Interested in your thoughts on client and agency

**NeverBeenNorthOfTheM25** · 28 January 2010, 23:05

Originally posted by bennyhedgehog View Post

Hi all... have been offered a role (yay!) with a large banking client through a specifc agency, hopefully to start on Monday.

Being asked for quite an extreme amount of information prior to the start and interested in your thoughts on this... and also the client and agency, if anyone has any experience of them.

Thought of doing something cryptic, but sod it... Hays and JP Morgan.

The information they want is extreme, including for example signing off what appears to be things like the induction documents (workstation suitability etc), tax documents (when I'm going to be employed by neither of them) and frankly an extraordinary amount of references (every job for the last 5 years and then some on top of those!)

Any thoughts would be appreciated. One thing I have just thought of, is: the agent may just be collating company contacts as a little sideline???

Cheers for your time.

Honestly that would border line P me off ........ Youre hardly going for chief executive ..... 5 years worth of references? I bet few people here could do that.

Still, you dont have much choice, but I would ask the question to the agent, how much of this is really necessary ...... remind me not to work for an investment bank if this is the sort of hoops you have to jump through for a job.

**bennyhedgehog** · 28 January 2010, 23:13

I've worked for a few of them (banks) in the past and appreciate (with what's gone on) that they may have tightened things up "a tad"... but there is (I think) a huge difference between this and "a tad".

They are effectively checking my entire job history, which I have no problem with anyone doing (it's all true)... they are also asking for 2 actual references (who I've known for longer than 5 years) on top of those in my cv, which are my actual references, if you like.

I do have a few of these references which I can not either remember or get hold of to verify the dates that they have (which I want to do first, frankly - as a job depends on it!).

I am a little exasperated by it, especially signing off my workstation suitability, when I havent even been in the building I'm supposed to be working in on Monday! Meh!

**Hugh Jardon** · 29 January 2010, 00:25

Rollicks to them!

I was offered a role in early November, working for a well known Bank. As soon as the offer was made I was asked for two reference (no problem there). Then a wonderful HR type email was sent via the agent that explained that I needed to produce further Id (Done this before, so I thought ok). This was followed by another email which was from a third party mob, via the company's HR department. This lot wanted so much info that I thought they were having a laugh. I had already sent a copy of my passport to the agent, but was now being asked for (Birth certificate, bank statements from 2006 to 2009, utility bills from 2006 to 2009, Clarification of all outstanding loans) and a few more bits, which I won't bore you with. I wanted an explanation as to why a Team Lead role for 3 months, which would only ever invole using test data, needed all this info.
I sent an email to both the agent (the HR department via the agent) and this third party mob, as the agent insisted that they were not allowed to get involved in this part of the process. There was no response from HR for 5 days, even though they were chased up, they eventually sent me another email and asked why I had not sent all the docs to the third party mob. I asked for a response to my original email, and was told this was standard for this type of role. I just don't trust all that personal data being viewed/held by some crappy third party who are making money out of other people's fears/stupidity.

My response (even though I've been out of contract since the 2nd week in September)

And since then I have had a great Christmas, and still have a healthy warchest............

I can understand the need to verify who I am, and if I can do the job. But the rest of this stuff is utter tripe. To me it looked like some slicko company was making a nice killing out of sticking their nose way to far into my life.

What will they ask for next, if these company's are allowed to get away with this?

**bennyhedgehog** · 29 January 2010, 00:35

Originally posted by Hugh Jardon View Post

I was offered a role in early November, working for a well known Bank. As soon as the offer was made I was asked for two reference (no problem there). Then a wonderful HR type email was sent via the agent that explained that I needed to produce further Id (Done this before, so I thought ok). This was followed by another email which was from a third party mob, via the company's HR department. This lot wanted so much info that I thought they were having a laugh. I had already sent a copy of my passport to the agent, but was now being asked for (Birth certificate, bank statements from 2006 to 2009, utility bills from 2006 to 2009, Clarification of all outstanding loans) and a few more bits, which I won't bore you with. I wanted an explanation as to why a Team Lead role for 3 months, which would only ever invole using test data, needed all this info.
I sent an email to both the agent (the HR department via the agent) and this third party mob, as the agent insisted that they were not allowed to get involved in this part of the process. There was no response from HR for 5 days, even though they were chased up, they eventually sent me another email and asked why I had not sent all the docs to the third party mob. I asked for a response to my original email, and was told this was standard for this type of role. I just don't trust all that personal data being viewed/held by some crappy third party who are making money out of other people's fears/stupidity.

My response (even though I've been out of contract since the 2nd week in September)

And since then I have had a great Christmas, and still have a healthy warchest............

I can understand the need to verify who I am, and if I can do the job. But the rest of this stuff is utter tripe. To me it looked like some slicko company was making a nice killing out of sticking their nose way to far into my life.

What will they ask for next, if these company's are allowed to get away with this?

Cheers Hugh, seems it is really quite a similar situation and thanks for the comments.

It does feel like being asked to skip through hoops is the order of my day tomorrow, I have questioned everything I either don't agree with or understand the validity of in an email to the agency and am really quite interested in their response.

Up till now, the response has been "the client requires it" and "we're only following orders"... if this is the only response I get tomorrow I will be speaking to the client's HR department to ascertain the reason behind this, if only to confirm that it is actually the client that is asking for it.

It's a shame I'd forgotten what dealing with agents and sorting contracts was like! I could have gotten some popcorn in.

**SueEllen** · 29 January 2010, 00:45

The references I understand as they are just checking you are who you say you are etc. But the financial documents are OTT as they can just credit check you and any company you are director off as if you had the inclination you could fake them.

**bennyhedgehog** · 29 January 2010, 00:50

Originally posted by SueEllen View Post

The references I understand as they are just checking you are who you say you are etc. But the financial documents are OTT as they can just credit check you and any company you are director off as if you had the inclination you could fake them.

Glad I'm getting some positive response in thinking it is over the top... the agent had me apologising to him for being a little obtuse in questioning all these requests... giving it the "we've got x thousands of contractors and I've never been questioned" blather... makes me feel quite a bit better - thanks again.

**Tarquin Farquhar** · 29 January 2010, 07:48

Originally posted by bennyhedgehog View Post

Glad I'm getting some positive response in thinking it is over the top... the agent had me apologising to him for being a little obtuse in questioning all these requests... giving it the "we've got x thousands of contractors and I've never been questioned" blather... makes me feel quite a bit better - thanks again.

Standard agent BS when you question anything: you're the only one who has questioned it, everybody else is OK with it.

**malvolio** · 29 January 2010, 08:07

It's not hjust agencies...

She Who Must Be Obeyed is off for an interview for a new post soon. She's had the details and they want her to bring:

* Evidence of any essential qualifications as identified in the person
specification (e.g. RSA diploma, professional registration details)

* Three forms of identification, at least one of which should be
photographic (e.g. passport; driving licence; birth/marriage certificate; UK ID card - non EEA foreign nationals; EU national identity card - EU only) and one should confirm your current address (e.g. utility bill or
bank/building society statement that is not more than 6 months old)

If you are unable to, or have difficulty in, providing this evidence, please
contact us using the contact details below.

If you are successful at interview you will be required to complete an
occupational health questionnaire and, where appropriate, a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosure.

Thing is, this is for a promotion at a hospital where's she's been working at a fairly senior level for the last 30 years...

**ratewhore** · 29 January 2010, 10:51

I had to provide more info for my banking gig than non banking, primarily down to money laundering regs and such like.

On the bright side, they were handed to the client, not the agent...

Interested in your thoughts on client and agency