Can an employer tell if you started a new job

faringdon

Hi,
I am wondering, please help, -if an employer  has  my national insurance number, can they use it to see if i started a new job somewhere? (ie they would be able to log in to their tax software, whatever that is, and put my national insurance number in, and see if i got employed somewhere)?

Its just that i have just started a new job......and the other employer who was considering employing me have now made an offer to me of employment at their place.

I am wondering why they waited this long to send their offer...i wonder if they thought i was a lazy person and only when they saw that i actually started back into a new job did they eventually come through with their offer.

Anyway, whilst i was in the application process, they of course had my National insurance number....i am wondering if they could have used it to see if i had started a new job?....it does seem strange that  two months after interviewing me, they suddenly make me a job offer just 4 days after i started a new job somewhere else....it almost seems that they were waiting for me to start a job somewhere before making me their offer.

20122013

- sometimes they can find out by checking references ie contacting the current and previous employers, or word of mouth ie people may mentioned a person had started, linked it etc.   

- Job offers can take sometime (checks and people pulling out etc) 

- I am not sure what your concern is, you are a free agent and should be proud you have two offers.

You can always thank them for their offer.

Savvy_Sue

faringdon said:

Hi,
I am wondering, please help, -if an employer  has  my national insurance number, can they use it to see if i started a new job somewhere? (ie they would be able to log in to their tax software, whatever that is, and put my national insurance number in, and see if i got employed somewhere)?

No. Unless they were in the right part of HMRC, and even then, it would be a complete no-no.

And why would they? What's the point of offering a job to someone you believe has just started a new job?

(I'm not saying it's impossible for an employer to know you've started a second job, but the clue would be your tax code changing. And the reason why your tax code might change is not your employer's business, and HMRC won't give them one.)

Tabieth

I have no idea if they can do that or not but why would they? I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. Far too much effort for no benefit to the employer. 

gm0

People take ages to make hiring decisions.  And get relevant signoff in larger companies. Radio silent up to the point it drops.  And holiday season. 

And if numbers even wobble - companies can freeze all not yet signed off hiring (a director basically says - nothing until the next set of data comes in and any managers trying to offer just have to stew and hope they don't lose any good candidates.  Then a couple of months later they  release the handbrake.  Letters go out - some don't convert as people took an offer in the hand. Happens all the time.  

elsien

faringdon said:

Hi,
I am wondering, please help, -if an employer  has  my national insurance number, can they use it to see if i started a new job somewhere? (ie they would be able to log in to their tax software, whatever that is, and put my national insurance number in, and see if i got employed somewhere)?

Its just that i have just started a new job......and the other employer who was considering employing me have now made an offer to me of employment at their place.

I am wondering why they waited this long to send their offer...i wonder if they thought i was a lazy person and only when they saw that i actually started back into a new job did they eventually come through with their offer.

Anyway, whilst i was in the application process, they of course had my National insurance number....i am wondering if they could have used it to see if i had started a new job?....it does seem strange that  two months after interviewing me, they suddenly make me a job offer just 4 days after i started a new job somewhere else....it almost seems that they were waiting for me to start a job somewhere before making me their offer.

Employers have got better things to do with their time than randomly check potential employees to see if they’re working somewhere else or not.

You are seriously overthinking this. 

GrubbyGirl_2

There could be a legitimate reason why they took so long.  It could be that they offered the job to someone else first and for some reason that fell through - poor references, bad DBS check or the person they offered it to simply changed their mind.  It's much easier to move to the person who came in second than go through a whole recruitment process again.

p_anotherguy

faringdon said:

Hi,
I am wondering, please help, -if an employer  has  my national insurance number, can they use it to see if i started a new job somewhere? (ie they would be able to log in to their tax software, whatever that is, and put my national insurance number in, and see if i got employed somewhere)?

Its just that i have just started a new job......and the other employer who was considering employing me have now made an offer to me of employment at their place.

I am wondering why they waited this long to send their offer...i wonder if they thought i was a lazy person and only when they saw that i actually started back into a new job did they eventually come through with their offer.

Anyway, whilst i was in the application process, they of course had my National insurance number....i am wondering if they could have used it to see if i had started a new job?....it does seem strange that  two months after interviewing me, they suddenly make me a job offer just 4 days after i started a new job somewhere else....it almost seems that they were waiting for me to start a job somewhere before making me their offer.

I don't think they can. If the offer is much better, why not considering it?

MyRealNameToo

HMRC simply tell them what tax code to use and there is no tax code that is specific to "your existing employee just started a new job elsewhere". HMRC will periodically give them a new code to use but won't tell them why the code has changed and there are a large number of reasons why codes change most have nothing to do with additional employment. 

What is the more obvious giveaway is referencing. Employers will always want a reference from your current/last employer and its normally only done once an offer is made (though there are exceptions) and whilst its not a guarantee the person is getting a new job it does strongly point to the fact they are looking. 

Marcon

MyRealNameToo said:

HMRC simply tell them what tax code to use and there is no tax code that is specific to "your existing employee just started a new job elsewhere". HMRC will periodically give them a new code to use but won't tell them why the code has changed and there are a large number of reasons why codes change most have nothing to do with additional employment. 

What is the more obvious giveaway is referencing. Employers will always want a reference from your current/last employer and its normally only done once an offer is made (though there are exceptions) and whilst its not a guarantee the person is getting a new job it does strongly point to the fact they are looking. 

OP isn't talking about their current employer - just a potential employer who has made them a job offer (and, as pointed out above, overthinking things to an absurd degree).

TELLIT01

Nothing at all strange in what has happened.  Some companies simply work faster than others when it comes to recruitment.  Also, you may have been first choice for the company you are working for but second choice at the other one.  Their first choice may have turned down the offer because they also had another job by the time the offer from the other company came through.

My wife was in much the same position.  Applied for a job and was interviewed but had heard nothing.  Applied for another job and was offered it on the spot.  Quite literally the day after being offered the job, an offer came through from the first job.  She actually took the first job and apologised to the company she had agreed to work for.  The job she finally accepted paid a lot more and came with many other benefits as it was within the financial services sector.