company letterhead paper - help me!

[lbfrancois]

Hi

My hsmp application was refused last week.
On the refusal letter, they said one of my employers references was not on letterhead paper and they also didnt consider it graduate.
It is obviously graduate level work, and I have already applied for a free review.

But what concerns me is the letterhead paper... I have sent reference letters from all my employers in company letterhead paper. The local embassy contacted all my employers and easily verified all the information I have provided. But HSMP team thought one of my reference letters was not in letterhead paper! which is very strange! the paper has the company logo and watermark!! it is the oficial letterhead paper from my employer!!!
I don't understand... the only different thing on the paper was that this one did not have the address of the company. My employer is a big company with more than 20 branch offices around the country, so they dont write their addresses on company letterhead paper. I dont know why they thought it wasnt a letterhead paper!

Any ideas??

Thank you!
L.

[Kayalami]

With respect a company letterhead must have address and contact details as a minimum with further details to include registration number etc - the multiple branch statement doesn't hold..sorry.

[lbfrancois]

It had the contact details of my manager!
Besides, the local embassy contacted me and asked me to provide all contacts from all my previous employers, I did it, and all my employers were contacted by email and provided all the required information.

Everything was easily verified!
besides, I also provided Corporate Contract, Employer contract, tax returns and payslips!
The decision cannot only be based on the reference letter!
And they HO should be aware that letterhead paper might differ a little for each company and country. Here it is common to only have the company logo and watermark. The only thing the paper lacked was the printed address of the company! It had the official logo and watermark!

My point is, it is the official letterhead paper, it is signed by my manager, I provided her contact details! She was contacted and provided all the information they required! (I am sure of that because she wrote the e-mail reply in front of me!)

Besides, there were further information, tax returns, payslips, corporate contract, employer contract, accountant letter! and all this information was accepted as past earning!

Any ideas?

[Kayalami]

Just because a letter has a manager's details and a logo does not make it a letterhead. I have worked across multiple continents/ countries and find that global business practice deems it that a letterhead must have the company's appropriate address be it the HQ or affiliate offices. If the business is the manager's (personal) then he/she can have their correspondence/ home address on the letterhead. Anyone can make a logo and put a friend's details - it is the job of the HSMP Team to carry out any check they deem fit to verify the authenticity of documentation and the author to include whether they hold the role they state they do. With respect its best no to take these checks personally.

[lbfrancois]

That's my point! They DID verify it!
They contacted ALL my employers!!!
besides I sent the corporate contract and the employer contract!!! ALL ORIGINALS with translations done by a sworn translator and certified by the brazilian office of foreign affairs!!

That's the official letterhead of the company, it was provided by my manager! It's not my fault that my company does not provide their address in their letterhead papers... it should be irrelevant as they got in touch directly with my manager and verified all the information... Dont you think

L.

[Smit]

Ibfrancois,

I don't know what country you are coming from but the English Companies Act requires that an official company letterhead contains the full registered name, address and number of the company. Furthermore, the letterhead must contain names of all the directors or none at all. A branch address may be included in addition to the above.

Your free review is unlikely to succeed if the HSMP Team considers that the letterhead is not acceptable, maybe you should go for a "paid" review and submit a new letterhead containing all the above details.

[Smit]

I forgot to mention, the country of registration e.g. "Registered in England and Wales" must also be included on the letterhead in addition to the other details.

[lbfrancois]

But what about the rest of the evidence... And the fact that they were able to verify all the information...

[lbfrancois]

Oh, something else I forgot to mention, my current employer (this one with letterhead without printed address), is a government institution. Don't know if it changes anything...

[Smit]

I am sorry, I cannot second guess or answer for the actions of the HSMP Team. You should concentrate on convincing them otherwise, not dwelling on why they did so and so.

[Smit]

IMHO (to borrow a leaf out of the Great Kayalami's book), Government Institutions are not above the law, they too are required to abide by the law. If their letterheads are scanty, they should rectify them to ensure compliance with companies legislation.

[lbfrancois]

Ok, I will wait the result of my free review, I have sent it with an urgent request (I have a job offer), so it will probably be dealt with in the next couple of weeks. If it's negative, I will go for a paid review.

[lbfrancois]

I just find it amazing that my work experience was discarded because my reference letter didnt have the address of the company... even though they sucessfully verified all the infomation contained on it directly with my employer... Besides, why bother checking if it cannot be used?

[Kayalami]

I understand that you are disappointed with the refusal in particular on the basis that the 'graduate level' aspect of your work experience score on the matrix is suspect.

That the HSMP Team has contacted the relevant manager or any other organisation is not an indication that the feedback they receive is acceptable. IMHO it appears that they do not believe what they were told. It is unlikely for them to disregard entirely your claimed points without solid reaons. The British Embassy in Rio has an intelligence section - their checks may have revealed something that did not add up as supported by as a minimum detailed knowledge of your employers (in particular the workings of local/ government institutions) and other claimed points. Likewise that you obtained the income points does not necessarily substantiate your claimed employment - you could be overpaid.

May I ask how old you are and how much of your claimed work experience is in government?

Note that without having the exact documentation submitted and the details the HSMP Team relied on for the refusal we could revisit this issue endlessly. As per Smit (thanks for the compliment...only God deserves the title though..I understand what you mean)..does this serve a purpose?

[lbfrancois]

Hi,

Thank you for your replies. I'm sorry to insist on the subject, it's just that I want to get things clear so as not to make the same mistakes again.

I called HSMP and the person who answered the phone read to me the notes the caseworker wrote. As far as she could see, all the information was verified and considered accurate. She also said the reference letter wasnt in letter head and could not be considered, furthermore they didnt consider my work graduate level.

The graduate level is obviously a mistake, besides the casework guidance mentions my job role/responsability as graduate/specialist (IT consultancy). I am very specialised in my filed of work, I hold 9 certifications in IT, and have 4 years of experience in graduate level work. I am under 28. (24 years old).

The local british embassy didn't ask for any specific information, they contact my employers by e-mail and asked them to provide general information. They sent job responsabilites and role description to the embassy contact person. All the information they provided match those in my reference letters.

[yodiyokun]

I think i have to agree with kayalami,
something dosent add up and the caseworker may have made a decision on a balance of probabilities.
I know very well applications are refused if some claims made do not add up.. we may not know for sure in your case
But I will advise you to review your application and the presentation of your facts again with an objective eye or ask a friend to do so...

[lbfrancois]

Yes, I agree... something is not right... I think my application has been incorrectly assessed... Because I can't find a reasonable reason for my application to be refused... The lack of the address on the letter head paper is understandable, but not enough to justify a refusal, as all the information was verified accurate. Graduate work experience is clearly incorrected assessed, I am highly skilled for my age and I have provided evidence to suport that.

While I was waiting for my HSMP, I took a few technical phone interviews with IT companies in UK, just to get to know my changes in the job market. Now they keep calling me and e-mailing me because they were quite impressed with my skills and they need to fill the positings asap... Sure they wouldnt even call me if they thought my work was undergraduate level...

[amhilde]

lb- im feelin your pain on the job front as I just found a bunch to apply for myself- this one I will probably put in for anyway and see what happens because the irony of my situation and the type of job is too much. Hang in there on the review and let us know what happens, plenty of strange things have occured on review in the past!

[lbfrancois]

Thank you, amhilde!

I'm trying to be optimistic...
Let's wait and hope for a positive review

Good luck on your application!

[rohit11]

HI lbfrancois,

I understand that you are very unhappy. I just had one question, if you are claiming for Graduate level experience, do they have any requirement which says that you need to have graduation. I know that in the doc they say you can claim for graudate level work experience even though you may not be a graduate. But who knows, for this kind of scene, one would need more documentation.

[lbfrancois]

No, I am not claiming points for education.

HSMP Guidance says:

7.2.1 Graduate level work experience would normally be a role within a company or institution that would require you to have a minimum educational standard of a UK first-degree level qualification or equivalent. You do not necessarily have to hold a degree but the post held would normally require one.

My previous job titles were Analyst Specialist and IT Consultant. Both of them require a graduate level professional. It was also stated on the letters I have provided along with a list of my duties and responsabilities.

I agree with you that sometimes futher information is needed, but I can't think of any other evidence I could provide to support my claim... I have sent everything! Corporate Contract, Employer Contract, payslips, tax returns, accountant letter, reference letters... And all infomation was verified and considered accurate.