Can you name everywhere you have worked since leaving education and the exact dates? Job application asking for this.

[Lovemusic82]

I applied for a part time job, nothing exciting, minimum wage. I am a carer for disabled child/adult but wanted a job to fit around her. I got through the interview process but the amount of information and references they need seems a bit OTT. They asked for all my work places, dates I started, date I left and the reason why. I trained to work in an industry where it’s common not to stay in one place long so I have had quite a few jobs in the past 25 years plus a gap to have dc and care for dd. They are now trying to contact the very first place I worked 25 years ago to conform I worked for them…the place is a pub and has changed hands many times in the past 25 years, they can’t find my details. I have given 2 places I have worked for references as well as a personal reference but apparently that’s not good enough. Is this normal practice? The jobs 12 hours a week.

Im wondering if it’s just me that has disorganised brain but should I be able to remember everywhere I have worked, when I started and left?

My husband was asked to provide a reference for a self employed worker who had been employed 10 years previous for a company dh no longer owned. This worker had worked for him for 1 evening per week. Granted, it was working with children and the person was going through adoption vetting but we could only remember sketchy details.

The first company I ever worked for was a shoe shop that closed years ago.

Only had 3 jobs I'm 60 still in third

Yes but because I updated my CV as I went along. I suppose it helps that my profession it is normal to apply with an actual CV rather than by completing a form.

Hi this is a regulated industry which is care. However, if they are unable to contact my references then I can't start the job.

DP came up against this when he applied for a job as an airline baggage handler.

Obviously they wanted to check he'd not been away at terrorist training camp.

However because he'd spent the previous few years working on dozens of different building sites via several agencies he only had sketchy records of for whom and where he'd worked and there were gaps between contracts (no AL or SL entitlement so effectively unemployed)

In the end he changed his mind about the job as it seemed an impossible task to track down all the info they required.

But it's unlikely that job would have gone anywhere as that was early in 2020....

They're making it obvious that they'll be a nightmare to work for, so ask why they are requiring your previous employers to break the law, like previous posters mentioned about the length of time they're allowed to retain your data.
Allow them to dredge through the data they've requested, then withdraw your application.

Waste their time right back.

No, GDPR does not mandate a 7-year retention period. It requires data to be kept only as long as necessary. For most records that will be 7-years or less, but an employer can hold records for longer if they can show that they have a legitimate reason, e.g. regulatory requirements.

I went to uni as a mature student in the early 1980s and no one ever asked what I had done before.

they want employment history and academic history from 2011 that’s 25years

I hope the new job doesn't need maths skills.....

You can submit a subject access request to hmrc and get the information you need that way.

I'm pretty certain you can do this on their website without having to call them.

That's ridiculous.
How would you know if someone was in prison abroad or in rehab if they worked in Woolworths or were on a Gap Year?
How is anyone checking people who grew up abroad?
Either you are on a criminal database or not.

Month and year yes. Day I’d have to dig out my contracts and P60s. I’m only 30 though.

That's bonkers. I have been a SAHM for 20 years. I have no existing previous employers, as they are all defunct, retired or dead! I haven't tried to apply for a job, but I do wonder what would happen if I did...... Does it mean I am unemployable?? I have no references, but I do have letters and paperwork like appraisals on file.

ok 15 years 😂. Either way another employer wanted all my employment dates and gaps from when I left school which was 2007 and any gaps should be accounted for. Again this is in a care home and they said you have to provide this because of CQC. This is the first time I'm having to do this. For my last jobs, I just provided my employment history and 2 previous references. I have provided over 11 and that is still not good enough. Because I don't have 2 other care home references. If I knew it was going to be this long I would not of bothered.

If I knew it was going to be this long and tedious I would not of bothered. I even declined 3 other jobs for this role. I'm now applying for jobs that are not in care that requires this long process.

yes, because I keep my cv updated.
and I kept all my payslips.

No idea... This is wild.
Checked as pp said on HMRC and I have had 11 jobs in the last 5 years... Now I'm interested if they know how many I have had! Not including agency, cash etc. hunners maybe?
I've never had to do this and I couldn't

Yes. I have a separate file that includes the dates and details of every job since my first Saturday job in my teens - much of it is not on my CV any more, though, but I could provide the info if really necessary, even though some of them are no longer trading. I also have a (physical) file of all my certificates. I could also tell you most of the voluntary things I've been involved in, too.

A friend who is in education was recently asked to provide a reason for the month gap between his second year uni, summer job and third year uni. He had been on holiday, which he could tell them, but it had been 1991, so many people couldn't.

Yes. The year for each job is easy and I'm a teacher, so start dates are basically 1st September except one job where I started in January. I've worked in a lot of schools. Also, because I've needed to update my CV every time I've applied for a new job, it's always up to date with all my previous jobs on it.

I have spent this afternoon writing my CV and I definitely cannot even remember which month I started and finished jobs for all my jobs over 40 years !
I am a nurse and just have vague dates working in UK and Australia. I certainly wouldn’t be able to provide references from the 80s and 90s ,genuinely cannot remember the names of various managers etc .
It’s an absolute nonsense and a colleague of mine turned down a job at another company because she couldn’t be arsed with all the hair splitting chasing references! She even had to tell her new potential employer that the reason one referee never replied was because the manager at the time had died!

25 years. 9 jobs. Yes I can recall month and year

Unfortunately, that is the reality, then! Care is such a vulnerable area to work in that the need to be ultra careful is very clear.

If it helps, the regulations require you to provide a full career history. The employer doesn’t need to check all your references since you left school, just to take reasonable steps to verify the information. Reasonable usually means asking for 2-3 references and asking you for a satisfactory written explanation for any gaps.

Most employers are not bonkers about this. What I will say though is that I am wary of people who push back, especially if they are also expecting me to believe they have worked in healthcare for a long time.

I completely understand this being a regulated industry. I have given the company references where I have worked in care or education. Plus other employment sectors. Their is no gaps as I was in education for 2 years.

I have given all the information if not more and it is still not going to be acceptable. So there is nothing else I can do.

Ok, I may have missed this. References from every single place you've worked is not a normal requirement! Are you sure you've understood them correctly! Usually it's just two references with at least one from your last job.