pre employment checks for VS/TC

[A friendly human]

hello,

i have to pass the pre employment check stage for a vacation scheme i recently got offered. it is apparently the same process i would have to go through at other firms if i accepted a TC. it's conducted by Vero Screening. part of it involves filling out an online form and questionnaire.

i have a number of informal work experiences (i.e. unpaid; no contract; no tax) ranging from a few days to a month each. most of these were secured via my contacts or family members. these have taken place in different countries in europe over the past 4 years.

my questions:

• do you know if i have to put them down as part of my "employment history" on the questionnaire?
• if not, will emails will be sent asking for a reference and for a confirmation of how long I was there?

thank you

 

[A friendly human]

@Jessica Booker i think ur the expert! haha

 

[Jessica Booker]

If they are on your application, the reference check company will try to verify them even if they are unpaid and abroad.

The reference company will ask you to provide contact details to help verify placements of this nature and if they can’t be verified, it’s flagged to the law firm as an informal placement and they make a judgement based on how important it is and also what other references have been submitted for you.

 

[A friendly human]

If they are on your application, the reference check company will try to verify them even if they are unpaid and abroad.

The reference company will ask you to provide contact details to help verify placements of this nature and if they can’t be verified, it’s flagged to the law firm as an informal placement and they make a judgement based on how important it is and also what other references have been submitted for you.

thank you!

 

[A friendly human]

If they are on your application, the reference check company will try to verify them even if they are unpaid and abroad.

The reference company will ask you to provide contact details to help verify placements of this nature and if they can’t be verified, it’s flagged to the law firm as an informal placement and they make a judgement based on how important it is and also what other references have been submitted for you.

just a question: what are the consequences of the experience being found to be an 'informal' placement? i communicated in my app that all of my work experiences were informal in the sense that they arranged with friends/family/contacts etc... there's no documentation for them really... certainly no contract etc

if the firm is told that it's informal is that okay? i do still have 2 good refs (one from uni one from one of the placements)

 

[Jessica Booker]

just a question: what are the consequences of the experience being found to be an 'informal' placement? i communicated in my app that all of my work experiences were informal in the sense that they arranged with friends/family/contacts etc... there's no documentation for them really... certainly no contract etc

if the firm is told that it's informal is that okay? i do still have 2 good refs (one from uni one from one of the placements)

There isn’t necessarily a consequence of it being informal. The firm/reference company will either contact you and badger you for some kind of detail until they are satisfied or make a decision that the reference is not needed given the strength of your other references.

I have recently had to go through this process for a new client I am working with and one of my references refused to acknowledge I existed, despite me working for them for 9 months and them paying me! In the end I had to show evidence in the form of emails between me and the company that confirmed the job and money that had gone into my bank account. There are typically some paper trails that you can use as evidence. But I very much doubt they will be that concerned a weeks work experience here and there if you have more substantial references.

Even for informal placements, I suspect your family members who arranged it have a paper trail at their end (as they probably had to get approval to bring you in).

 

[A friendly human]

There isn’t necessarily a consequence of it being informal. The firm/reference company will either contact you and badger you for some kind of detail until they are satisfied or make a decision that the reference is not needed given the strength of your other references.

I have recently had to go through this process for a new client I am working with and one of my references refused to acknowledge I existed, despite me working for them for 9 months and them paying me! In the end I had to show evidence in the form of emails between me and the company that confirmed the job and money that had gone into my bank account. There are typically some paper trails that you can use as evidence. But I very much doubt they will be that concerned a weeks work experience here and there if you have more substantial references.

Even for informal placements, I suspect your family members who arranged it have a paper trail at their end (as they probably had to get approval to bring you in).

thank you for another amazing explanation... i really value the time you spend helping us

so in grad recruiter lingo "formal placement" = reference provided while "informal placement" = no reference provided?

 

[Jessica Booker]

thank you for another amazing explanation... i really value the time you spend helping us

so in grad recruiter lingo "formal placement" = reference provided while "informal placement" = no reference provided?

no

Informal just means it would be trickier to get a reference, where the placement was not formal, not that a reference isn’t provided.

 

[A friendly human]

no

Informal just means it would be trickier to get a reference, where the placement was not formal.

understood!!

 

[A friendly human]

@Jessica Booker

hello again

to follow up on the thread: i have submitted and sent off the form.

however in filling it out i noticed that i had claimed to be working abroad for my entire university holiday whereas i actually came back to the UK several days earlier than that.

is it possible that they will contact UK Border Force or email me for plane tickets to confirm i was abroad and therefore working for this entire period.

for context: they did expressly reserve right to make all enquiries to verify my app

 

[Jessica Booker]

@Jessica Booker

hello again

to follow up on the thread: i have submitted and sent off the form.

however in filling it out i noticed that i had claimed to be working abroad for my entire university holiday whereas i actually came back to the UK several days earlier than that.

is it possible that they will contact UK Border Force or email me for plane tickets to confirm i was abroad and therefore working for this entire period.

for context: they did expressly reserve right to make all enquiries to verify my app

They will only care about an employment reference. It’s more if those dates don’t match up that questions will be asked as to why you put the dates in wrong.

 

[A friendly human]

They will only care about an employment reference. It’s more if those dates don’t match up that questions will be asked as to why you put the dates in wrong.

fair enough. thank you again for your answer

 

[Jessica Booker]

fair enough. thank you again for your answer

If you were working all summer, they will want an employment reference for this time.

If it is a few days out over a period of several months with one employer, it's nothing to be too worried about though.

 

[j2134]

Hi Jessica,

I did a lot of work for Uber and Deliveroo as a bicycle courier during my degree, how would law firms check this employment history? I didn't actually have any contact with anyone from either company throughout my entire time there.

Thanks

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica,

I did a lot of work for Uber and Deliveroo as a bicycle courier during my degree, how would law firms check this employment history? I didn't actually have any contact with anyone from either company throughout my entire time there.

Thanks

You'd have to provide financial statements of your self employed income. It's what I have to do when I have to prove my self employment.

 

[j2134]

Thanks! For the entire time if worked there? (3 years)

 

[Dom R]

Hello! I saw this thread and I was worried about something I wrote in an app.

I have been writing down that I was an 'intern' for one of my 'informal' work experiences. However I was not in the office 5 days a week (usually 2-3). My job was also closer to shadowing (i.e. I was given very few substantial tasks). I just wrote the few substantial tasks in the 'description' box in the app without specifying that these were in the minority or that I wasn't there full-time. The duration of 5 weeks is accurate. Will I get into trouble if I get a TC and this needs to be verified?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thanks! For the entire time if worked there? (3 years)

yes - unfortunately so. Things like bank statements or self assessment payments are usually sufficient. I am lucky I just get my accountant to submit a reference, but understand that wont be feasible for many who are working more flexibly/part time

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello! I saw this thread and I was worried about something I wrote in an app.

I have been writing down that I was an 'intern' for one of my 'informal' work experiences. However I was not in the office 5 days a week (usually 2-3). My job was also closer to shadowing (i.e. I was given very few substantial tasks). I just wrote the few substantial tasks in the 'description' box in the app without specifying that these were in the minority or that I wasn't there full-time. The duration of 5 weeks is accurate. Will I get into trouble if I get a TC and this needs to be verified?

Only if you claimed it was a full time position

 

[Dom R]

Only if you claimed it was a full time position

thank you!

I had another question about logistics. I have done a couple of informal placements in companies that are local to my area where there was only one person supervising me - the above is actually one of them. The problem is that this person/these people has/have since moved on/changed company, meaning that even if i put their email and phone down, it will be for Company B - their current employer - not Company A.

Wouldn't it give a bad impression if my only referee for a certain internship/shadowing placement had since moved company? After all how could the verification people even know that I was giving them a legit address of someone who had actually worked at the company?