To have been “racially” profiled by HR

[Donotfitin]

I don’t have a British name (like at all), so HR assumed I needed a right to work code, so asked for one, rather than asking if I was a citizen or not.

As a UK citizen I only need to provide my passport, so the whole thing took me completely by surprise!

Its the first time in my whole life that it was assumed that I wasn’t a citizen. I’ve

This has got to be the most frustrating thread I've ever read on Mumsnet.

The complete idiocy and lack of reading and comprehension skills is quite astonishing.

Either that, or as others have implied, there's a knee jerk defensiveness about anyone suggestingthat racist assumptions might be behind an error.

I see that you've already responded @Donotfitin , but I'd have been tempted to simply say:
"I'm not sure why you think I have a share code. I'm a British citizen. If you need a copy of my passport, please let me know"

It's really quite remarkable. And a bit depressing.

Well you should have, then you wouldn't have looked silly.

You don’t need to read the rest of the thread. Just read the OP again and properly this time.

Jesus 🤦🏾‍♀️!

Even reading the OP properly would have suffice...

Not sure. They were so adamant they were right that they are probably finding ways around the questions now to prove they were right all along!

The OP IS being asked for the right to work, she has been asked to provide the wrong piece of evidence though, based on assumptions made because of her name.

I hear you and understand you OP. Sorry this happened to you.

Discrimination, especially racism, produces so much minimising on this site it's unreal....or maybe not and just a reflection of wider society.

I work in a similar role, and when checking Right to Work I have been guilty of looking at a name and assuming they’ll need a Share Code. We do get a lot of applicants who aren’t from the UK so…

May be a silly question, but is there anything other than your name on the CV that might have led them to assume you were not British? Were you educated overseas, does your recent work history include companies and work placements outside the UK? I mean, regardless of your surname, if your education and work history is all UK, I can’t fathom why they would assume you might not be British?

I mean maybe? But one of the reasons I got hired is because I worked at a direct competitor here in the UK….

Of course she is being unfairly discriminated against. Not all discrimination involves being beaten up or denied a job or similar. The op is being asked to jump through unnecessary hoops based on her assumptions made about her name.

The only way this would not be discriminatory would be if either a wrong box was ticked or if the company asked everyone for a share code. The latter would be incompetence rather than discrimination.

Yes, but if your CV says you were educated overseas, rather than at Brighton comprehensive school, or that you studied at INSEAD in France, or that 3 out of 4 of your last jobs were overseas, then the fact that you are currently working in the UK may not have been enough for them to feel confident that you were British. It is definitely a clumsy request - it should have been worded as you’ve suggested above, asking for either passport or share code as evidence of RTW in the UK - but it may also be a mistaken inference from the data on your CV?

Why is that racial?

Exactly this!

Checking everyone would be 'please provide your right to work on the UK' not 'please provide your share code that only foreign workers have'

Thank God there is always least someone else on this thread who can actually read and comprehend!

So many responses have been so dismissive, take the time to read what the OP is actually saying!

Looks like you haven't read the op either...

Okay, this is potentially a bit of a drip feed.

They shouldn't have phrased the question that way as a point of policy.

But you having worked for a UK competitor could just mean you had a visa through them.

How cross I would be (or not) depends how much of your experience and education has been abroad as @CautiousLurker2 says.

I think from reading this thread that the majority of people have never recruited for a company and have no idea what a share code is and who needs one.

Same. It’s often the case with threads that people are desperate for the OP to be wrong/ unreasonable that they will deliberately repeat the same thing over and over and completely miss the point despite the OP being very clear. It’s incredibly frustrating. For what it’s worth op i would come to the same conclusion you have.

And they would still be absolutely stupid (at best)! There a reason we're told not to assume anything.

I was educated overseas, so this may appear on a CV requiring extensive educational disclosure. It doesn't negate the fact I have been a British Citizen for almost 2 decades; so couldn't produce a share code.

Best practices are such for a reason. They stop you from racially profiling or plain making an ass of yourself. Provide a list of ID and allow your employee to choose accordingly. Lazy assumptions fuel discrimination (and causes embarrassment and time wasting).

I mean, by all means mention it as poor phrasing, but I'm not sure I really understand the issue.

Ok they assumed you weren't a citizen. Why do you see that as a bad thing, when it looks like you were headhunted for this particular role?! You weren't inconvenienced, they weren't discriminating, they simply made an incorrect assumption?

Indeed they should have worded it as "please send us evidence of your right to work in the UK such as a British passport, right to work code...".

They should not have worded it the way they did.

I would send a scan of your British passport back and drop the HR manager an email to raise your concerns.

I have a British passport and a foreign surname and I would definitely raise the issue if that happened to me.

You don't see anything wrong with people assuming someone with a foreign sounding surname cannot possibly be British? I do...