Resonable / legal Requirement?

[TheDude]

Interesting, thanks northernladuk. I've never contracted in the financial sector so not heard of that level of scrutiny before. Well, if its the norm in some industries then I've learnt something new and will bear that in mind in future.

I have worked for many banks and have been checked/asked about the following:

Full check for unspent convictions. Some roles may require you to declare spent convictions.
Credit check
Academic qualification check.
Work references for past 3-5 years.
Details of any directorships held.
Details of any investments held.
Explain any gaps in your CV longer than 3 months.

[ladymuck]

I have worked for many banks and have been checked/asked about the following:

Full check for unspent convictions. Some roles may require you to declare spent convictions.
Credit check
Academic qualification check.
Work references for past 3-5 years.
Details of any directorships held.
Details of any investments held.
Explain any gaps in your CV longer than 3 months.

The investments one is good one to make people aware of.

I know people who had significant shareholdings and because their client didn't like the platform / broker / whatever they were using, they were expected to sell hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of investments built up over decades and switch to an approved provider. The cost of selling / rebuying with all the CGT and fees made the contract untenable.

Dunno why some financial institutions don't like certain platforms and think that you're quite happy to wipe out your retirement nest egg to work with them.

[BlasterBates]

"They were checking I wasn't taking a long holiday at her majesties pleasure or on a sight seeing trip in Afghanistan." - my SC clearance covers this sort of thing.

The consultancies are liable if you turn out to be a "wrong un" therefore they do due diligence. These will be internal formal procedures. You can always refuse but you risk losing the contract.