Applying for job but being asked to be credit checked

alan2009

Hi all

I applying for a job in a telecommunications company in Ireland but as part of my application they want to run a credit check on me, to me this sounds very unusual. I am wondering have other people come across this in an application??

tenchi-fan

alan2009 wrote: »

Hi all

I applying for a job in a telecommunications company in Ireland but as part of my application they want to run a credit check on me, to me this sounds very unusual. I am wondering have other people come across this in an application??

I think my employer allowed for this in the contract .. I doubt they actually went that far as to check it.

It's just to make sure you are a good employee. Think about it, if someone has trouble with personal debt would you really trust them with credit card details? Plus is someone trustworthy if they fall so far behind on bills that they stop paying off their loan?

T-rev

that is completely irrelavent to a job. they have no legal right to that information.

alan2009

I still applied for the position, I have nothing to hide. I just thought that it was a strange request and wondered if other people have experienced this before whilst applying for a job.

Eoin

T-rev wrote: »

that is completely irrelavent to a job.

Not necessarily true - it could be a financial position. If it's not, then I'd probably agree with you, but you can't really imply that it's irrelevant to any job.

T-rev wrote: »

they have no legal right to that information.

If you consent to it, then they might have the legal right to that information.

BroomBurner

I would agree that it's fair enough to ask for a credit check if the job entails handling large cash sums. The person doing the job needs to be trustworthy.

T-rev, is there any legislation covering this?

alan2009

Hi all

I have been doin some digging about this company, I have found that there has been a number of security breaches especially within there stores. So after learning this I can see where they are coming from, if it was my company I would be looking row reliable staff and if I had the opportunity I would run a credit check myself.

As regards legislation on the matter, as far as I can see it is up to the company if they want to use the details. That's if the employee gives consent for their details to be used

shoegirl

Its not totally unusual. Its not wrong to want to be sure that somebody is trustworthy but unfortunately the credit check doesn't show why you might have had financial problems, which might not always be due to circimstances within your control.

pirelli

T-rev wrote: »

that is completely irrelavent to a job. they have no legal right to that information.

Well Look at the three rogue Gargai that were sacked last week. At least one of them had debts up to 150,000 that i am sure played part in their getting involved in corruption.

I am not sure how this can be legislated without it being extremely unfair to people trying to work to make ends meet.


Their might be a way to do this, simply have as part of contract that if you end up in severe debt or begin to have problems paying debt even if from before working in that job or after working in that that you must then disclose it.

Rather than having to dislcose it as part of the application process it would be better for an employee to be obliged to disclose it when they fall into financial jepordy. that way they ar entitled to as they should be to get a job and pay off their debts, but if this starts to backfire and they work in a sensitive position that would make them vulnerable to corruption then they might want then dislcose it.

panda100

tenchi-fan wrote: »

It's just to make sure you are a good employee. Think about it, if someone has trouble with personal debt would you really trust them with credit card details? Plus is someone trustworthy if they fall so far behind on bills that they stop paying off their loan?

Thats nonsense. Your own personal finances have no bearing on how you approach your work.
Most of the doctors I know are the most unhealthiest people I know, chain smoking and binge drinking, does this mean they are not good doctors and cant be trusted with other peoples health?of course not!

I have a poor credit history due to poor financial planning when at university which Im still paying for. My poor credit history has no refelction on my drive and focus at work.

I think its completely out of order for a company to check your credit rating.

tenchi-fan

panda100 wrote: »

Thats nonsense. Your own personal finances have no bearing on how you approach your work.
Most of the doctors I know are the most unhealthiest people I know, chain smoking and binge drinking, does this mean they are not good doctors and cant be trusted with other peoples health?of course not!

I have a poor credit history due to poor financial planning when at university which Im still paying for. My poor credit history has no refelction on my drive and focus at work.

I think its completely out of order for a company to check your credit rating.

Complete NONSENSE example ..

Doctors get paid for their knowledge, not to set a good example.

T-rev

Lads that is bull***t. You cant just say someone is untrustworthy because they have debts and no job. That is nonsensical cr@p.

How does your credit history have anything to do with the capability of doing a certain job? It's ridiculous.

Shelflife

It may have no relevance to their ability to do a job but it would be relevant if the person was handling cash .

Simple fact of the matter is if someone has money problems and is struggling to pay debts then the temptation to "borrow" some cash can be overpowering.

Ive seen it happen on a number of occasions, they always ment to pay it back.