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?

The job my husband does (99% male based) sees him assigned to different clients (huge companies) their biggest contract specified that they would only accept those who had been in the exact job for 5 years. This involved them pooling workforce worldwide so no, it’s not just a discrimination against women.

Is it a care job? you are usually asked for a 5 or 10 year job history, it just means you have to account for the gaps.

My employer won’t accept applications with gaps. There were no “gaps” on my history as the fifteen years when I was a SAHM was labelled “raising my family”. A gap with no explanation could be a job you were fired from or even a stay in HMP.... just always explain gaps in employment honestly.

It is annoying. I don't see the need for it as a requirement? Perhaps employer thinks no gaps means responsible candidate?

I'm reading that as them requiring you to state on your application form or in CV what you have been doing for the past 5 years with no gaps - ie. every month is accounted for.
It doesn't necessarily mean that people who do have a "gap" where they weren't working would be rejected if there is an explanation for that eg. bringing up children.

And it's possibly to weed out people with a "ropey" employment history like an ex of mine who would work for a few months, save some money, get himself sacked or quit and then do fuck all for a few months, then he'd get another job and the cycle would start again.

I would definitely consider this indirect maternity discrimination, which is illegal.

Maternity discrimination doesn’t have to have the intention of being discriminatory. If the effect is discriminatory then it’s illegal, regardless of the intention behind it.

It generally means no unexplained gaps. So if you had a five year career break to care for your kids, you'd need to state that from 2015-2020 you were not in paid employment due to childcare responsibility.

You usually see this on application forms for jobs that require a criminal record check - it's so they can check you weren't in prison or on the run at that time!

Surely it just means you have to account for the full 5 yr period? Ie, you can't put a job from 2015-16 and then another job from 2019-2020 and not tell them what you were doing from 2016-2019?

Wjen we had to apply to be the SW regulatory body, no gaps meant just tjat. So we would put caring responsibilities for childcare or adult care etc. A gap because of ill health, mental or physical also had to be listed.

That how most people treat that requirement.

Totally normal. I'm not an employer but I'd want to know.
(and yes I've had minor gaps, for illness, myself)

Should have RTFT, you've already been told several times!

Did you cancel the cheque?

I am sure it just means tell us your history over the past five years so job xxxx, career break, job yyy
There is no discrimination

To add to the discrimination line of thought, the company I work for is a major Healthcare company and we genuinely don't mind if there's times when people have been unemployed, SAHP. Everyone has things happen in life.
What I don't appreciate is people hiding it.
We also have to adhere to strict rules that if we reject a candidate we have to do a written statement as to why we believe they are not suitable, because you can actually be taken to tribunal on an interview alone. Admittedly it's very rare but it happens.
We also have to give multiple reasons. It's a bit like a driving test. Some things are minor and can be overlooked (ie got sacked from a previous job for being unreliable timekeeper), a number of minors would make us reject most likely but again this would need to be documented but if it's something major (ie fraud, lying in identity documents etc) then obviously that's pretty straight forward on the statement.

I think I'm ranting but trust me, as someone who has been told directly in the past I shouldn't apply for jobs because I have children and they don't want childcare to be an issue (which it never has been) I am pleased to know there are genuine companies like my employer who don't see this as an issue.

So in conclusion from me, history without gaps isn't a bad thing. It's only bad if you've got something to hide

Does it not mean that you need to explain everything for the last 5 years without leaving any gaps (eg like you do when you are giving address history for credit applications), rather than saying that you can’t apply if you haven’t worked continuously for 5 years?

The point is yes you could explain away any gap with SAHP- but how do you prove you were at home and not in prison?

What if you had no access to childcare in order to volunteer or study? What if you were ill alongside being at home?
What if you relocated and had no- one to vouch for you?
What if you had anxiety about returning to work and this was a huge barrier to re-entry?

A DBS proves you have no criminal convictions and it really should be enough along with evidence of right to work.

@ceeveebee

Does it not mean that you need to explain everything for the last 5 years without leaving any gaps (eg like you do when you are giving address history for credit applications), rather than saying that you can’t apply if you haven’t worked continuously for 5 years?

Exactly, it means apply and just make sure you are honest about the gaps. It doesn't mean if you've not been continuously employed for x amount of years you shouldn't apply.

To be honest if anyone thinks they shouldn't apply based on that and doesn't understand the need for the history, I would want to reject them because I can imagine training them would be tedious

@Purplewithred

I think "no gaps" means "please tell us what you've done for the past 5 years even if it was SAHM/Gap Year/living on savings/spell in Wormwood Scrubs"; not "we only want people who have been in paid employment for the past 5 years".

This

I took some time out of work to care for my father when he had cancer. On subsequent job app forms I would state the period of absence and the reason for it. It's never been a problem.

@UrbanDox

The point is yes you could explain away any gap with SAHP- but how do you prove you were at home and not in prison?

What if you had no access to childcare in order to volunteer or study? What if you were ill alongside being at home?
What if you relocated and had no- one to vouch for you?
What if you had anxiety about returning to work and this was a huge barrier to re-entry?

A DBS proves you have no criminal convictions and it really should be enough along with evidence of right to work.

No childcare? Say so. 'It was an issue but now I've got reliable childcare etc'. Felt like being a lazy sod and not working and claiming dole money because you could? Say so in a 'time to decide what career path I wanted to pursue'. Been to prison? Say so. It would show on the DBS.

I get it, I was sceptical about all this in the past but honesty is the best policy.

They dont mean gap of employment, they mean a gap in your cv history, ie a time period you have no explanation for. If you've been off looking after kids, just say that, dont leave that period blank.

What the majority of pps said.

I will say though yes it is more women than men who stay home or whatever with their children. We need to change that at an individual level. For example I'm the only woman in my circles to share some parental leave with my partner and who's partner takes an equal amount of time off for childcare relates issues. This was planned before. Nobode else was even willing to give even a few weeks up. I know I'll be challenged with men earning more than women but I wouldn't be with someone who didn't earn a similar income because I wouldn't want to be dependent on them or the other way around. Plus I wanted to have a career of my own and to know I could provide a good lifestyle if I became a single parent (which I was to my eldest as I was raped).

Plus, if you jump straight to "isnt this discrimination" rather than figuring out that they just want to know how you've filled your time, work probably isnt right for you yet.

@Cherrybakewellard I think you have misunderstood me.

All that has happened to me in the past and I could not provide evidence I was a SAHP in order to pass the selection process.

Not lazy. Not on benefits either

@TabbyMumz

Plus, if you jump straight to "isnt this discrimination" rather than figuring out that they just want to know how you've filled your time, work probably isnt right for you yet.

The voice of reason has arrived. Thank you

[quote UrbanDox]@Cherrybakewellard I think you have misunderstood me.

All that has happened to me in the past and I could not provide evidence I was a SAHP in order to pass the selection process.

Not lazy. Not on benefits either [/quote]
Sorry @UrbanDox I wasn't meaning you were lazy or on the dole, even if you were that's nothing to do with me. I've been a SAHP before for 2 years so I know what it's like.

See if they said you couldn't be selected because you couldn't prove you were a SAHM that's awful. In my company we ask anyone who can't provide employers as references (ie someone who's just out of school and hasn't worked before or someone who's only worked for 1 company before) to provide a personal reference from a reputable person in the community. It's never been an issue and I'm sorry you've experienced it.