Refused me job ..aibu to feel like giving up?

[reddeadalive]

I'm 33 and my job history is mainly customer service.
In the last 11 years my mum had cancer and has passed away in September.
I kept taking breaks in my employment to look after her.
My last job was 2016
I applied for a call centre and got offered the job.
Told them my previous history but couldn't remember exact dates.
They did a Experian employment check and refused the offer.
Saying there were too many gaps in my employment.
I feel really really low.
In a ideal world my mum wouldn't have been ill and I wouldn't have had to keep leaving jobs.
Will I ever get a job again ?

@PinkTonic ok that makes sense.
I was getting confused as people were commenting they could see my tax and job details online.

@reddeadalive

I'm 33 and my job history is mainly customer service. In the last 11 years my mum had cancer and has passed away in September. I kept taking breaks in my employment to look after her. My last job was 2016 I applied for a call centre and got offered the job. Told them my previous history but couldn't remember exact dates. They did a Experian employment check and refused the offer. Saying there were too many gaps in my employment. I feel really really low. In a ideal world my mum wouldn't have been ill and I wouldn't have had to keep leaving jobs. Will I ever get a job again ?

Did you explain why there were gaps in your employment and that your mother has since died? I say this as they may be more understanding if your were blatantly honest and open about it. This way they will know that there were valid reasons for the gaps. Before you call them back to explain, I would write up your whole employment history and work out all the dates. Then include between all those dates the times where you had to care for your Mum. This will help any employer understand you better. I would include this with any Job you apply for in the future as it seems you will have nothing to lose by doing so.

You will work again. You have to believe that.

FFS can nobody use google? Experian do background checks, Education checks etc. www.experian.co.uk/business/identity-fraud/background-checks/employment-reference-checks/

They could probably afford to pay their employees a fair wage if they stopped outsourcing basic checks to previous employers to third party companies like Experian who are raking it in

Very probably, but many employers don't run checks for the fun of it
They do it because experience has taught that many CVs are basically works of fiction, and that (fully justified) employment rights mean they'll have a hell of a job getting rid of someone further down the line

It just feels like a massive carry on for a minimum wage job just selling broadband

People working in these call centres have access to customer names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, billing history - potentially bank details.

Companies have a duty of care to make sure that their staff are honest and aren't going to be writing down loads of personal details and flogging them to dodgy Dave down the pub. Of course they check. Someone might say they left a job in March, but they were actually there until July and fired for gross misconduct. Its really important to be honest.

As others have said, Experian doesn't have a big database on everyone. They will just contact ex-employers in exactly the same way your employer might reference check, or call your Uni to make sure you really do have that degree you claim to have.

Credit checks are only usually done for jobs where you'd have access to money, and are consented separately.

I probably would have been better off lying and saying I previously worked for a company that had closed.
Telling the truth got me nowhere has it.
I told them about my mum and her cancer.
Then I told them as her dementia got worse she needed 24hr care and I didn't want her in a home so I looked after her.
I told them when I had did volunteering when she didn't need as much care.

[quote LaughingStock2021]@vanillandhoney I don't actually consider it a derail. SItuations like the OP's are part of an important wider conversation around the frankly worrying and ever-growing imbalance of power between employers and employees.[/quote]
Yes, it's an important conversation to have, but it won't help her immediate situation, will it? Why not start another thread if it's something you feel needs discussing or debating? Ranting on OP's thread is taking away from the issue she's having, which has nothing to do with employers paying the minimum wage.

So sorry about your mum.

Just wonder - how do you write a CV and apply for jobs if you don't remember the dates. can you go through bank statements, emails, paperwork etc to figure out where you worked? I think a CV should be reasonably accurate.

did you apply for a job in the financial sector? I never had an Experian check following a job application so wonder a bit why that happened.

@reddeadalive

I probably would have been better off lying and saying I previously worked for a company that had closed. Telling the truth got me nowhere has it. I told them about my mum and her cancer. Then I told them as her dementia got worse she needed 24hr care and I didn't want her in a home so I looked after her. I told them when I had did volunteering when she didn't need as much care.

But you said yourself you're not sure of the dates, so how do you know you told the truth?

I don't think the issue is what happened with your mum (and I am so sorry for your loss more that your CV and employment history don't match up somewhere along the line.

All you have to do is be honest and make sure your CV matches your employers records.

Yeah, and I’ve had a couple employers who were not honest in their records. I had done a constructive dismissal claim through ACAS and the company in their response denied everything and wrote blatant lies.
They stated I had had no issues with my team or management, that I had simply resigned for a new job opportunity and had been happy to work my notice period with no issues raised whatsoever, when the truth was I had not worked my notice period, I had resigned effective immediately and refused to work the notice period because I had filed a grievance for racist bullying.

So yeah..tell the truth, be honest doesn’t automatically mean it will match your employers records.

@robinwisperer that's the thing they didn't ask for any dates etc .
At first they asked what type of history I had
It was only after they offered me the job they asked me for companies etc

[quote reddeadalive]@PinkTonic verifiable records ? But surely all they had to do to verify is contact the companies I've worked for?
I still understand what special info they can see about me.[/quote]
They don't have "special" info.

They have contacted your previous employers, and the details your employers have given are not the same as the details you have given.

Now you could argue that they should have come back to you and asked you why there are discrepancies, but the fact remains that you failed the screening because you were vague and inaccurate about your previous employment.

*How?

How can you live as a single adult person on this wage without being in poverty, unless you also get some top up benefits?

How can you ever plan a family?

I'd like you to share a realistic budget. Except you can't, because it's not possible.*

Exactly the smae way me and many of my friends did when we were starting up. Living within our means (so nicer sharehouse rather than 1 bed flat, thinking about shopping etc) and working towards promotions when possible.
I loved pretty well on fiver an hour. Room, food, weekend parties in clubs, travel. It's bit different matter in London but claims that adults on minimum wage simply must be in poverty are hysterical and wrong.

Get yourself an online HMRC Personal Tax Account. It shows exactly who you worked for and when (it has all your start/end dates fro when you were employed). It goes back 4 years.

OP I would try looking for remote working from home opportunities for the Citizen's Advice Bureau - they would probably see your Carer experience in a good light given the remit. You would be seen as empathetic and knowing what some of the queries may be about first hand. I saw a job on Indeed last week for the North West although the deadline was Friday but hopefully there may be opportunities local to you.

How does experian know what jobs I have had or not ?
Nothing on any credit report I have had showing my jobs ? Even income and surely you have to give permission for someone to check your file ?

And companies ahould always have a right to choose to do simple checks on potential employees. Minimum wage or not.

It was just confusing what the check was

@vanillandhoney sorry to break it to you, but you are not the thread police. Dunno why you're fixating on trying to shut me up, but knock yourself out.

Tbh with min wage I wouldn't exactly be living in luxury but I would have enough to live on with money left over.
My rent up north is only £350 a month so it's not bad.
I would be grateful for anything

@TheLevyEyebrowsFancIub

OP I would try looking for remote working from home opportunities for the Citizen's Advice Bureau - they would probably see your Carer experience in a good light given the remit. You would be seen as empathetic and knowing what some of the queries may be about first hand. I saw a job on Indeed last week for the North West although the deadline was Friday but hopefully there may be opportunities local to you.

That's actually quite a good shout

@TheLevyEyebrowsFancIub Thankyou
I think I would probably enjoy that.
I will have a look now.

@maddiemookins16mum thanks I didn't even know you could do that

@reddeadalive you will get a job, this is just a set back. As you can see the cv was ok until dates were checked. Sort that and you will be fine. 🤞

[quote LaughingStock2021]@vanillandhoney sorry to break it to you, but you are not the thread police. Dunno why you're fixating on trying to shut me up, but knock yourself out.[/quote]
I'm not, I'm trying to help the OP and I just don't think your irrelevant rants are helping the situation

I have a similar scenario. On a CV input a note after dates of unemployment saying 'varied periods of unemployment between x and v dates were due to caring responsibilities of a now deceased relative.' I add the same in application forms. It explains it without the worry that you'll after get in trouble for innocently putting down wrong dates. I've never had anyone bring it up.