream of asking this unless the new place asks you to?  
Incidentally your manager shouldn't be expecting a reference request, the company should.  Your company policies might well mean your manager never sees it.  Never give a named person as a reference unless you have something to hide and trust them to hide it for you.

In the policy document it stated to give your manager's details as reference, so I just went along with that. I have not yet resigned, but my manager keeps asking me what is happening and I am not sure what to say as my background checks are still ongoing.

There is nothing much you can say - he knows you are going to leave unless something goes wrong.  As I said earlier, I would have resigned by now, and I think that is the proper way to proceed.  If I were your manager I would not be happy. Is there no start date arranged yet for your new job?  Don't they have a problem with this?  Again, if I were them and someone wouldn't resign until after references had come through I would start to wonder what they were hoping to hide.
Why are you worried the background checks will fail?  If you are not worried, resign.

LittleVoice

Lurker1 said:

AW618 said:

Lurker1 said:

Update: I finally told my manager to expect a reference request. It was awkward but at least the checks can progress now. Only thing is I do not know when I should ask if she has completed the reference yet because I was told the reference request was sent to her already.

What is going on with the new job, have you arranged a start date yet?  Have you resigned?
Personally I have no idea if reference requests have ever been sent when I have changed jobs, or whether they have been completed.  Why would you even dream of asking this unless the new place asks you to?  
Incidentally your manager shouldn't be expecting a reference request, the company should.  Your company policies might well mean your manager never sees it.  Never give a named person as a reference unless you have something to hide and trust them to hide it for you.

In the policy document it stated to give your manager's details as reference, so I just went along with that. I have not yet resigned, but my manager keeps asking me what is happening and I am not sure what to say as my background checks are still ongoing.

You provided the details requested.  A company may have a policy that any reference is dealt with by HR or some other contact (eg the Managing Director) and so your manager may have had to pass on the request elsewhere within the organisation.  Managers will know whether they are allowed to answer themselves.   On the part of the company seeking the reference, it is easier to chase up for a reply from a named individual rather than a phone call asking for HR and keeps things more confidential.

If there is no urgency for you to start the new job, you can wait till you know everything is confirmed.  However not every company would immediately contact you to say the offer was now confirmed.  But don't leave it too long - the new opportunity could disappear if you leave it too long - rather depends on the role.

The next time your manager asks what is happening, check what has happened to the reference request - whether they have replied, simply forwarded it to HR with or without comments.