BBC workers. Why are they asking me for employer refs all of a sudden?

[spidermama]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
I've been chasing a contract for my new BBC job for 6 weeks now. I started the job 3 weeks ago. I chased it again today and suddenly HR Ops reckon I need references from former employees. Like I've got the time to chase them up!

I've worked for the BBC off and on, mainly on, for about 20 years now so wtf?

wtf indeed. Someone, somewhere, has issued a decree, and as ever this has nothing to do with real life... I don't think anyone ever took a formal reference for me at the BBC. And anyway, isn't it their job to get them?

You'd think so twocats. I think I've managed to get them to rethink. I'm so relieved. I have no time for playing detective tracking down old employees then begging them to give me a ref, like a teenager fresh on the job market.

I know dh now has to have employer references for all his contractors - it's a new part of their compliance and he's got to go back to all of them, regardless of how long they've worked for him and get these on file. I wonder if some new legislation that covers all contractors??

Oh. Do you think it's another terrorist thing?

OMG, I don't know! Didn't think of that - will ask dh in a bit whether it's just his company policy!

It's pretty common these days in many big firms.
There is no general legistlation, but for contractors this is part of the pain of outsourcing.
Companies are beginning to wake up to the fact that many people in their firm don't work for them.
I've been to several meetings with more than a dozen people none of who was an actual employee of the company concerned.