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 😩

[Quincie]

Can you demand info is not stored by them - data protection etc
Letting one person look at some statements isn't so bad.

[PlumpAndDeliciousFatcat]

It's true that a role like TA would require an enhanced DBS and you will have to account for any gaps in your employment, but they have taken this to a ridiculous point. Apply directly to schools, OP. They are well used to applicants who are returning to the workplace after SAH.

[poppycat10]

Wouldn't a DBS check confirm that the OP wasn't in prison?

Tell them to stick their sexist nonsense.

No way would they ask a man if he'd been supported by his wife.

OP you could possibly ask if receipt of child benefit would be enough to show you had a career break for kids.

Why is a school even using an agency like this - much cheaper to recruit direct.

[poppycat10]

Absolutely nothing to do with being a woman 🤣 if a man had taken a career break to raise the children or travel the world, he would be asked for exactly the same information

Yeah right. It would be assumed that he had savings/a private income.

[C8H10N4O2]

@KingdomScrolls

I work in an environment that needs enhanced DBS plus higher level vetting, someone's history has to be with no gaps. That is usually achieved by way of personal references eg a statement from your husband and someone external to the family to confirm you have been a SAHP for that time.
For my level of being they go through finances including my husband's with a fibre tooth comb and want to know if any of my immediate family have convictions, personal scandals etc (to make sure we're not ripe for blackmail), but I also have to sign the official secrets act. What they are asking of you for a TA type job is ridiculous. Go back and say you are able to provide gap references (will need to be someone in a respected profession external to the family as well as your husband), but that you won't be providing a decade of bank statements.

Not only that but in the unlikely event a TA needed enhanced vetting its done by a specialist team. When I've been in roles requiring this I've never had to supply this kind of documentation to a random employment agency, only the vetting team.

[C8H10N4O2]

OP just ask them for copies of their DPIA and data management policies and their accountability processes for handling personal data.

Also ask them for the required consent forms for your husband to sign with full details of use and data processing policies and how they secure and dispose of the data as required under various privacy regs.

Or better still, ditch them and try local authorities as PP suggest.

[Brindisi32]

Providing husband's bank statements statements for a TA role? How does your husband feel about sharing his statements with a complete stranger?Maybe it's worth trying other agencies to see if they need this level of information?

[GlutenFreeGingerCake]

How ironic that in a modern, less sexist world where women are now not simply assumed to be SAHM if they have children a women is being asked to show her husband's bank statement to prove she was a SAHM. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Rewis]

That's bullshit. I can understand asking for spouses income proof when applying to some benefit/credit etc. type thing. But not for a job. It doesnt prove anyhting about secret employment. But then again I also think having to explain/disclose/prove gaps in employment is also total bs.

[RevolvingPivot]

My husband doesn't even show me his statement 😆😆

[IChangedMyNameForThisQ]

Absolutely nothing to do with being a woman 🤣 if a man had taken a career break to raise the children or travel the world, he would be asked for exactly the same information!

I just started work after a 4 year gap in a role that requires an enhanced DBS check and was not asked for anything so intrusive by my employer.

It's not really failing the duck test for sexism here, I'm afraid.

[dementedpixie]

Fair enough if they want her bank statements but not her dh's statements. What will his statements prove?

[Yawnthisway]

I don’t see how your husbands statements prove anything anyway? He could be earning enough to support you but you still have a dodgy sideline or not enough to support you (in their opinion) but you just live on very little?

[DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat]

This is exactly what it is. They need to ensure you aren’t hiding any employment during that time
And her husband’s bank statement would prove that how exactly?

[SchrodingersImmigrant]

@redcandlelight

are you british?
is that the newish employer check that you are allowed to live and work in uk?

As a non British I can categorically state that is NOT how right to work is checked or should be checked and iirc even Home office didn't require bank statements from spouse to sort immigration status

[Gemma2019]

Did they actually ask for your husband's bank account statements or for yours, and you said you don't have your own account?

The screening process has been really ramped up in the last few years, especially for people wanting to work with children. It's nothing to do with being a woman or a SAHM, it's the same if a man had taken ten years off work.

[Sparrowfeeder]

It could potentially be indirect discrimination though, on the basis that women are more likely to be SAHMs. Employment is not my area of law so suggest posting on legal.

[CausingChaos2]

Umm wtf. This is not normal and neither is asking for proof of what you were up to during gaps in employment. I fly through a DBS check and have had several gaps in employment due to a chronic health issue.

[RaspberryCoulis]

Right to Work checks are nationality checks - nothing to do with bank accounts. Employers/Agencies will want to see a passport.

DBS don't care about gaps in your employment history either. The DBS form doesn't ask about previous employers, they want to know about your previous names and address history for the last 5 years.

I get why you might be asked to verify any gaps in your employment history, but asking for a partner's bank statements isn't the way to do that.

[schoolhrm]

See user name.

First, your husband's statements wouldn't prove your whereabouts for the past 15 years, but a DBS would demonstrate no issues.

If I can advise you of anything it would be to avoid agencies completely when applying for jobs in schools, unless you're doing supply to get your cv up in which case you'd do as well in voluntary work if you can afford to.

There are plenty of websites where schools advertise successfully at considerably less expense than using agencies. We prefer that when spending public funds.

[YouJustFoldItIn]

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”.

WTAF?

This can't be right. Either you have misunderstood what they are asking or their staff have misunderstood what they need to be asking for, to ascertain that you are eligible to work in the UK. Are you a British citizen? This is so bizarre.

[newnortherner111]

Evidence that you have not been off being an ISIS terrorist or some other criminal activity does not need your husband's bank statements. Evidence that you have lived where you are now (or elsewhere) such as the electoral register or bills would be appropriate, for example.

YANBU as 98% of those who voted agree, which is no surprise.

[YouJustFoldItIn]

It’s probably for DBS / safeguarding reasons. When applying for roles in schools you have to give a full employment history and explain any gaps. It’s not to judge or invade your privacy, but to check you weren’t in prison, not omitting a job from your cv, etc. I’ve never heard of anyone been asked for bank statements to prove it though! Maybe ask if they’d accept anything else? Or try calling one of the teaching unions for advice?

This sounds feasible but surely there are ways of doing it that don't rely on asking for your husband's bank statement?!

[hobbyiscodefordogging]

K*eepingitreal
*
"Absolutely nothing to do with being a woman 🤣 if a man had taken a career break to raise the children or travel the world, he would be asked for exactly the same information!"

Are you sure? A man would be asked for his husband's or wife's bank statements in the same circumstances? I don't think so 😂