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This sounds really dodgy. Have you spoke to one of the agency grown ups or just the gomer in the office?

Can't you give them the dc birth certificates along with child benefit or tax credits letters?

The recruitment agency is Manpower (probably not allowed to say this!) and the job is for a government department. I suppose technically Manpower is my employer although I will be working at the government department.

I spoke to the recruitment manager at Manpower and explained that I have been a SAHM. She is adamant the job offer will be withdrawn. I know the references they've got are excellent as both previous employers sent me a copy of what they provided.

Never claimed JSA, don't receive any tax credits. Do receive child benefit. Maybe they will accept this, thought I doubt it. Never occured to me it would be a problem as agency have seen my CV and I explained about being a SAHM.

Can't stop crying.

So you're temping for a company through Manpower?

This is ridiculous and you must have some way to do this. Can CAB help with something like this?

Ok so I would ask to speak to her manager or ask to see a copy of the regulations about this. Surely if none of the situations apply to you they must understand you can't produce the documents!

I do remember when I stopped work and therefore stopped paying my student loan payments, the student loans company asked for a letter from DH to confirm that he was supporting me and I was not in paid employment . Could you offer the same thing?

If they don't budge I would go to the citizens advice bureau.

Sounds like process gone mad. They probably have an agreement in place about referencing covering any gaps (as a previous poster said, to prove you weren't in prison). I don't think this has eve been tested, but I would think that if you can offer some proof that you were a SAHM - a character reference type thing, then they ought to accept that, otherwise I would think this is in the territory of indirect sex discrimination. I would speak again, offer a character ref for the period, and state your belief that this is sex discrimination if they refuse to accept it (because women are more likely to be in this situation than men). If that doesn't work, follow up in writing and copy in the most senior person you can find.

Would your DP/DH write a letter to support your sahm status for that period of time?

bloody discriminatory if you ask me.

I'd be tempted to get my husband to write me a reference. REALLY sarcastic.

MyFurby has been employed as my wife and mother of my children for X years. Her main duties have been childcare and housework. I have always found her to be...

I think it's bloody awful, to be perfectly honest and I question whether they are allowed to behave like this.

Poor you! After you've done so well getting the job offer!
Your contact there is obviously sticking entirely to the rulebook but there must be some room for leeway as if not don't they run into discrimination issues? not 100% on that but it seems to me they are actively preventing SAHP from returning to the workplace. I wouldnt mention that at this stage though, call them again to tomorrow, suggest a signed personal statement from you and a personal reference from another responsible person.
Hope you get it sorted, she sounds like a jobs worth, could be worth asking if there is anyone else who can take a decision on this. Good luck!

Contact the REC. Bonkers

This is stupid I had 4 years as a sahm and worked through an agency and they just accepted I had been Sahm. I would hope they accept birth certificate.

Who is paying you? You're temping at a government department can't you just turn up on Wednesday and speak to directly

Thank you everyone for wise words and advice.

Really helping 'talking' it through with people. My DH has come home from work early to help with the dc's while I have a mini breakdown over this.

All is not lost, OP.

Initial thoughts; you can cobble something together to satisfy this Manpower idiot, even though you shouldn't have to (and if course it's up to you to decide if you want up work for them in the first place etc and so on)

Any doc with the start dates of child benefit on
Copy (copy only, Fgs don't give them the original) of birth certificate if DC
Perhaps even go crazy and get your GP to sign something saying "X and DC have been under my care from Date to Date"

That all means NOTHING in TNE real world but is probably enough for the strip-lit offal at Manpower to feel that she's got what she needs.

Call them first thing and say, pleasantly, that you'll have 'a reference' ASAP them get that crap together, smile sweetly and hand it over. Don't huff and puff, let them think they've won

I think this is v long, sorry.

If you are working for a central government department you would get security cleared which in some cases would involve a check of your criminal history and whether you have been in prison. Have the agency confirmed it is them kicking up a fuss and not the govt dept? I assume the agency remain your 'employer' if they are directly paying you from their purse.
They do seem difficult, perhaps bring the DC into the agency office, plonk them on the jobsworth's desk and go 'this is who I have been working for for the last x years'. I would have thought the child benefit letters should be sufficient, what more proof do they need?
OP, best of luck, hope you can sort this out.

Ask your doctor or HV for a declaration that you have been SAHM.Alternatively ask any professional who knows you well to do the same-that should suffice.

And those saying 'go to the employer (gov dept)' -- OP won't get through the door and Manpower will never get her another assignment.

I worked in gov depts for an agency for years

LO Birth certificate ?

How very very odd.
Sounds like a terminal case of jobsworthitis.

Manpower will be getting their instructions from the client - agencies don't deliberately try to stop candidates from getting a job - how will they make their money? Go back to Manpower and ask them if a reference from your husband will suffice.

Where I work, we aim to get reference history to cover 3 years, and the most recent employment/study reference. Obviously this isn't always possible, but we usually cover gaps with a character reference, which the appointing managers usually have to just suck up. (Never normally any complaints though)

We don't allow appointing managers to simply withdraw the offer of employment without written warning, and without us being able to prove that we've done enough to chase the necessary checks. It would leave us wide open and the HR managers (rightly) get very snippy about it!

We do, however, send generic warning letters after two failed attempts to get a reference. This doesn't mean that we want to withdraw the offer, it is just generic, and withdrawing the offer is the absolute final step.

I would call them first thing tomorrow and ask if a character reference will be sufficient. Do you know anyone who can give a character reference for you?

Yes I have been security cleared - had to complete something called a Disclosure Scotland and have a CRB and credit check - all have come back fine. I have worked in central government previously and have been security cleared so many times...

kalidanger you are right I would never get through the doors tmwr if I just turned up at the government office. Having worked in gov myself I know there is no point ringing up the person who interviewed me and wants me to work there. I know she too will be obsessed with ticking all the boxes.

I did have an issue with Manpower over proving I had a right to work in the UK. They wanted to see my passport - unfortunately I couldn't find it (haven't travelled abroad since the dcs). Showed them NI card, birth certificate and driving license but again they had to have passport. Had endless phone calls from them about this, how they needed to see it, how it is the only thing that would do. Was told I would have to get a new one re-issued just for them. Luckily after ransacking the house and more hysteria I found it.

Starting to hate this agency.

Just to add - he only needs to confirm you have been a SAHM and give the dates. All they need is signed confirmation. Fingers crossed and good luck!

When I was looking for work after being SAHM, I got a reference from a T.A. at my child's primary school and another one from the person who ran my child's pre-school - they were both 'personal' references but would also have alluded to how they knew me, i.e. when I brought my child to their school/pre-school, therefore showing that I was SAHM? Would you have anyone like this that you could ask?

Agree with what some others have said though, it sounds dodgy and very inflexible. If it's to prove you haven't been in prison, a CRB check would soon sort that wouldn't it? As an aside, could you consider having a CRB check done yourself so you could use it in future? hth and good luck x

Showed them NI card, birth certificate and driving license but again they had to have passport. Had endless phone calls from them about this, how they needed to see it, how it is the only thing that would do. Was told I would have to get a new one re-issued just for them. Luckily after ransacking the house and more hysteria I found it.

It's not hysteria - it's a legal requirement which if you don't provide they will get fined for.

Surely this is sexual discrimination? Not sure of the legalities of it, but it should be IMO.

You surely can't be the first former SAHP they have employed - could you ask them to clarify what previous candidates have done in the same position?

If you don't get any sensible help maybe you could contact Manpower's head office... It's pretty awful publicity for them and I'm sure they would find a solution quickly enough!