People who work for MI5 etc...how do they get mortgages etc where the employer details are asked for

[cakeorwine]

Inspired by another thread.

I assume people who work where they can't divulge who they work for have cover stories. But do the cover stories have "proper" employers with Pay slips, NI numbers etc - so if you had to apply for a mortgage, credit, renting etc, the person enquiring could see a pay slip and say, ok, I'll give you credit.

Are there "switchboards" so someone answering the phone call knows how to answer to say the company name?

Even James Bond needs a place to live and a credit history.

Ooooh I wonder how much you get paid!! Do you think it's all like the Woman in The Jackal???

They are just recorded as Govt Officers, even the most senior.

Great question, thanks op 😁

I work for the government/an ALB and to be honest, whilst my role is not secret, and whilst I do find it interesting and engaging, it’s pretty dull to describe, at least in polite small talk. I can’t think of anyone who would want to listen to the more technical aspects of my job. So I just say ‘commercial’. The organisation I work for is mildly more interesting to the average person, and so I quite often end up talking about that, but it has very little relation to my actual job.

When I was at school one of my classmates told us her mum was a 'silver' servant at the local military base 😂. For years I imagined her having to wear a silver uniform or something.

Now I'm a 'Silver' Servant myself I know it's much less exciting and I just wear boring black trousers.

If anyone asks what I do, I tell them I'm a secretary, which is basically true. I just don't elaborate on the types of things I type or hear in the course of my working day. I'm allowed to tell them who I work for but I simply choose not to.

All my family were vetted prior to me starting work and the specific area I work in does not allow laptops/mobile phones or other wifi enabled devices. I am allowed to give out my desk phone number which the school have and is also in my DH/DS's phones in case of emergency.

Also these are not the only jobs where you cannot talk about work. My father was a psychiatrist and he never told us about his patients obviously. As a solicitor I may not disclose information about clients either. I suppose being a spy is even more secret, however, as you don't even tell people the job title.

I expect there's a prominent column for dry cleaning.

But sometimes you do just have to ditch the Savile Row suit as the blood won't come out.

Always assuming they apply for their mortgage using their real identity.

We discovered my grandad was a spy a decade after his death when we found all of his fake passports and identity documents...

Interesting when you said. I signed the Official Secrets Act.

I worked in an area which was governed by the act, and nobody ever signed any document that contained those words. But by accepting the employment, you agreed to be bound by the regulations pertaining to the act

This was back in the late 1960s

Everyone is covered by the Official Secrets Act, it's like any other law, you don't get to opt in (or out) of it. 'Signing for it' is merely an acknowledgement that you know you are covered by it and is legally mean less.

BiL works for the MoD in a secret squirrel type role. He’s not a spy (I don’t think!) but works on secret sensitive stuff.

His payslip says “Ministry of Defence”, his job title is something like “Senior Technical Lead”. He had no problem getting a mortgage.

I’ve signed the Official Secrets Act, and was presented with a print copy of it literally to sign (at the close of a job interview)! (This was in the early 2000s)

Well, if they fuck up the get sent to Slough House.😁
The Civil Service i believe have their own union and is quite active. And i guess unless the problem breeches security, its dealt with exactly like other institutions.

Probably.

Half the time it seems like no-one cares whether you do your actual job, as long as your mandatory training and timesheets are up to date.

There are also several unions in the CS, but not all members are civil servants, its more about the Jo role, which is often nothing like what the layperson imagines to be 'a civil servant'.

I know a few people who are in similar roles (I think) and they are all employed by the MOD. Contractors tend to work via a 3rd party company

It will either say civil service, ministry of defence etc . Very bland and uninformative