Police support staff

[Flappyjack]

Desperately seeking advice....

I have been lucky enough to land myself a job interview as Police support staff on Thursday. I applied for the job in March.

Now here is the problem. I was working in the civil service and was unfortunately dismissed a couple of weeks ago.

I had already added them as a reference before dismissal. I emailed the Civil service reference dept today and they confirmed that any reference requested would include dismissal information.

I am fucked, aren't I?

Anyone know how I can cover this in my interview? To avoid dripfeed I was dismissed for poor attendance due to one ongoing problem which has resolved itself now.

I am fucked, aren't I?

I had a friend in the Civil Service who was off sick for the best part of a year and had regular discussions with HR during her time off. Surprised that you were dismissed - and without warning.

They didn’t take references when I joined as a call handler about 2 years ago.

Just had an assessment test and a competency based interview.

We’re security cleared above police constable level - we have inspector level clearance as we see/deal with high intel so they MAY not check your references. I can’t comment on the effects of sickness although I had a significant amount in the year leading up to taking this job as I broke both my shoulders one after the other and it wasn’t even mentioned.

Police staff here. My advice is be honest with them! Mention it in the interview but spin a positive light on it. A big thing in our force right now is 'integrity' and people have been let go by our force for not declaring things. They've not necessarily done anything wrong in the first place, but the not mentioning it first was seen as 'a lack of integrity'.

As others said, with Intel you will be vetted/security checked to a higher standard. Your partner, their family and your family will be checked. You will also need to declare any financial issues that you have.

I did Intel many moons ago and really enjoyed it. Shame my force restructured their entire Intel department and got rid of the role!

How did it go, Flappy?

Hope all went well; I have just gone through vetting for a very similar role and they will absolutely check references. Best policy is being totally honest and upfront - any attempt at hiding anything will result in failing your pre employment checks should you be offered the job.