To be really really annoyed at River Island's treatment of my daughter at interview

[BadHairDyeDay]

DD17 applied for a job with RI - 8 hour contract evenings and Saturdays and would fit around school no problem. On Thursday she an email asking her to attend a "recruitment event" yesterday morning at 9.30 and to bring "proof of eligibility to work in the UK". Excellent so far.
So yesterday morning DD gets her National insurance number letter and I drop her off for the interview. As I'm walking back to the car I get a phone call from DD to say she needs either her birth certificate or her passport. I ask her what for. She says she was supposed to bring either one. I said no it was proof of eligibility to work in the UK, I.e. National insurance number. Birth certificate = proof of identity. Passport = eligibility to travel outside your own country. That was problem no 1 . Anyway RI had said she could come back at 10.30 with said documents and have interview then. So I made the half hour round trip home to fetch BC.
All fine then. But no. Problem no.2. At the end of the interview DD is asked when she can work (which she had set out in detail in her application form and was the same as the advertised position). So she tells them again and they say "Oh so you can't work XX?". DD says no. They say not at all? DD says sorry no it was in my application form and I didn't think I had to! End of interview!

So AIBU to be raging that they didn't ask for the documents they actually wanted at interview and also that we completely wasted a whole morning due to the fact that they didn't read my DD's application form properly and changed the criteria at the last minute anyway!!!!!
I have a good mind to complain to head office because that's is just plain incompetence - and in their eyes my DD looks like she is in the wrong!!!

P.S Sorry this is so long!!!

They are advertising for core hours (actually 8 in retail is good and I think it’s also good that RI aren’t going the 0 hours route).

They will always as if you’re flexible to work additional hours, and many students DO say yes to that because if they don’t have a lecture on a Tuesday morning, they may get a call to earn extra.

I would bet that somewhere in the application form mention is made regarding flexible hours. If you can’t do outside the core that’s ok, but you may lose out to someone that can offer more if needed.

I think you need to chill out! This was an interview - whoever said she was guaranteed the job. Chances are she’ll have to go through a few more interviews before she gets anything. That’s life! Maybe she needs to work on her interview skills!

What was it that they were asking her to work but she couldn’t?

She gets long holidays especially over the summer. When she was asked “ not at all” she should have said “ yes, over the holidays”.

It would have said on her invitation to interview what she needed to bring.
I’m surprised they still interviewed her after that was ignored.
Your dd needs to learn from it.

I took an 18 month career break from a company I've worked for 15 years, when I resumed working with the same company I had to provide proof of eligibility to work in the UK!

It is annoying but I suppose anything that helps prevent economic migrants from illegally working here has to be a good thing.

Ok maybe I'm over reacting a bit but if they wanted specific documents maybe they should ask for them imo! She was not the only one to have to go and get BC/PP. There at least were 3 others that we knew of.
Also it's only an 8 hour contract so it was clearly stated that she could be flexible over the times they stated.
First time I've ever known it to be reasonable to ask for one thing and expect another.

"Unreasonable a bit" 😂

Have neither of you ever applied for a job before? They always need passport, bc and a letter dated within the last 3 months from a bank or utility company as proof of address.

Bit harsh. OP might not have applied for a job for a long time.

This is all relatively recent, last 15 years or so, since the government started expecting employers (and now landlords) to be immigration officers as well.

I don't know why they accept birth certificates, anyone can get a certified copy of someone else's birth certificate, they're public documents.

of course YABU

how long has it been since you last apply for a job! You sound far too confrontational and "know it all" (wrongly), you need to do your research better.

They should tell you clearly what ID is required and acceptable. It should similarly be made clear whether the hours are the hours or just ‘core hours’.

My partner's company want a Visa or passport. The rumour is that they had some undocumented workers before. Being born in the UK and having a Birth certificate or even an NI number doesn't mean you are legally allowed to work here, apparently. A current passport or Visa does hold that information.

It sounds like you’ve just misunderstood what they expect to see in terms of documentation and I’d expect that all retailers would want to know exactly how flexible you can be. She can just take more documentation in future to make sure she’s covered.

To be honest, I’d say she might have had a lucky escape. My sister worked for them as an older teenager/young adult. I can’t say it’s the case across the board but in her store they promoted bullies to management who then bully the younger staff who don’t understand their rights. Perhaps things have changed for the better since then... This included things like shutting the shutters so they can’t leave and forcing them to stay until they decide they are done with clean up, unpaid. Harassing with phone calls on days they weren’t contracted to work and trying to bully them into it. If you say no, they make things unpleasant for you - more overt bitchy comments at work/silent treatment kind of thing. Her inexperience meant she didn’t know that she had the right to complain or how and didn’t want to draw more attention to herself. They had a very high staff turnover rate!

So AIBU to be raging that they didn't ask for the documents they actually wanted at interview

YAVU and rather foolish 'to be raging'.

Proof of eligibility to work in the UK documents are set by the Home Office not by the employer. You could have easily checked the list of acceptable documents.

8 hours evening and weekend means possibly working a Saturday and Sunday. Was it the Sunday she couldn't/ wouldn't work?

They probably asked because sometimes sale launches happen on a Sunday night, or Christmas Eve or Boxing Day land on a Sunday and that's when they need all hands on deck. No good if your daughter can't work. They were probably just checking in case she could be flexible with things like that.

As everyone else says, NI card is not proof that you can work in the UK.

Anyway, they haven't turned her down for the job yet but they will if you go in all guns blazing.

Sounds like you assumed an NI letter was OK rather than using Google to check what was needed. Lesson learnt for your dd.

Retailers want / need flexibility. They will balk if someone says they won't work Thursday evenings or similar even if it is not specifically in the job description.

Your issue isn't with RI but with the hostile environment created by the Home Office et al. Perhaps a good thing as it may raise awareness of what it is like for others.

If you wanted to complain about the hours issue you could try but I really can't see what you could get from it. As PP said their contracts probably do state full flexibility is required but the interviewer should have picked up on your daughters requirements before inviting her in. Eligibility to work documentation is either a Passport (plus Visa if required) or a full UK Birth Certificate accompanied by NI proof. An NI number alone doesnt prove eligibility to work, people who no longer have the right to work would still have an NI number on record and documents to prove it and also the employer would have nothing on file to prove the letter actually belonged to the person who presented it so I think you are BU on that one.

Proof of right to work is always BC or passport so YABU there.
Change of hours is crap but happens. It's all a learning experience and she'll be better prepared for her next interview.

For clarification she was asked to bring "proof of eligibility to work in the UK " and she has not as yet been turned down for the job. She did indicate when she could be flexible and yes it's all experience. I did not presume she was entitled to the job as has been suggested here!!!

Passport or birth certificate is standard.

They have wasted their own time as well though in not reading her application properly.

It is annoying but I suppose anything that helps prevent economic migrants from illegally working here has to be a good thing.

The whole point of economic migration is that it facilitates work Why would a migrant be treated any differently to an indiginous person when it comes to illegal working?

(Bloody Latvian dentists and Polish chemists coming over here, taking our 8-hour jobs at River Island).

Does she already know her college schedule?

I think they were probably looking for someone who would be open to more flexibility. Someone who just says "no" in an interview without explanation my be a red flag?
As in
" Well, Sundays is when I have my tuba lessons, I'm a competitive tubist, however, when I'm not tuba-ing, I would have some flexibility"
( said with a tone of regret and a smile)

Did your daughter do that, or did she say no, and get indignant that they asked, because it was on her application?

The job is customer service- they probably also wanted to test how good she is at keeping her cool.....

Good practice though

But OP she didn't bring what was asked of her - an NI number doesn't prove anything - your DD needed to bring photo ID to prove she is who she's claiming to be.

Proof or right to work has always been birth certificate or passport.

I am quite shocked you dont know this.

Also it depends and when they were asking her work?

Can she never do that day, even when school or college is on holiday?

They didn't ask for one thing and expect another. they asked for proof of eligibility to work in the UK. I've just googled this now and the first page clearly says passport or birth certificate. NI number could belong to anyone so for all they know, she could have brought a yours or a friends.

Also, if I was recruiting and a candidates mother complained to me about anything, I'd think the person wasn't mature enough to deal with things themselves and I probably wouldn't be hiring them based on that alone.