HR Looking for documents off Revenue

lillielad

Hi Guys, HR are looking for documents off Revenue to backup references, is this normal? I may have lied about how long I worked in a job back in 2017 whilst in college.

L1011

Did they ask for this directly, or have they asked for it as you have said that references are otherwise unavailable?

Green Mile

That was before PAYE Mod so Revenue wont be able to give them anything, Revenue wont even reach out to you to get consent, they just wont indulge any info like that.

Perhaps you could give them your P60. P60s do have a start date but not an end date however, it does have the number of weeks insured for PRSI but you could have been on unapid leave too.

Very strange request, maybe they just want confirmation of your PPS number.

lillielad

Yeah it's a strange one

I have given my new HR team references and told them to contact my previous managers etc. They said that I need to send in a revenue document stating my employment history as well as proof.

I have asked other new starters on my team, and they said they weren't asked to do the same, although one of the guys was asked to send in a reference from a college he went to back in 2017. It just seems a bit much to be honest. Is this even legal, I have never been asked to do this in any previous job?

Larbre34

They are not entitled to ask for this.

Your dealings with Revenue, other than their PAYE obligations once you enter employment with them, is none of their business.

Employee references, records of time in work or education, are limited to certification of that tenure by the organisation concerned.

It would be no different to them asking for a statement from SUSI as to what your grant was while in college. Irrelevant to them and private to you.

You should refuse, but warn them, very nicely, that any loss of an offer of employment, or other consequence as a result, will result in a legal action against them.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968000#Comment_119968000

Well according to you: "I may have lied about how long I worked in a job back in 2017 whilst in college". It is possible they are giving you one last chance to redeem yourself. A previous manager may well have made a comment that means what you said does not add up.

lillielad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968113#Comment_119968113

I get what you're saying but the manager is a good friend and I know he would have backed me up, that's why I find it so strange, thanks though.

lillielad

Thanks for the replies guys, still unsure what to do, but as Larbre34 has said I don't think they are entitled to them.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968507#Comment_119968507

They may have contacted a HR department not a Manager.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968507#Comment_119968507

Never ask someone to lie for you, because very few will if asked a direct question and when it comes to looking after their business and they job that will be the priority. And of course they may have asked someone else who nows about the business - everyone has friends. You are being asked to provide independent evidence of a reference and no on else is, that does not sound good.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968518#Comment_119968518

They are not entitled to them. But you're refusal will say a lot.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968518#Comment_119968518

No one is entitled to references, either. But they are provided because you want to keep the job.

I'd say provide the evidence they want, or prepare to fail probation.

the_amazing_raisin

Would you even be able to get documents from 2017? Revenue only keep the last 4 years of tax records available for most people I thought?

In any case, you really shouldn't lie about how long you've been working at a place. If it comes to light then your employer is well within their rights to dismiss you

I would suggest that you simply ask HR why they require the documents so you can better understand what they're looking for. It may be as part of a background check, in which case any discrepancies will come to light quickly and you could be in trouble

You should probably come clean about how long you worked in 2017. It was 5 years ago now, realistically how much bearing could it possibly have on your current role? You could say you made a mistake and wanted to correct the record

road_high

Sounds overly anal and nit picky. I assume this was some kind of part-time job while in college which is irrelevant in the broad scheme of things. If they scrutinise dates this to that extent (who the fcuk has time for that??) then I'd say back to them it was an honest mistake with the exact dates as it was so far back.

road_high

Even references aren't worth a hill of beans anymore. They basically just state you worked in a place and for how long. Your most recent experience and skills for the job should be what matters. I've been involved in recruiting graduates and Christ almighty as if any of us would have the time to scrutinise dates when someone was/where working through college. It barely would get a mention at interview.

Aladdin Sane

Revenue will not give a third party any information belonging to you directly. This would be a serious breach of GDPR.

The exception is of course, if you worked for Revenue and they are checking references.

I’m guessing they have asked you to source the employment history via Revenue. Revenue may not even entertain your request as they will push the onus on you to register for “My Account” and print off the details yourself.

daheff

Either tell them you have a query in with Revenue and are waiting for them to comeback to you or ignore the HR request until they keep hounding you.

get on and do a good job and a lot of this gets forgotten about quickly.

Markus Antonius

HR have gone completely over the top these days, at all levels.

I went for a job last year in a medical device company, I have 10 years experience, the two interviews were a piece of cake and I even knew two of the interviewers.

Then HR get involved... They, through a 3rd party company that they hired to do this, wanted a payslip from each of my previous employers, a scan of birthcert, an official proof of certification from the college I attended, a long form filled out from two references amongst other docs.

Even though I provided all of this documentation straight away, HR rang everyday in a ratty tone asking why the 3rd party company didn't provide the documentation. "You hired them, why don't you ask them yourselves?"

I ended up refusing the job offer just because of HRs conduct and had to apologise to the interviewers who were very pleasant.