Is this even legal?

[boppers]

"- Be sure to provide employment history for the last FIVE years. The Month/Year should overlap from one entry to the next to ensure continuity."

[KansDem]

1. Bizarre...

Where did you see this?

[boppers]

2. Screening.

For a job I thought I had.

A sub-sub-subsidiary of Barclays.

[KansDem]

6. If that's cause for rejection...

...many friends I have would not be working there. Jobs come and go; we all are not going to be able to land that coveted full-time job with benefits the first time out. You work a few years here; you work a few years there. All the while working toward and waiting for that "big break."

But if an employer sees "gaps" in your resume, gaps attributed to "job hunting" or education and training, and disqualifies you, that only adds to the stress and pressure of finding that "dream job."

I'd put this practice up alongside credit checks...

[loli phabay]

15. ive seen this for every job ive ever had. thought it was standard throughout industry

[gkhouston]

16. Asking for past employment history is. Implying that you must have been continuously

employed for the last five years to apply for a job, isn't. Instead, there's usually a sentence about "please explain any gaps".

[loli phabay]

17. yup you explain the gaps all the forms ive seen also state this

[kestrel91316]

3. Translation: If you have been unemployed at any time in the past 5 years, regardless of

the reason, even if it was to move home to take care of Mom for 3 months, WE DON'T WANT YOU.

[gollygee]

4. Or to have a baby

Hmmm. Quit job A to stay home with baby, wait 12 months before picking up job B.

[kestrel91316]

8. Yep, they are screening out lots of women with that.

[loli phabay]

18. not really. you just write that you were pregnant and the dates

Same if you are in hospital after an accident or volunteering counting penguins on the north pole.

[kestrel91316]

19. But it's a time of no employment, and that is forbidden apparently.

[loli phabay]

20. where did you read on the form that its forbidden. the form just asks you to explain gaps.

[boppers]

25. It asks me for employers.

I spent 18 months, with no employers (I recommend it, spiritually).

[loli phabay]

28. and was there a place to put info about gaps in the history

[boppers]

29. no. eom

[Incitatus]

5. Yes

It's not denying you employment because of age, sex, race, religion or disability. Maybe if you were out work for that period because of a disability, there would be a case. idk

[Ruby the Liberal]

7. In financial services its not only legal, but likely required.

If the job requires registration for financial services (sales, customer service, etc) - they go back 10 years and no gaps are allowed. Every month must be accounted for.

[kestrel91316]

9. It's JUST AS BAD as refusing to hire the unemployed.

Assholes. What if somebody got in a bad car accident and wasn't working for a year??

Freaks. They need to be (I won't say it).

It's a 4-letter word that starts with s.

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. That isn't the issue.

It is an issue of background checking in that industry. If you didn't work (or were on unemployment), you just note that - Unemployed From-To.

It is part of the consumer protection standards that were set decades ago for people who handle other's finances.

[loli phabay]

14. i think its just to show what you have done over the time period

Im not sure they are even asking if you have continual emplyment just to make sure you havwnt been in jail or something. I think every job ive ever applied for wanted me to account on my work history.

[boppers]

21. It's for a software firm recently bought by a bank.

Maybe that's the reason.

[Ruby the Liberal]

22. That would make sense.

Especially if you are going to have any admin or DBA access to records.

[boppers]

23. face+palm

I get the fear, I get the reasons, but seriously, this doesn't do shit other than make my job applications annoying.

[slackmaster]

10. I'm not aware of any federal or state law that prohibits an employer, lender, or anyone else...

...from asking that question.

[sarcasmo]

11. They have done that for years in the trucking industry.

It's ten years consecutive if you want to drive a truck.

[boppers]

24. Who remembers what they did in March, 9 years ago?

Truckers?

[Honeycombe8]

12. It's to catch those who may have been unemployed for a month.

Let's say you end employment with company A in March 2005, and begin employment with company B in April 2005. You may have been unemployed from 3/15 to 4/25/2005.

Which is a big whoop de doo. Who cares?

But I think that's what that is intended to catch. OR put exact dates to show continuity.

[SheilaT]

26. Of course, you can always fudge the dates.

There's always the possibility that this particular outfit will actually check up on each and every job, and verify start and end dates. But so few companies do that.

When I first moved to this city four years ago, I was fired from the first two jobs I got. Had never been fired before, so it was a bit stressful. However, I simply let those jobs disappear from my work history. In my case, I'd been a stay-at-home mom for twenty-five years, so I had a very long gap in employment, and no one in subsequent job interviews ever questioned that I apparently hadn't found any work in the first eight or so months I lived here.

I realize that since I'm a very entry-level employee, what's expected of someone like me on the part of an employer is different from what's expected of others, but still.

When I was first working and looking for work in the 1960's and 70's, I ran across the expectation that you were never out of work or between jobs for more than twenty minutes. However, it has also been my observation that such an expectation disappeared a very long time ago.

Oh. And the federal government used to want you to list all employment going back to something like 1938. My older brother, born in 1943 ran into that in the late 60's or early 70's, and he could not believe that he was running into that.

[intaglio]

27. I think it may be a British practise

that has translated badly over to the USA.

This sort of question is normal over here and has nothing to do with unemployment but everything to do with imprisonable offenses. Generally it is normal for a Brit to have periods of what is classified as unemployment; unpaid holiday, temp assignments that are not continuous, academic holidays amongst them, sabaticals. There is no stigma attached to these.

On the other hand imprisonable offenses can carry a stigma, especially for those looking for work with banking groups, so they are often concealed as periods of "unemployment". Whilst dismissal of people with "cleared" offenses can be actionable in the courts, dismissal for lying on your job application is not actionable.

[B Calm]

30. but, we can only get two years of tax returns

from Mitt Romney

[Le Taz Hot]

31. Not illegal

but completely misguided, particularly in today's economy. Almost everyone has gaps, most not of their own making.

One that is illegal and one that I ran into last week was an application that wanted my birth date which IS illegal. This was for a temporary, minimum wage job. Another way to find out your age (before actually meeting you) is to ask you graduation or attendance dates for high school and/or colleges.