My Employer Wants To Do A Credit Check-Can I Get Sacked?

[Honeypot]

Hi All

 

Can anyone help me please?

 

My employer (a large electronics corporation) have told all the staff that they are going to CRB and Credit Check on everyone to evaluate the potential risk of fraud.

 

I have no criminal record but my credit file is a complete mess and will show a lot of debt.

 

I have worked there 12 years.

 

I dont handle money in my job I work in a call centre taking sales orders etc.

 

Will I get sacked on the spot?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

Honeyot

 

xxxx

[themagician]

can a mod plz move this thread to the correct location plz.

employment problems!.

[harrassed senior]

Not sure this is the correct advice, but they - your employers - would need to have written consent to carry out credit check. Have a look at your Contract of Employment and see if this is covered at all. If not, I am sure they would need to vary everyones' Contract to cover this. I am sure you will not be the only person to be worried by this.

 

Hopefully others will be along with more help.

[Honeypot]

Thanks Harrased Senior

 

Yes, we have all had to sign a consent form to the checks so its all been done above aboard.

I guess I'm looking for advice on how to respond should they say " youve got loads of debt therefore you are a risk to the company therefore your fired"

 

xxx

[DonkeyB]

Having a bad credit record does not make you a risk – the days of debtors’ prisons are long gone. Do you have a union or trade body you can talk to?

 

In financial services, a credit check is often a part of the selection process and candidates have to agree to it first.

 

If your employer is going to say you are a risk because you have a poor credit record, they will be on extremely dodgy ground if they use that information to alter your working conditions in any way, or if they try to dispense with your services.

 

Does your job involve the handling of cash, the awarding of contracts or purchasing?

[harrassed senior]

There is of course the reverse way of looking at a bad credit record (or so I tell myself) if I was a crook or dishonest in any way, would I really be in such debt

[Honeypot]

Hi Donkey B

 

i work in a call centre processing telephone orders for the electrical component industry. I dont handle cash or award contracts or anything like that. the closest I come to money would be if a customer phoned up and placed an order with a credit card rather than account.

 

I think the company are saying that if you are in debt then you are more likey to try commit a fraud to the company. Thats why they have decided to credit and CRB everyone

[DonkeyB]

Well, that is nonsense and would be a slander. People have problems with credit often through no fault of their own. To imply this makes them unreliable or dishonest is plain wrong. Has nobody stood up to them? It’s a pretty gross invasion of your privacy, because I can’t see how police and credit checks can be used on such a sweeping basis. Maybe you should tip off the press...

[DonkeyB]

Also, I would suggest you get this thread moved to the employment forum. I can only speak as an employer, but there are people on there who specialise and may prove me wholly wrong.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?150-Employment-Problems

[Honeypot]

How do you move a thread to another forum?

[sillygirl1]

Tip off your local Trading Standards as well, give the company a real headache. This sort of behaviour is not on and if they did sack you after 12 years service you would have a lovely claim for unfair dismissal amongst other things.

[DonkeyB]

Click on the little black triangle and leave a message asking a moderator to move your thread to the employment forum.

[zingy]

Hi Donkey B

 

I think the company are saying that if you are in debt then you are more likey to try commit a fraud to the company. Thats why they have decided to credit and CRB everyone

 

I wouldn't say so. It seems to me, from your original post, that they're doing a credit check in regards to money laundering and fraud. If they were doing just a credit check then I would be concerned, but as they're doing a CRB too I'd say they're covering their arses for their insurers.

 

Also, have there been any changes in the last 90 days, such as a new MD/Sales Director or a different company take over?

[dadofholly]

Postjgg is doing a degree on employment law maybe worth pming him to look in.

 

This company can not sack you for being in debt - nor can they take disciplinary action - if they do you must use their apeal process - if you ended up taking this to tribunal - you would wipe the floor with them. Big payout.

 

A lot of employers now do credit checks because the CRA's have convinced them that people in debt are risks to the business.

 

My anwser to this has always been if they are dishonest they will rip you off regardless of the credit status.

 

I worked in retail for over 20 years and can tell you that the majority of staff we caught stealing - or defrauding the company never had poor credit histories.

 

There are very few offences that would stay on a crb check for 6 years - so unless you have been to prison or had a suspended sentence then a default on your credit file is considered worse.

 

This is realy begining to grate with me - i applied for a job at the RAC - no cash handling - nor order taking - just directing recovery vehicles to breakdowns - and had to have a credit check - told them they must be joking and to eff off.

 

Housing is also going this way - Rent a house - credit Check

New Job - Credit Check

Benefit Claim - Credit checks

 

So what they are saying now is if you have bad debts - you MUST pay them off even if you cant afford them due to your circumsatnces - or you get

 

No House

No Job

Benefits Cut.

 

Being in debt is now being worse than a criminal - now thats what i call debt slavery. No freedom work for the creditors (Mainly the banks)

 

Just remove the word debt. and you are now nearer the mark

 

OOOH it makes me so angry.

[harrassed senior]

DoH - I had one of those days yesterday, long story, not for this forum otherwise would let you all in - lets just say imagine a 64 year old senior citizen, disabled, 2 hearing aids, and a walking frame being escorted from an o2 shop

[unclebulgaria67]

I have witnessed someone working in financial services having their temporary contract terminated because of a CCJ showing up on a credit record. But this would not have happened if it were just defaults.

[Revenant]

DoH - I had one of those days yesterday, long story, not for this forum otherwise would let you all in - lets just say imagine a 64 year old senior citizen, disabled, 2 hearing aids, and a walking frame being escorted from an o2 shop

 

That's finished my day at work with a bliddy great smile h s

Hope all's well

R

[count orlok]

I would be very supprised it they would even be allowed do a CRB check, CRB checks are only for people who work with vulnerable adults or children. Other than that most aatempts to look into any iffy past are covered by the rehabilitation of offenders act. I moved into a new estate where there where loads of kids and the housing association where not allowed to run a check. AFAIK you cannot sign any rights under the rehabilitation of offenders away. As to the other forcing you to sign to give permision to access your credit file would give you leave to sue for contructive dismisal.

[42man]

Interesting topic, I know a chap who was asked to sign a consent form for a credit check after a few years employment and he politely refused due to the fact that he had a number of disputes and felt that the information would be incorrect anyway. There were no repercussions on him.

[dadofholly]

They can do standard CRB checks which will give information on unspent convictions - these should be done prior to employment starting or during the probation period.

 

Those for people in education/health/care etc are the enhanced versions that can hold details from when you have not been charged and convictions that may have been spent under normal circumstances.

 

Dont forget also that the period for convictions to become spent is generaly a lot less than the informaion held on CRA files.

 

The reason being to give the opportunity for the individual to be to prove their rehabilitation.

 

It now makes more sense to steal the money from an employer and to pay your debts - than have the debt. because the period the issue will be held on file is less for the criminal act

 

Madness.

[Tingy]

As long as you continue to do your job well, why would they want to sack you? There are strict guidelines over redundancies and all sorts of things need to be taken into consideration. As you do not handle money I can't see why they'd be interested - what fraud could you commit? As for the CRB check I wouldn't have thought anyone would agree to that as it's absolutely irrelevant to your jobs and to whether or not you're likely to commit fraud. CRB is in two forms, normal and enhanced. As a headteacher and later a taxi driver I went through the enhanced CRB - it's nothing to worry about unless you've been prosecuted for offences with children.

[dadofholly]

I have witnessed someone working in financial services having their temporary contract terminated because of a CCJ showing up on a credit record. But this would not have happened if it were just defaults.

 

I was informed by a prospective employer that i would have to explain -AND PROVE - that i was dealing with any defaults or delinquest accounts.

 

Strange thing is i have recentley been aproached by a recruitment agencey asking if i would be interested in a job in loss prevention - And no credit checks.

[Revenant]

I would be very supprised it they would even be allowed do a CRB check, CRB checks are only for people who work with vulnerable adults or children. Other than that most aatempts to look into any iffy past are covered by the rehabilitation of offenders act. I moved into a new estate where there where loads of kids and the housing association where not allowed to run a check. AFAIK you cannot sign any rights under the rehabilitation of offenders away. As to the other forcing you to sign to give permision to access your credit file would give you leave to sue for contructive dismisal.

 

Not quite right count o

The full CRB check is for people wishing to work with children and vulnerable adults but I work in the Security Industry and every three years when my SIA licence is renewed I have a CRB check for past offences, I receive a copy of the report

In general companies seem to be tightening their procedures and in this case I really don't think there's anything to worry about but a call to the CAB or ACAS would help to ease doubts

Good luck

R

[coledog]

Subbing

[Undercover-Elsa]

According to Experian:

the employer can usually only look at publicly available information, says James Jones of Experian.

 

This includes the electoral roll, county court judgments, bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements which are legally enforceable deals struck with your creditors to repay them some of your debt over a fixed period. But if the firm shares credit history data with credit reference agencies and if the job is sensitive, they can look at your full credit report, with your consent.

 

Elsa x