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 mention the words gender discrimination, as this would unfairly impact on mothers. Also what if you and your husband separated and he refused to give the info?

FYI i own a primary school recruitment agency. Mention the discrimination and ACAS and they will change their tune.

I’ve never heard of this and it’s none of their business how you were supported whilst not working. Completely irrelevant when applying for a job - only if you were applying for benefits would that be necessary 🙈

Try another agency... it's absolutely horrific that they have requested financial disclosure your not applying for a mortgage..and it as nothing to do with your job performance... keep trying you will get there x

You do not need bank statements for a TA job or a DBS. Just a line on your CV saying you took a career break to have the opportunity to be with your children. They might ask about what you'd do if your children were ill though so say you have a friend who'd take them or that you share responsibility for this with your husband. I've never had an issue despite spending seven years at home.

The compliance teams for the larger agencies are actually fronted by qualified legal experts

Well I am not sure what they are qualified in, but they misunderstand the law that applies here!

There is no requirement for agencies to ask for a woman's husband's bank statements.

Really weird. I was a stay at home mum for 10 yrs and never had that questioned when I went for interviews. What it's got to do with them and how does your husband's income prove anything.

@Vgbeat

It will be because you want to work in education. When you apply to work in a school you cannot have any unaccounted gaps so it would make sense to ask to prove to show you weren't up to anything nefarious.

As I’ve said before I work in education. I had a fifteen year gap where I was a SAHM I simply stated that [date I left my final place if employment just before DD was born] to “present” I was raising my family.

Simple as that. No proof needed. Enhanced DBS check came back clean. Have a British passport and NI number which is evidence of right to work in U.K. I didn’t have a P45 so emergency tax until HMRC confirmed my tax code (which would have taken into account any other employment had if applicable) and all sorted.

Your enhanced DBS will prove you are fit snd safe to work with young people. Your husbands bank statement can’t prove or disprove this!!

Absolutely ridiculous- I’ve worked in HR/recruitment for close to 2 decades and have never heard of anything like this. Normally you get a personal reference or one from any volunteering etc you have done

The compliance teams for the larger agencies are actually fronted by qualified legal experts

What's a qualified legal expert?

I can't imagine many solicitors or barristers being happy to be blamed for such a policy.

@Ilovewolfblass

I mention the words gender discrimination, as this would unfairly impact on mothers. Also what if you and your husband separated and he refused to give the info?

FYI i own a primary school recruitment agency. Mention the discrimination and ACAS and they will change their tune.

I also wonder if a stay at home dad in the same situation would be asked for his wife's bank statements?

It could also affect people with long term health conditions.

It's like good recruitment practice isn't the role of this particular agency.

Wouldn't claiming child benefit or tax credits be proof of a gap in employment history if they want a paper trail?

Most teaching agencies also have jobs for TAs so it's worth finding out which ones your local schools use and applying to them, although several school I know do prefer to recruit directly as the agencies charge the schools a lot for finding an interview candidate.
It's worth checking on the TES website where TA jobs are often advertised, and in The Guardian on Tuesdays when they run their education features as well as in the local press.
I think you can upload a CV to some of these sites too.

I work for an education recruitment agency (not Reed! ) and to cover gaps in employment longer than 3 months we would have to obtain suitable character references (from a list of professions deemed suitable, similar to who would countersign a passport photo etc). Never heard of an agency asking for spouses bank statements! Have heard of asking for child’s birth certificate to verify mat leave period but not this!
If it’s proving difficult I would recommend volunteering in a local school for a period of time- an agency can then get a reference from that school.

OP is required to submit own bank statements as standard compliance and verification.

But that in itself is nonsense. When you appoint a hospital consultant you don't need to see their bank statements, not for proof of ID, not for proof of address, not for proof of right to work and not for an enhanced DBS check. If the appointee chooses to give you a statement, that is an acceptable document to be included for some of those purposes, but it's not required.

I genuinely think most people on this thread who think this is fine have never undertaken recruitment checks.

What complete and utter tosh. Reed are a pile of poo anyway.

If you want to work with children then you'd need an enhanced DBS which would satisfy their need to know if you have been money laundering and/or in prison.

Apply directly to the council for teaching assistant jobs. Much better than dealing with agencies.

You may have been living on heritance money or a lottery win for the last few years, what has your household finances got to do with them?

Hey OP, I'm a TA who does work through agency work. Firstly as a point of call, Reed is an employment agency, not and education supply agency. Is there a reason you went for them and not someone like vision for education, or a local supply agency? If not they may be best for you. With up to five years working on the supply (four year gap in-between this year and the last four) I can honestly say I have never been asked for this. They have required a CV with reasonable explanations for employment gaps, proof of your own bank account for payroll purposes, proof of NI, and three proof of address for DBS purposes. You then pay 50 quid for the DBS, usually done online, and sign a legal disclosure stating you are not barred, or living with anyone, who is barred from working with children, or being close to schools. You wait, usually up to 2 weeks for your clean, no cleanish, about it DBS to come through. Then get up for seven every morning waiting for a call to accept work. They can't ask you for your husband's bank accounts because of data protection, and the fact that it has nothing to do with you or your ability to do the job. I would take this further or tell them to do one and sign up to an education agency if this is the type of work you are looking for. Most schools use supply agency's not employment so you would get more work there as a start. If you want to PM me for any more details feel free, but this is how it's always gone, and I've been with quite a number of different agencies, some of them at the same time. That's another thing, they will tell you you can't sign up to multiple agencies but this would be a restraint of trade so feel free to ignore. The first ones who rang me got my work, and there was absolutely nothing about my husband's bank account to prove I'd been a SAHM. Best of luck

Also it's not just day to day work on the supply, you do get long term roles too; and put forward for interviews by the agency to schools. It also gives you much more experience being on the supply and going to different schools and really enhances the CV so you can apply for permanent positions which will be much more highly considered. Best of luck

This is outrageous! They would not only want to see dh's statements, they would want to take copies which then of course will sit on their system. Shocking.

That means that anyone whose family had been on benefits for any reason whatsoever, would not be able to apply for a job via Reeds.
Shocking. Ring their Head Office and ring CAB to discuss with them. Totally out of order.

I’m just going to assume that their procedures require ‘a statement’ and someone’s completely misunderstood and thought it must mean ‘bank statement’

I also wonder if a stay at home dad in the same situation would be asked for his wife's bank statements?

I recently started work for a company that requires enhanced DBS checks as they work with vulnerable adults as part of their delivery.

I have a 4 year gap on my cv from my last job when I lived off savings, and haven't been asked to show anything whatsoever except my driving licence and council tax bill and undergo a DBS check.

And having just this day completed my Safeguarding mandatory training module, I am at a loss as to wtf Reed (and some other posters here) are on about.

My friends husband had a gap in his cv for about a year due to ill health having some money left to him and having a long honeymoon. He had to prove money and also show holiday photos to prove he was on honeymoon and the money wasn't from anything suspicious ie drugs etc. That wasn't even for a school.

@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 😩

Hi,

I'm a Civil Servant and can tell you this is 100% against GDPR rules. It's a data breech and intrusion of privacy. I would report them to ACAS or the Ombudsmen.