to think that the CRB check is done by sexist tosspots?

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Grr. Grr grr. Have just had an ever-so-polite call from occasional employer re my CRB check form: I use Ms rather than Miss or Mrs so they want to know if I have ever 'had another surname' - the implication being that only bitter divorced feminist hags use Ms, presumably. Does this annoy anyone else?

Yes, we had one returned for the same reason.

I mean, yes, it annoys me!

Is that the employer being sexist then? Or the CRB people.

Yes, YABU. To complete any security check, people need to know all names by which a person has been known. It is reasonable for the checking agents to ask when you use Ms, as many people who do so have had another surname. All you need do is reply "no".

My mum and Dad both appliedto be childminders at the same time .My dads registration took a lot longer to come through than my mums (both have completely clean records !)
It doers make you wonder !

After splitting with DD's dad I went to make a claim for benefits in my name - Ms AnarchyHeart.

Woman at JobCentrePlus told me I had to be Miss, as Ms was 'only for ladies who had been divorced'

I told her it was for women who did not wish their name to reflect their marital status.

Stupid woman insisted on getting her manager over to check!

I don't think this is wrong TBH, if they are in any doubt about your marital status/history they should check for previous surnames,as this is how someone could slip through the net. I am married but am always having to give my maiden name on forms, can't see the problem

TBH the whole system is a waste of time and paper - I have 2 CRBs within 2 months of each other for 2 different roles (sunday school and rainbows). My friends hubby had to be done again for helping at scouts despite being CRBd because she is a childminder

and the truly daft thing is, the thing is only valid ON THE DAY THEY DO THE CHECK, no automatic update SHOULD anything appear on your record

But there is a question about whether you have been known by another name or not. Which I had answered. SO this is sexist, because they wouldn't question a man about whether he's had another name if he's already said he hasn't. ANd a woman can call herself Mrs and have had 3 surnames if she's been married twice.

Mine was held up for several weeks because of this. When I rang to find out what was taking them so long the conversation went like this:

Dimwit from CRB: 'We are waiting on details of your other surname.'
Me: But you can clearly see from the form that I've only ever used one surname.
DWFCRB:Yes, but you are down as Ms, so you must be divorced.
Me: No, I use Ms because my marital status is my own business
DWRCRB: Well, officially, Ms is for divorced women.
Me: Nooooooo!

SGB is right - the question is already on the form so the title you choose to use is irrelevant.

LGP - isn't it infuriating!

I think it shows total ignorance to think that someone who has the title Ms is more likely to have had other surnames than a Mrs or a Miss (in fact, presumably pretty well all Mrs will have had a previous surname, whereas the same cannot be said of Ms).
If it were essential to know previous names, it should be on the form anyway, regardless of preferred title.
So, YANBU

LGP - at the dimwittery, bad training and sexist crap of the person who called you!

Ah, ok, some of my points are answered. So yes, again, YANBU, they are displaying sexist ignorance.

Anyone called 'Mr' could have had another name!

lulu - because if it were a man, they would be Mr, and presumably no-one would feel the need to check further??

Nope. Just seems like clarification to me.

Generally women have more surnames than men, on account of us changing our names when we marry. So it's understandable that it's something to check out.

It's not sexist because if it was as usual for men to change their surnames upon marriage, as it is for women, they'd ask such questions of men.

Of course, it being normal for women to change their surnames is a whole other sexism argument but, the situation being as it is, today, not sexist. Just sensible.

ah. Missed the post where you said you'd already answered that question.

Forget everything I just said then!

I had the unfortunate experience of handling CRB checks when they first started, as an annoying part of my job. In the first year or so the CRB agency was in hell of a mess, and checks took months.

When I left my job I informed them that I was no longer a countersignatory for CRB checks for my organisation, and gave them the name and address of my successor. The idiots at CRB decided that they would then send the actual disclosures (ie the paper with the convictions on it) to my home address instead of to my previous employer. Even worse, I'd rented out my flat and moved 150 miles away, which I'd explained to the CRB as they wanted my contact details for some inexplicable reason.

I understand that things have improved considerably however.

Perhaps someone somewhere in officialdom has written down that Ms is for divorced women? Its not something I've ever heard before but twice from the CRB makes me wonder whether its in some manual somewhere?

Why do we even use titles on these forms anyway I wonder? I use Dr/Mrs/Ms depending on the situation and how I feel at the time really.

I think it is sexist of you've already ticked a box saying you haven't had another name and signed the form. They are basically not taking your word for it because you're a woman = discriminating. They would be forced to just believe a man.

You could complain here (I'd wait for the CRB clearance first personally!)

Sorry to say, I've gone back to being Miss on most things now as I just can't be arsed with the complications of being a Ms.

Many people take 'Ms' to be an insult btw. At work, we sent a letter out to a lady and called her Ms as we didn't know her marital status. She travelled over fifty miles to come in in person to berate us for this. She was in tears and basically saying that we were denying her her treasured 'Mrs' status. She was divorced but thought that being a Ms was some kind of personal insult.

Many older women think that 'Mrs' is a bit like being called madam, ie it reflects your marvellous socially elevated position as a married lady.

I know someone with 10 different CRB checks. (she volunteers at school, cubs, brownies, dancing etc so it soon builds up).

I have 2 one for the playgroup I work in and one for helping out at ds's school. They are both on the same grounds.