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

[solidgoldbullet4myvalentine]

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?

I have a similar problem insofar as I do use "Mrs" but I kept my maiden name. So again, despite marking clearly on the form that I have had no other surnames I'm always pestered for one (but kind of expect it). For this reason I did start using Ms (which is what I was when I was Miss IYSWIM), and yes, I still get bothered too.

If you have already stated on a signed, legal form that you have had no other surnames, then surely that should be enough for them

Nope

I' ve never experienced any complications of being a Ms. And I could choose to use a professional title if I wanted to avoid the marital status issue - but I don't because I don't see that a particular qualification/career choice changes my identity to that extent.

But I do feel somewhat exasperated that it still seems no less widespread than when I first started using it about 25 years ago! I mean, I STILL get 'is that Miss or Mrs' all the time....[sigh]

Fimbo I know it does seem like bureaucracy gone mad, but the obligation is on the employer to safeguard the children or vulnerable adult, so have to carry out their own check, even if they've seen evidence of a previous check. As Looby said earlier, the check is only as good as the day on which is was carried out.

I've worked for various social care organisations and rigorous, robust selection processes are tremendous assets in discouraging sex offenders from applying to work with children or vulnerable adults. If checks were portable, it would be too easy for organisations to become slack in their selection processes. I've heard some shocking stories of private homecare providers not even checking references prior to sending out new starters to provide personal care for older people in their own homes.

Even knowing how irritating the CRB can be, I'd rather keep the checks exclusive to one employer.

I can see why they might need to have confirmation of what if any other surnames you used to go by, I get more upset by the attitudes of my contemporaries, when the subject comes up in conversation. Even on mumsnet.

Some people get all stroppy about Ms, and read a whole lot into it. But Ms is the title that suits me. If I said Mrs, I'd be lying and trying to fake respectablility! and if I said Miss I'd feel like I was trying to fake youth or a clean slate. If you say Miss and then show up, 37 yrs old, two kids, failed relationship under your belt, then Miss is not the box you instinctively tick, even if you were never married.

I read posts from married women slating women who chose to use Ms, it's incomprehensible to me.

The only fair resolution actually would be to refer to unmarried men as Masters, but then, that's not right either. They are lucky that they all get to be Mr, from the day they show up for their first day at work at 18 or 21, they are Mr Bloggs.

If you want sexist, the only titles offered for registration at a conference I considered attending for one nanosecond were Mr, Mrs or Dr.

Oh I do agree llareggub.

Didn't Ian Huntly slip through the net because of a name change?

What happens if say a divorced and remarried lady, doesn't declare the first married name? How do they check that if it is not given?

Yse but lula she had already SAID that she hadn't had another name - they were assuming, because of the title she chose, that she was either a)lying or b)stupid. I am pretty sure if she had ticked Mr (and was a man, obviously) they would not have called her to double check...

I'm a Ms for 2 reasons, because I kept my maiden name and my dh didnt like it when ppl assumed he was mrleenasdad.and also I work with my brothers and they didnt feel comfortable when clients assumed I was their missus. being ms has made it easy for all...

And, yeah, I'm sure Huntly would have said, oh, and when I was younger and was hauled in by SS, well, actually, I was using a different name...
That's the trouble with these systems, if you've got something to hide, well, you'll hide it.

Would Ian Huntley actually have been prevented from working in a school by a CRB check? Was he actually convicted of anything previously?

title-ism that just happens to apply to one sex. In most other spheres (e.g. pay discrimination) that is called indirect sex discrimination.

I can't remember much about him, but the enhanced checks do show up current and pending investigations and cautions. You are right, if someone hasn't previously been convicted of anything then the CRB check won't be enough. A CRB check is no good in isolation, it must be part of a robust selection process. For any post working with children, for example, I'd want a 10 year employment history, with gaps explained, with references from all employers. Might seem like overkill to some, but you'd be amazed at how many people, with previous convictions, are caught out by this sort of process.

There is no way this is sexist.

They wouldn't query it with a man because a man only ever uses Mr and pretty much never will have gone by another name. A woman using "Mrs" will most likely have gone by another name, a woman with Miss probably won't have and a Ms is uncertain as it usually (not always) denotes a divorcee so, in their opinion, it might be best to check given that a CRB check is important.

It is no more sexist than the fact that women can have cheaper car/life insurance than men.

A link to send to any idiots who think that Ms infers divorce
www.answers.com/topic/ms-2

They were only checking she hadn't made a mistake FFS.

Actually, I did make a mistake on my CRB form, because under previous names I put my name before I was adopted, and then read the guidance that that wasn't necessary , and then didn't know whether to cross it out (would that look suspicious or no?)

But the scope for confusion only exists in the first place because the system is sexist.

ALL women should be Ms, end of, and there was a separate place on the form for other sur name.

Some women like the perceived status of being Mrs, younger women prefer the assumed youth of being a Miss.

Ms is the only one with no status, but it's the one we should all use.

"but it's the one we should all use." Oh FFS, we can use whatever we damn well like.

I think it is very presumptious to assume a Ms is divorced, it is really not a convention I have ever come across. But then, most of the women I know have professional titles and/or are not divorced, so perhaps I am out of the loop...

I'm with soupy on that one Liffey - by that rationale we should all wear trousers too.