Credit Checking for new Employees

[emdee1980]

seems like this has been in the process of being scrapped over the pond, perhaps with a bit of persuassion it can be brought to us and help people gain employment

http://pattyinglishms.hubpages.com/h...fair-Questions

Found an already in existance e-petition here for this very campaign
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1024

[emdee1980]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

and another one
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43129.html

[Shadowcat]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

What a constructive way to help people get out of debt. Not.

[messimoo]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

well thats what gets me I years of experience in my field (top customer service) yet I am not allowed to work becuase of why I had debt preoblems go figure as I said if the Yanks can do it why cant we

[Sapphire]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

Years ago when we were in the worst of our problems I went for an interview at FDR, they are the ones that chase people for the credit card companies before they get assigned to the dca's, anyways they did a credit check on me, obviously it went belly up and they said no thanks, my answer was that I'd be ideal to talk to the people as I am there, got the t-shirt etc, didn't get the job, hey ho life goes on.

[emdee1980]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

but how are people supposed to get out of debt if everyone now wants to know who you owe and not what you know, jobs should be based on skills not what happened in your past

[emdee1980]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

I am in no way advertising people ignore their debts, I am just trying to get eyes opened for people to find a means to pay them

[labman]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

I'm not plugging my charity here. In fact I'm trying not to take on new clients at present, but the thing people always say they like about coming to me is that I've actually been in the situation and really do understand what they're going through. The advice they get is thus borne from genuine experience.

[teaboy2]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

Reference the credit rating checks, i agree in the majority of jobs applied for it is not needed at all as there is no risk e.g. apply for a job at a factory or a building site. But to fair jobs that require cash handling or access to financial accounts belonging a company or customer, means that there is an increased risk of fraud/theft by employees, and the only way to limit this risk is to do credit checks, to ensure that the applicants for the jobs are not currently (and i mean currently in the sense off no recent credit problems i.e. in last 2 years) struggling financially. Because if they are then, lets face it we all know how desperate being in debt and struggling to make payments can make people, and as such if they spot the oppurtunity and have that slightest bit of temptation there is a risk they will steal or commit fraud to make a financial gain. So companies that say ok yes you have a couple of defaults from 4 years ago, but nothing recent, so yeah we will give you the job are being fair, but then so are companies that say, ok you had a default placed on your file less than 2 years ago, which means your probably still struggling financially as such given the job involves cash handling or access to finanical accounts its to great a risk for us to take you on at this time.

Put it this way, would you employ someone recently convicted of theft where they had access to money - No you would not! So why take on someone who you know has had recent financial problems and know they have struggled financially knowing they will access to money? As the risk is no different to taking on someone convicted recently of theft. In fact most employee thefts are committed by those who have had recent financial problems - That unfortunately is a fact. It is not deterimental treatment, its basically about risks and most businesses especially smaller ones simply can not afford to take the risk.

The only real answer is for employers to give great remuneration so they are not likely to struggle finanically whilst in employment and therefore reducing that risk of them being tempted to steal for their employers. But as you know, majority of employers simply can not afford it, hell some are struggling to pay minimum wage as it is.

Personally i couldn't careless if a default was put on their file today, i would still take them on (granted in self employed role like everyone else that works for me is now) and thats because they have no access to money or financial accounts where they can take money from. If they did then i admit i would have to be more carefully selective as to who i take on.

So its not about deterimental treatment, its about the risks being to great for the employer to risk taking them on. We have heard of employees taking hundreds of thosands of pounds from employers (one such person used it to pay for a lavish wedding and honeymoon and their employer nearly went bust as a result). So its about the employers protecting themselves and their current employees jobs, because if they go bust as a result of one employee stealing from the company then all the other employees will lose their jobs too and probably not even get all they are owed in redundancy payments if the value of the assets don't cover it.

Devils advocate i know, but its alright saying its deterimental to job seekers, but in reality its not, its about securing jobs so that there are no job losses and so that their is jobs available for job seekers that are not going to be a risk for the employer to take on. Its no different to a phone company or loan company refusing you credit due to bad credit, because they only refuse you if you have bad credit because its too greater risk to lend to you or give you a free phone woth £100's on monthly payment contract - Are they treating your deterimentally because they lend to others with good credit scores and not to those with bad credit scores - No they are not! In fact its those same risk being ignored that led to the debt crisis where all in right now.

[messimoo]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

I agree with jobs with access to money i.e banks, accountancy, etc but why in customer service roles and debt councelling Personally I would have thaught that experience with debt would have made anyone a better councellor with knowledge and experience. I totally understand where you are coming from in regards with the companies way of thinking, but it is also very very wrong to tar every one with a bad credit file with the same brush. I found a very old thread on here back in 2007 stating that a government body had several people who not only commited fraud but had a whole host of criminal convictions (I'll find it nd post later) but were still allowed to work. The States have begun to ban these intrusive checks Hawaii, Oragon, and California look as if they have already started. In this day and age of unemployment and recession this should be stopped and stopped soon the unemployment figures would go down drastically.

I feel that (without neaning to sound nasty or sarcastic) This government should do something about this instead of spending goodness knows how much money on arguing whether cigarettes should be in plain wrappers, building monstosities for the Olympics (that tower is revolting) and get thier priorities straight

[messimoo]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

I agree with jobs with access to money i.e banks, accountancy, etc but why in customer service roles and debt councelling Personally I would have thaught that experience with debt would have made anyone a better councellor with knowledge and experience. I totally understand where you are coming from in regards with the companies way of thinking, but it is also very very wrong to tar every one with a bad credit file with the same brush. I found a very old thread on here back in 2007 stating that a government body had several people who not only commited fraud but had a whole host of criminal convictions (I'll find it nd post later) but were still allowed to work. The States have begun to ban these intrusive checks Hawaii, Oragon, and California look as if they have already started. In this day and age of unemployment and recession this should be stopped and stopped soon the unemployment figures would go down drastically.

I feel that (without neaning to sound nasty or sarcastic) This government should do something about this instead of spending goodness knows how much money on arguing whether cigarettes should be in plain wrappers, building monstosities for the Olympics (that tower is revolting) and get thier priorities straight



26th August 2007, 20:40:PM #1
Paule
VIP Mancunian Red Setter


Join DateJun 2007Posts5,198Post Thanks / Like
Blog Entries8


Suspect Employees

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little over 500 employees, yet has the following statistics?


29 have been accused of spouse abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad cheques
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?
.
.
.
.

..
They are members of the British Houses of Parliament, that's the same group that produces hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in check.

[teaboy2]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

I agree with messimoo, it should only be limited to vacancies where cash handling or handling of financial accounts are involved. I think Debt Couselling could be due to some such vacancies including the handling of clients/customers/peoples financial information and finanical record keeping, which would explain that one.

To be honest when i was out of work a few years ago, and signing on myself. The job centre kept trying to get me to apply for debt collection company based in the town i live (though to be fair they deal in utility debts and are hardly heard off). But i always stuck to my guns and point blank refused to apply purely on the principle they were debt collectors. Was threatened with sanctions on benefits the whole works, but soon put them straight that they can only sanction me if i accept the job details and then fail to apply for it, but i point blank refused the accept the job details and when they tried handing the details on a sheet of paper to me i simply shoved it back down their throats and refused to take it lol. So they never did get to sanction me for it. They even said i had no choice but to take what they give, i said oh so the human rights act doesn't doesn't apply then, and neither do your own policies, you do realise you are in breach of the job seekers allowance contract i signed when i first signed on for benefits where i agreed to look for work and apply for jobs, there is nothing in either the contract or your policies about it being mandatory for me to accept job details for jobs i have no desire to apply for!

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

Unfortunatly Mrs M, a lot of customer services are now expected to take payments, deal with bank details, set up direct debits etc.. hence the credit check part! I worked in a call centre and had to take a credit check to work in retentions.

Personally, I think a CRB check would be a better indication than a credit check, there are vicars who've had credit problems!!! I'd rather know my applicants hadn't robbed a bank then if they had missed a card payment!

[messimoo]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

exactly the same as me, a good few years ago I was offered a DCA possision and not knowing anything about the industry and what it done I accepted (over 8 years ago) it was advertised as admin and credit control I lasted 1 week before walking out after seeing the misery they caused . I vowed never again, but they still e mail me agencies in milton Keynes and ironically enough they refuse to employ with a tarnished record :lol: our job center are very good and have noted because of what had happened they have placed a note on the system that I am not to be offered a job in that sector without losing any benefits. and I agree with puff too CRB is more important than credit its like I have always said in this day and age its not what you know but what you owe

[messimoo]

Re: Credit Checking for new Employees

this is interesting reading too especially article 23
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/pe...ull_text.shtml