Not on contract? How very dare you!

[Pondlife]

Why wouldn't you? What would you deem an acceptable gap, I know there will be three month gap after I finish this contract before I will want to work again

I would say as in the OPs case +1 year

[cojak]

Not on contract? How very dare you!

I've had to give a personal reference when a gap was larger than 28 days for a recent (non-SC) contract.

I wasn't happy but it was made quite clear that I wouldn't get through the door if I didn't provide it.

It was simply to prove that I was indeed benched rather than detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.

And it was the client demanding this.

[Mich the Tester]

I've had to give a personal reference when a gap was larger than 28 days for a recent (non-SC) contract.

I wasn't happy but it was made quite clear that I wouldn't get through the door if I didn't provide it.

It was simply to prove that I was indeed benched rather than detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.

And it was the client demanding this.

Some clients and agents simply don't understand the concept of 'contracting'.

[norrahe]

Some clients and agents simply don't understand the concept of 'contracting'.

Indeed, I've got lots of deliberate gaps, the only ones that weren't was during the credit crunch in 2008 and the gig I had lined up after travelling fell through ended up giving more time to the charity that I was volunteering with part time. Also in 2012 when I first moved to cloggers and everyone decided they needed native cloggy speakers for gigs after the government folded.

Small gaps I don't explain, but the larger ones, I tend to put something in.

[OwlHoot]

So we are all familiar with the red tape nightmare that has become the process of "onboarding" as our friends in the recruitment industry like to call it. I understand the need to apply a certain amount of scrutiny to protect against fraudulent applicants but really it is getting beyond a joke now.

The bit that gets me most agitated is the "Why were you not working from July 2002 to August 2003" type questions, along with a new requirement that is even more annoying that some professional individual verifies the reason you give for this despicable crime. Seriously, what if any reason you would supply along the lines of "Not in Contract" would have any reasonable bearing on the process?

Every time I start a new contract it gets worse, I actually think there will come a day when I'm asked to give references from my nursery school year.

If the red tape is getting worse, it's probably all the fault of the EU.

[Mich the Tester]

If the red tape is getting worse, it's probably all the fault of HR.

ftfy

I'm in Euroland and I haven't experienced a lot of this cack.

[psychocandy]

I've had to give a personal reference when a gap was larger than 28 days for a recent (non-SC) contract.

I wasn't happy but it was made quite clear that I wouldn't get through the door if I didn't provide it.

It was simply to prove that I was indeed benched rather than detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.

And it was the client demanding this.

Who'd you ask? Probation officer?

[BoredBloke]

If it was something to do with being locked up then wouldn't a CRB check show that up? Also one of the reasons people go contracting is so that they can pick and choose when and where they work. If the contractor wants to take a big chunk of time out, then surely that's his business.

[SueEllen]

If it was something to do with being locked up then wouldn't a CRB check show that up?

A DBS check would and does show that plus more.

The last time I did one I had to disclose all my (zero) driving points.

Also one of the reasons people go contracting is so that they can pick and choose when and where they work. If the contractor wants to take a big chunk of time out, then surely that's his business.

Agreed.

I know contractors who have taken time out for personal reasons. It's not really the agent's business if you were caring for a close relative of yours with a terminal illness, you had a baby or you were recovering from a serious illness yourself.

[Bunk]

I haven't worked since December, and I haven't had any questions about it so far. I've mentioned to a couple of pimps that I took a break at the start of the year and nobody has said any more about it.