Pre-employment checks

diystarter7

Peter999_2 said:

When I first started as an IT contractor for a bank in 2013 I was asked for exactly the same.

They explained the same as your daughter has been told that they wanted to see if I was employed anywhere during my two year employment gap when I was a house husband that I had not told them about. I provided them with the statements and the next day they confirmed they were happy with them.

It didn't dawn on them that I have about 7 current accounts and I only sent them statements from 1 account, haha.

Ha, had indeed not! I would never recommend anything like that as so are prized jobs worths and will question/investigate everything and honesty is a ket principle of financial services as is of life.

When I was posting the multi current accounts did cross my mind and if I had two or more, personally as honesty is an important factor to most people, I'd send them all of the accounts infor

IOP 'm sure your daughter would not hold anything back if she was to supply evidence.

Starting off on the right foot is very important.

Undervalued

DE_612183 said:

what I don't get is what are they trying to prove?

she has declared a couple of part-time jobs - so if she did have a job in one of the gaps she would have declared it as well - they also asked her to prove she wasn't on benefits - but what if she was?

If they are looking at AML, then anyone who was doing that would have more than one bank account anyway.

I don't get it....

Ultimately they can ask for anything they like. It would be unwise of them to ask for something that might suggest unlawful discrimination although even then asking for the information is not in itself unlawful.

In your OP you said....

I'm not happy about this as her bank statements show a lot of personal items which are not relevant, even if they are redacted there are lump sum payments from us her parents etc which we then may have to explain what they were about.

Most likely they are looking for anything which might increase the chances of her being blackmailed. Income for unexplained sources could certainly raise questions. Also anything that suggests she might be someone who lives beyond her obvious means. Some of this might not be relevant at a junior level but as a graduate she would be likely to progress higher and they may want to know now if there are any likely obstacles.

DullGreyGuy

DE_612183 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

DE_612183 said:

Ok, so my daughter has been in Uni for 4 years, she's had some odd jobs during that time.

She's applied for a role which is fixed term in Financial Services ( quite junior ).

They are asking for copies of bank statements for specific periods to prove she was not employed, or on benefits.

I'm not happy about this as her bank statements show a lot of personal items which are not relevant, even if they are redacted there are lump sum payments from us her parents etc which we then may have to explain what they were about.

It's seems over-kill for what is quite a junior position, for someone who's just graduated.

Are all FS companies like this, my son applied for an insurance company and didn't have any of this.

Company are stating that it's "industry standard" but I don't see what they are trying to establish.

anyone got any help info ideas?

Are you sure your son didnt have similar? And is he working for an insurance company or a broker? Did he have periods of unemployment?


FS companies do vary but the varying seems to tightly follow the level of authorisation they have (at least in insurance/banking)... if they are regulated by the PRA they are the most onerous, if its just the FCA they are a bit lighter and if they are an appointed representative and not directly regulated then they are the most lax of all.

The level of integration is the same from the office junior up to the FD, once you go above the FD you are then in the territory of having to get the regulator to approve you being allowed to be the CFO or CRO etc

Having worked in insurance and banking for over half my life the majority of companies are very very similar in that they want references for X years and need explanations of what you were doing and how you were supporting yourself for any gaps of more than 4 weeks between roles.

The regulators require employees of regulated firms to be fit and proper, they are making sure you werent doing any illicit during your time unemployed and in doing so hoping to avoid someone who others could have undue influence over. 


Had a terrible time trying to employ a graduate SQL developer because she'd spent 6 months or so backpacking around India and hadnt kept receipts from the $1 a night hostels and such so couldnt prove where she was

My son was direct FTE with an insurance company ( quite a big UK one ) - he had the same gaps in that he finished his degree then had about 3 months off before starting his masters. 

I think one of the main differences is that my daughters potential employer outsources the checks, whereas my sons were all done internally.

I've worked for 10 insurers, 1 bank, 1 broker and 2 consultancies. All 10 insurers and the bank did similar levels of checks as your daughters facing irrespective of if it was in or out sourced. The broker did much lighter checks and the consultancies almost none. 

Some companies will do much lighter to no checks if you are talking agency staff, contractors or consultants

DE_612183 said:

what I don't get is what are they trying to prove?

she has declared a couple of part-time jobs - so if she did have a job in one of the gaps she would have declared it as well - they also asked her to prove she wasn't on benefits - but what if she was?

If they are looking at AML, then anyone who was doing that would have more than one bank account anyway.

I don't get it....

Firstly.... they are checking you were unemployed... people who've been sacked are known to create a career gap on their CV rather than put the details in.

Secondly... checking you werent partaking in high risk activities (eg gambling) or where others may have influence over you... "get my loan approved or I'll snitch on you about selling black market cigs" etc

You can read up on the FCA guidelines at https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/FIT/2/?view=chapter

Clive_Woody

I work in a different industry (23yrs+ in pharma) and various companies over the year have gone OTT with pre-screening requests. Normally I only provide documents that I am comfortable sharing or with most data redacted so it essentially had name and address only. I've never been rejected post job offer. I think some of them try their luck.

DullGreyGuy

Clive_Woody said:
I think some of them try their luck.

No, the issue is that the regulator states you must ensure your employees are fit and proper but then only give guidance on what sorts of checks could be done. In theory that means you could follow all the guidance but still be found to be in breach of the regulations because you should have gone beyond that.

In theory it would be much easier if the regulator simply stated exactly what checks you have to do and then there would be no doubts or variance but that then gives overheads in maintaining it plus regulators are always nervous of creating a potential liability should their decision/rules support/create something with an adverse outcome

Undervalued

DullGreyGuy said:

Clive_Woody said:
I think some of them try their luck.

No, the issue is that the regulator states you must ensure your employees are fit and proper but then only give guidance on what sorts of checks could be done. In theory that means you could follow all the guidance but still be found to be in breach of the regulations because you should have gone beyond that.

In theory it would be much easier if the regulator simply stated exactly what checks you have to do and then there would be no doubts or variance but that then gives overheads in maintaining it plus regulators are always nervous of creating a potential liability should their decision/rules support/create something with an adverse outcome

Exactly.

This often crops up on here regarding proof of identity and right to work in the UK. The onus is on the prospective employer and they are quite entitled to set their own levels far beyond the government's "guidelines". 

Equally a financial firm can have its own rules that are more stringent than the FCA would require. They may have "caught a cold" in the past. Obviously if they overdo it they may put off some good candidates from applying.

If the OP's daughter wants the job I would suggest she goes along with what they ask.

400ixl

If there is nothing to hide other than some payments from parents (quite usual for a student) then just give them what they are asking for. The person doing the checking will be looking for specific things and not trying to look outside of the criteria. They don't have the time.

Good luck to her in her new role once the checks are done.

diystarter7

Clive_Woody said:

I work in a different industry (23yrs+ in pharma) and various companies over the year have gone OTT with pre-screening requests. Normally I only provide documents that I am comfortable sharing or with most data redacted so it essentially had name and address only. I've never been rejected post job offer. I think some of them try their luck.

Hi

I completely disagree with your post.

It is not "OTT"!  What is a new employee did something wrong and the industry standard checks were not completed - who would you blame then?

The highlighted bit - how so?

Thanks

Charlotte_Ca

DE_612183 said:

Ok, so my daughter has been in Uni for 4 years, she's had some odd jobs during that time.

She's applied for a role which is fixed term in Financial Services ( quite junior ).

They are asking for copies of bank statements for specific periods to prove she was not employed, or on benefits.

I'm not happy about this as her bank statements show a lot of personal items which are not relevant, even if they are redacted there are lump sum payments from us her parents etc which we then may have to explain what they were about.

It's seems over-kill for what is quite a junior position, for someone who's just graduated.

Are all FS companies like this, my son applied for an insurance company and didn't have any of this.

Company are stating that it's "industry standard" but I don't see what they are trying to establish.

anyone got any help info ideas?

I've had a lot of jobs in big companies (not in the financial sector), but they never asked for bank statements. 

I have been asked bank statements for other reason e.g. renting room etc but what I used to is to keep only the first page of the statement that shows the date and only how much money went in and out and how much is left. Nobody ever said anything to me for providing only the first page and not the other pages that were showing all the purchases.

Maybe you could do the same as well? Just keep the first page.

elsien

As has already been explained, the financial sector do have to have stricter criteria so the one page summary isn’t going to be sufficient.