To be gobsmacked that an interviewee openly told dh that he had looked at our accounts…

[ChampagneWorries]

On companies house?

Dh did an interview today via zoom and the interviewee openly told him that they had looked at our company accounts on companies house to see if we were a healthy company!

Our dividends are on there and I'm really shocked that he basically admitted to being so nosey.

I know they are public information (which i disagree with) but they do show the company income, how much cash was in the bank and our salary etc.

Dh wants to offer him the job as he had some good qualities, but this has really put me off him.

I know people do look at peoples companies on the companies house, but you don't bloody tell them surely?!

Would you still offer him the job?

It’s in the public domain, anyone can look at it!

Effing ridiculous OP. I'm a business owner and I'd be really surprised if any kind of senior hire hadn't checked out our accounts.

Of course, I'm wasting my breath, aren't I, because this one is heading for deletion. Outing innit?

I'm impressed he'd done his research - that's a great sign!

The candidate seems sharp - wise move to check out the health of your company before he accepts a job there. YABVU, it's publicly available information!

Er, this is a wind-up, right?

The interviewee sounds on it

The op sounds very unprofessional. And batshit.

@GreyhoundG1rl

If you're disclosing your salary you're actually not a small company or your accountant needs replacing.

@GreyhoundG1rl has it!

Don't be ridiculous. Doing your research on a company is par for the course and so what if he told you?

He sounds like an impressive candidate. Your husband hired him on the spot, I hope.

Hi I’m an accountant and I’m surprised that profits and dividends are shown on companies house. These accounts only usually just the balance sheet which shows the financial position eg cash, debtors and assets but doesn’t show income, costs or dividends!

Agree with others that some who is thinking and switched on enough to do this kind of research is just the type of person you want on your team! It’s commercial accumen!

Yabvu and naive. I think he'd be better off working elsewhere.

I think he's done a good thing, jobs work both ways ... plus he's open and honest why wouldn't you hire somone like that ?

YABVU but I'm interested to know why you think you should be able to hide your company accounts?

You think you're interviewing people and it's one way? Get your head out of your backside, now more than ever people want to know they're backing a sound proposition. If you have no worries, they'll have no worries. If you look as though you're trying to hide something they'll run a mile.

I know people do look at peoples companies on the companies house, but you don't bloody tell them surely?!

Have done it for every company I have interviewed for. When I turned one job down, they asked why. In a polite way I told them the company was financially in the shit. They got shitty about it. The company went through within 2 years.

It's called due diligence.

But you’re supposed to do your research on a company before going for an interview! I don’t see what your problem is. He’s sensible and he was honest about it. Good points in my book.

@ohthejoys
Exactly. This is weird
Most people know what’s on companies house and it sure as hell isn’t wages
You can barely work out the profit a company makes

I think I would be fairly worried if someone applying for a job hadn't read the annual report and accounts at least briefly if a firm.

I'd also suggest familiarising yourself with your responsibilities as a director as if your salary is being disclosed you are either a) running a large business so having or b) not filleting your accounts correctly (or choosing not to fillet them at all) which is your responsibility to check as correct even if you employ an accountant.

@Taliskerskye

What.?! You can’t see salaries on companies house? What kind of business are you running

I wondered that myself. I've looked up a few companies in the past, but don't remember seeing salaries. Is this thread destined for the junk pile?

OP, you’re hilarious. I looked up companies house records to check that my builder is legit, of course I would look up somewhere I wanted to work.

The idea that you think he shouldn’t have told you is bizarre too! So you don’t want to hire a candidate who is diligent, has initiative, is honest … what qualities do you look for?!

You are totally unreasonable. The information being public is right and good, and it is quite right and proper for any potential future or current employee to look at them. Your attitude is weird. If you want to keep your finances private you don't have to run a company, there is no obligation, but if you want to be entrusted with the livelihoods of employees then you need to be open and transparent about how the finances work.

I think it’s fine, so do most others so I think perhaps you’re the one who thinks it’s odd

I’m shocked that you’re shocked OP!
Working in finance, I always check company accounts before an interview. It’s a perfectly normal thing to do.

An employee relies on their employer to feed themselves and any dependents they have and you are surprised that they want to check that you are a viable operation to work for? Why would you rather he kept this secret when it demonstrated good business sense, attention to detail and a good understanding of the purpose of an interview?

Are you joking?

A potential employee has done their due diligence and confirmed, via a publicly accessible source, that you are a decent, solvent company.

Sounds like they're keen!

YABU.

Dividends are not on standard accounts

You can sort of workout the profitability by looking at the creditors- these include HMRC for VAT and corporation tax- if these are low the company isnt making much money

If you're that controlling over a prospective employee doing something completely reasonable - checking to see you're a viable concern and that you'll have enough money to pay his wages - you shouldn't be taking on intelligent employees who have a mind of their own,