To think that "we require a 5 year job history with no gaps"

[PyongyangKipperbang]

is effectively saying "We dont want anyone with young kids"?

And it will disproportionately affect women who are usually the ones who give up work for a few years when the kids are little?

[funnelfanjo]

I've recently started a new job after a six month break. My boss wasn't bothered at all, but the company employed a third party to do reference checking, and as part of the reference checking procedure I had to sign a declaration on what I was doing in that six months when I wasn't working.

To be honest, instinctively I wanted to say "mind your own business". However, this seems to be very common nowadays and my DH has just had to do the same for his new job. I presume there is some kind of identity/fraud/right-to-work reason why they want to account for your working history. It would be really interesting to hear from any HR bods reading this?

[Poliomolio2]

this is indirect discrimination, ive literally just done train g regarding thia

[veryvery]

I was asked about a gap in the past and just said I was renovating our newly bought house. Which I was, whilst applying for jobs. Still got the job.

[allaboutthe]

It's not discriminatory as it literally means they need to know where you have been for 5 or 10 years. Really common in some sectors, there is nothing wrong with putting 2012-2015 parental responsibilities or 2018-2019 looking for work. I've been a personal reference for a couple of people in those circumstances. Literally they just need to have those times of where you lived and what you did accounted for.

It's normally to do with some form of enhanced checks required for the job & if you can't account for several months or years they won't be able to do those checks and won't be able to employ you.

If you have gaps in your employment history such as unemployment or looking after children then just list them on the applications - then it is no longer a gap.

[PurpleDaisies]

this is indirect discrimination, ive literally just done training regarding this

Have you read the thread? It isn’t used to weed people out. It’s part of safer recruitment, especially in education. Totally normal.

[Lumene]

It depends what they mean and why they require it. Do you have a link to the JD?

[funnelfanjo]

@PurpleDaisies

this is indirect discrimination, ive literally just done training regarding this

Have you read the thread? It isn’t used to weed people out. It’s part of safer recruitment, especially in education. Totally normal.

For those of us not in HR, please could you explain what "safer recruitment" means? I don't work with children or the public, so it's nothing to do with that in my case.

[Cherrybakewellard]

Safer recruitment means making sure people are who they say they are.
In certain industries you wouldn't believe the amount of people who try and use false documentation to work. Trust me, I've come across a few in the past.

See the flip side of things too. If you were moving your palliative parent into a care home or sending your child to school, wouldn't you want to know that all the checks have been done?

I actually found stating the 5 year history went in my favour, I explained that I was off for 2 years when I had 2 children in close succession and couldn't afford the childcare, however I used it as life experience and in the industry I work in there's a diverse range of people and circumstances. Not being the obvious candidate helped me because there was more to the job than just answering the phone and typing.

[ChicCroissant]

10 years is standard for security jobs, is it an application for a role as a carer or similar, OP, or in education?

If you can explain gaps fine, I don't think it's discriminatory. It is not aimed at weeding out parents!

[Cherrybakewellard]

Also if you google 'safer recruiting policy' you'll find lots of information and facts. Most are focused towards schools and education but people in care, prison workers and people handling military information also have to go through this process.

[cologne4711]

Unfortunately we have had people lie in the past on their applications which don't match up with their DBS information so we are really hot on it

but the DBS form doesn't ask for job history.

[Poliomolio2]

@PurpleDaisies how so? Claiming someone needs to have x experience is indirect discrimination. Simple.

'As with gender and race, employers should not refer to their ideal applicant’s age.

This includes both seeking applicants who are ‘young’ and advertising a role asking for a number of years’ experience.

Rather than asking for a certain amount of experience or years spent in the position as a pre-requisite, employers should be focussing on the required skills. After all, jobseekers with 10 years’ experience can differ greatly in terms of their abilities.'

Its age discrimination.

[beautifulxdisasters]

I would take this to mean "if you had an actual gap, say so, and you mustn't leave jobs off". So if you were unemployed in 2019, say so, rather than leaving them to guess whether you had a job you don't want to admit to for some reason!

I don't think they are saying they want someone that has been constantly employed for the last 5 years!

[ChloeCrocodile]

someone might omit a job if they left under a cloud.

This wouldn't stop that happening. You could still omit the job and claim to have been travelling / studying / caring for elderly relative.

If your safeguarding is dependent on the applicants being honest, you're not doing safeguarding correctly.

[Cherrybakewellard]

@cologne4711

Unfortunately we have had people lie in the past on their applications which don't match up with their DBS information so we are really hot on it

but the DBS form doesn't ask for job history.

We have a multi stage process. Part of this is application including job history. DBS. Extensive reference checks.
We've had people with convictions who haven't admitted them. So how can we trust their job history?

[hoxt]

Isn’t it a safeguarding requirement? Making sure there are no unaccounted for gaps. What’s the job op?

[Viviennemary]

I think it's fair. They just want yo know what you've been doing.

[tass1960]

I would think they mean unexplained gaps. I've just gone though the NHS recruitment process and had to explain a 3 year gap where I was training and another 8 week gap between volunteering for redundancy and even looking for a new job. I'm not sure it would be something that would be held against you.

[devildeepbluesea]

That is potentially discriminatory, yes.

[MitziK]

It discriminates against SAHMs, those who didn't have maternity leave, those who got made redundant and anybody disabled or self employed.

Had a job offer withdrawn by one hospital because I'd been too sick to work for two of the five years, so couldn't provide a reference covering them. They didn't want the twenty years previous. Just those two years. And it had to be a recognised company with a line manager AND an email address that was a company and not the name of the company owner, which was also the name of the company. And it had to still be trading.

I had two from the current employment, all the years previously and I even had the Brown Owl, the school and two other charities able and willing to confirm that I had volunteered for them in that period as I had begin to get better. And the college where I'd taken a couple of part time courses.

Only two references needed. But not one of these was acceptable to cover for a period where I was ill enough to count as disabled.

[Ullupullu]

It doesn't mean no gaps in employment! It means no time periods unaccounted for in the application form.

[funnelfanjo]

Cherrybakewellard
Safer recruitment means making sure people are who they say they are.

Thanks for the explanation, it matches my assumption it was for fraud/identity purposes. It does feel intrusive though - in my case a signed declaration was enough, asking for a reference for the period as pp experience does sound rather OTT.

[TerrapinStation]

If it was me I'd assume it meant no unexplained gaps and if I'd not been working due to having young children I'd put that on the form. I wouldn't not apply because of that wording.

[JanewaysBun]

I'm pretty sure it's to check what you've been up to.
My job they want airline receipts if you say travelling!