Reed want to see my husband's bank statements 😩

[Weepingwillowtree]

Desperate to get back into the workplace after 10 years out being a SAHM. Plucked up the courage to go for a Reed interview for a teaching assistant job (no qualifications required even though I have a BSc). Was told I had too much of a gap in my CV and they would need to see my husbands bank statements to “prove that I had been supported by him during this time”. I feel this is a total invasion of our privacy, what has my husbands finances got to do with whether or not I am capability of being a teaching assistant?? Am I being completely unreasonable refusing to provide this? They said they can’t give me a job unless I show his bank statements 😩

I think we should ALL call Reeds on Monday morning to ask them about this. Flash mob of sorts.
Such patronising bullshit.

Just before covid hit I got a contract job and had to provide proof for my gap in employment due to being a SAHM. All I had to do was get someone I knew to email from their workplace email to confirm my reason for unemployment.

No chance I’d have sent them bank statements for DH, or our joint accounts showing the transactions! It wouldn’t prove I’d not been working, if I‘d been a criminal mastermind Instead that wouldn’t trip me up anyway

So they are seeking employment references for someone who has been, unemployed? Their own policy doesn't makes sense.

They can't ask for someone else's data without speaking to them directly, obtaining consent, receiving the information in a secure way, and informing them how they intend use it - they are breaching GDPR legislation and you should complain to the ICO.

Equally someone else's data being used to verify you which doesn't serve the purpose they claim - your husbands bank account doesn't prove anything about your employment history for the last 2 years - is fraudulent.

A Teaching Assistant job with no Qualifications. That sounds dodgy and too good to be true. You need an NVQ Level 2 in numeracy and literacy for a start even if they will take you with no experience. That's assuming you haven't already got them of course.
Your DH is under no obligation to provide Reed with his personal information.

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I agree with a PP, please don't let this drop. They can ask for a character reference or something (from someone unrelated) if they need it, or check with HMRC to see if you were paying taxes on this time. What they're asking for is entirely inappropriate.

Out of interest, did you register for child benefit - even if you didn't claim the money? That might be enough.

They do have to look closely at gaps in your working life for jobs where a DBS is required. Your husbands bank statement is ridiculous though! His bank statement won’t provide the information required. There must be other ways of evidencing a gap.

A supporting letter from a friend in a position of responsibility (social worker, teacher, police person) should be enough. Could state you’ve had x many children and looked after them as a Sahp for 10 years.

I was in your position. Go straight to the school, mask for a meet with the head, explain your intentions for any upcoming vacancies and sell yourself. Good luck! I didn’t need my TA salary but loved that job and really devoted myself to it. It’s totally irrelevant if you’re being supported by your husband financially or not.

ask for a meet- although mask might be required too! I had a long gap but sold in all the experience being a SAHM brings which is useful in a school environment.

@Awwlookatmybabyspider

A Teaching Assistant job with no Qualifications. That sounds dodgy and too good to be true. You need an NVQ Level 2 in numeracy and literacy for a start even if they will take you with no experience. That's assuming you haven't already got them of course. Your DH is under no obligation to provide Reed with his personal information.

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Job ads for TAs around me don’t ask for any qualifications as a TA.

I agree @YoBeaches, I don’t think this is correct from a GDPR point of view.

@Weepingwillowtree

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much everyone for your support, I’m totally over whelmed! I’m so glad I’m not the only one thinking it was awful of Reed to demand this. DH said he was completely fine giving bank statements but I just won’t do it, it feels so discriminatory 😩

I emailed them and asked for clarification why they needed husband bank statements and they replied with this:

“It’s not your financial situation specifically however we do need to obtain 2 years employment referencing for education and are asked to explain how someone who has not worked and not been in receipt of benefits has supported themselves financially. Unfortunately a letter from your husband declaring financial support would be insufficient evidence, we would need to see bank statements for proof.”

🤷‍♀️Guess the job hunt continues..thank you for everyone’s suggestions to contact schools directly, I will try that instead.

As Reed have scraped the details off somewhere else (usually TES or eTeach) - if the job actually exists at all, which isn't a guaranteed thing with agencies - try copying and pasting some of the wording and you'll probably find the name of the school where they actually posted the advert.

Then apply direct, rather than through an agency that they won't even entertain communications from - seriously, all Reed 'We have this person with a billion years of experience ready for work now...' emails are just deleted as

a) the person probably doesn't exist

b) their extensive experience in schools probably means they walked past a school building on their way to the bus stop if they do exist

c) if the person exists, they either think they've been sent for a fulltime job paying £27,000 instead of 20 hours a week or are looking for part time hours from 8-12 Mon, Weds and every other Thursday, TTO when it's actually full time, all year round, 7am to 4pm plus evenings and weekends for events

d) they're speculative/spam cluttering up the inbox and

e) what part of 'we do not accept applications through agencies' on the job advert is particularly difficult to comprehend?

It could help to take a couple of short online courses (OU, for example) to give you a little bit extra to put on your application; continuing education whilst you're not actually working/studying, along with voluntary work and paying for a first aid course that carries a qualification, are things that really, really go down well with schools.

A lunchtime supervisor role, whilst short hours and low paid, could also give you recent experience, relevant experience and an enhanced DBS (subscribe to the Update Service) that will help in applications.

I worked for a company which expected you to actively prove any gaps in your employment history, i.e. you took a year off travelling they wanted to see evidence in terms of flight tickets/bookings etc. which proved that’s what you did in that gap. This was a massive company too and I think providing evidence of gaps is more common than people expect.

This isn't right op, I've been a recruitment consultant and we would never expect this information.

Can you not get something from the tax office to declare your non-income for that time?

Surely the point here is that if the statements are provided then OP has a chance of getting work, and if they are not, then they don't.
Whatever privacy breach it might be, if OP was unable (not unwilling) to show a way they had been supported then they fail compliance and cannot get work.
On a pragmatic level it is worth doing, because the agency mentioned is more likely to come up with work than other agencies. They are also in a good place to negotiate to schools that they are a good candidate, because they are held in high regard by schools. However if OP applies for work independently then they stand to appear as the weaker candidate against anyone else with a recent work history.
It is what it is.
I don't actually see it as a breach of anything, because OP is not being forced to do anything. Rather, they are being told "if you want to work for us, then this is the only remaining thing we can think of that will satisfy us that you have not been living off illicit means".
There is no breach, because OP has not had details forcibly taken. It is completely their choice, and it appears they choose "no thanks".
Well, that equals no work.
I work with this agency, and yes compliance took way longer than with others, including several phone calls which on the face of it sounded untrusting and cautious of them.
However I am paid a lot more, get sent to nice places, and work is plentiful, because schools understand their vetting process is so stringent.

Scam?

@Eatingsoupwithafork

I worked for a company which expected you to actively prove any gaps in your employment history, i.e. you took a year off travelling they wanted to see evidence in terms of flight tickets/bookings etc. which proved that’s what you did in that gap. This was a massive company too and I think providing evidence of gaps is more common than people expect.

It isn't providing evidence of employment gaps that is odd, that is quite normal. Asking for OP's tax or bank statements also is reasonable to prove she wasn't working elsewhere. It's asking for the DH's bank statements that seems odd, and it's unclear to most of us what they could hope to prove. If he transferred her money then that's on her bank statements, if she didn't have rent/ mortgage because he paid it then that outgoing isn't on her statement... so there just isn't any plausible reason to look at his bank statements.

Between own tax statement and child birth certificate, plus a statement from nursery or school teacher or health visitor or doctor who knows the family there is much more proof that OP has been a SAHM than anything that can be seen from the DH bank statements.

As OP has now had a reply, we can see she didn't misunderstand and it's definitely a bank statement not a statement that's been asked for. So I believe it's the Reed employee who has simply misunderstood what they're doing.

No way. Find another agency. There are plenty out there. Good ones who will look after you

Reed needs you more than you need them

“It’s not your financial situation specifically however we do need to obtain 2 years employment referencing for education and are asked to explain how someone who has not worked and not been in receipt of benefits has supported themselves financially. Unfortunately a letter from your husband declaring financial support would be insufficient evidence, we would need to see bank statements for proof“

Reed do seem to be overstepping here. They (Reed) took over HR recruitment processes for one of the big 4 banks 8 years ago. If an applicant said they had been supported by their husband/partner while bringing up children or studying (etc) then a statement by that person sufficed to cover the gap. I'm guessing there's a high turnover of staff with minimal knowledge of what they're doing!

Not that it excuses in any way their overstepping!

MrMucker Most of what you have written is rubbish. Asking for a 3rd party's bank statements is ridiculous and proves nothing. Many posters have shown how it is quite possible to get similar work without such checks.
Whether they apply through Reed or independently the work gap doesn't disappear, so they will not be weaker because they apply independently. So according to you unless her DH gives full financials the assumtion is she's been living off illicit means. Jesus wept.
Hello, is that the 18th century calling?

@MrMucker

Surely the point here is that if the statements are provided then OP has a chance of getting work, and if they are not, then they don't. Whatever privacy breach it might be, if OP was unable (not unwilling) to show a way they had been supported then they fail compliance and cannot get work. On a pragmatic level it is worth doing, because the agency mentioned is more likely to come up with work than other agencies. They are also in a good place to negotiate to schools that they are a good candidate, because they are held in high regard by schools. However if OP applies for work independently then they stand to appear as the weaker candidate against anyone else with a recent work history. It is what it is. I don't actually see it as a breach of anything, because OP is not being forced to do anything. Rather, they are being told "if you want to work for us, then this is the only remaining thing we can think of that will satisfy us that you have not been living off illicit means". There is no breach, because OP has not had details forcibly taken. It is completely their choice, and it appears they choose "no thanks". Well, that equals no work. I work with this agency, and yes compliance took way longer than with others, including several phone calls which on the face of it sounded untrusting and cautious of them. However I am paid a lot more, get sent to nice places, and work is plentiful, because schools understand their vetting process is so stringent.

Unless they're paying you for that post there's no reason to come up with that complete nonsense.

They are also in a good place to negotiate to schools that they are a good candidate, because they are held in high regard by schools

Oh, you're funny.

This is most bizarre!

I was in your situation a few years ago. I gave up work to have children, and had 10 years out of employment. DH earned enough for me not to need to work and never qualified for any benefits.

I applied for a TA job at my local school. I had no TA qualifications (but a masters level degree). I got the job and am still there 7 years on. I never had to provide any financial information, but did have to state what I had been doing for the past 10 years (volunteering and some self-employment).

Last job, not teacher
I had to provide
Passport
Driving license
Utility bill in my name & address
Original qualification certificates
References from previous employers
CV
P45