CV to reflect Work Status

[buntosanya]

Dear Forum Members

I applied for a job recently in UK and i just got a mail telling me to update my CV to reflect my working status.

I guess what they require of me here is to note on my CV that i have an HSMP Work permit.

If it is, please where on the CV do i indicate this.

Thank you

[philgeorge999]

Put it at the top somewhere, near your date of birth etc!

Dear Forum Members

I applied for a job recently in UK and i just got a mail telling me to update my CV to reflect my working status.

I guess what they require of me here is to note on my CV that i have an HSMP Work permit.

If it is, please where on the CV do i indicate this.

Thank you

[buntosanya]

Thank you Phil.

[rogerroger]

Hi buntosaya

if i may ask who sent you the mail to update your CV to reflect working status.

in my opinion one does not need to show that on one's CV, if such a status is indicated it might cause a certain bias in selection (e.g. many employers are not aware that HSMP is a "free" visa with the freedom for the holder to work anywhere within the UK)

[philgeorge999]

Yeah I think it's better to just put 'have the right to work in the UK' next to your Nationality bit.

They can ask you if they'd like further information.

In reality an employer doesn't actually have the legal right to enquire about your nationality or what sort of visa you've got. All you are obliged to tell them is that you have the right to work here. Whether you *choose* to reveal more is up to you (and I guess perhaps some employers might think you're hiding something if you're cagey about it).

phil

Hi buntosaya

if i may ask who sent you the mail to update your CV to reflect working status.

in my opinion one does not need to show that on one's CV, if such a status is indicated it might cause a certain bias in selection (e.g. many employers are not aware that HSMP is a "free" visa with the freedom for the holder to work anywhere within the UK)

[buntosanya]

Phil and roger thank you for your responses.

It is an agency that asked the question.

[rogerroger]

you are welcome

[olisun]

In reality an employer doesn't actually have the legal right to enquire about your nationality or what sort of visa you've got. <== that's wrong.. the employer may want to know your right to work in the UK by knowing your nationality or may want to see your visa.. for e.g. if you are a EU member then he may not look at your visa otherwise he would like to see your passport / documents .

no employer would want to get fined £2000 for employing somebody illegally and get involved into legal complications

[John]

In reality an employer doesn't actually have the legal right to enquire about your nationality or what sort of visa you've got. All you are obliged to tell them is that you have the right to work here.

I also do not agree with that statement. The employer has the right to see and to photocopy and retain evidence that all of their employees, or potential employees, have a right to work in the UK.

[rogerroger]

does that mean that employers have a right to fnd out the level of work authorisation you have or to seek evidence of work authorisation.

i mean in case they find out that a person is a citizen, resident or an HSMP they could use that info to discriminate between candidates.

is there unofficial discrimination with regards to ones work status (resident/citizen)?

[bbdivo]

I think we have to distinguish between prospective employers and employers here. Yes, you're employer has the right to ask to see your Visa/Passports etc to ensure you are working for them legally.

But a prospective employer I think does not, i.e. at the point when they are looking at CV's etc, If they find a candidate that fits the job etc then they should make the necassry enquiries as to visa status etc. But thats in an ideal world. Having said that there's no harm in indicating on your CV that you have the right to work in the UK!

[John]

bbdivo, I agree with all that ... and would add .... an employer has got to ensure that their policy does not discriminate against any particular group. So the same policy needs to be applied to all.

For example it would be discrimination not to ask for evidence of entitlement to work from people who appear to be British because of their appearance and accent, while asking for the evidence from anyone else.

[buntosanya]

Thank you all for the contributions. Below is the exact words of the representative of the agency.

"To proceed with your application we would require you to have a valid
passport or work permit/visa for the UK or the European Union.

If you have the above documentation and are entitled to work in the UK
or the EU, please could you update your CV to reflect your working
status and re-submit it in Word format as an attachment. Should we manage
to find for you a suitable position, you will be required to produce
your permit, visa or passport for verification. Please also include the
date that you will be available to start work."


Please i will also like to know if the above indicates the fact that the agency is willing to get me fixed up if the opportunity arise.

[John]

buntosanya, it does not surprise me that the agency is saying that. And while there are providing a service to you if they find you a job, their client is most certainly the employer. And that employer would be liable to a penalty if it is found that they are employing someone who is not entitled to work in the UK.

It will clearly assist the agency in the process of matching you up with an employer. That is, if the ability to work is mentioned in your CV, well the potential employer will at least have that point clarified at that early stage.

When you are offered employment, don't be at all surprised if the employer wants to see your passport. They would want to photocopy the name and pic page and also details of the EC in the passport. Having taken those photocopies they have no right to retain your passport ... it must be handed straight back to you.

When my wife first came to the UK on a spouse visa her CV certainly included details of her status, including full ability to work in the UK without a Work Permit being needed.

[buntosanya]

John thank you for that piece of information.

[Ashwin2005]

John,

Should the EC mention the Eligibility to work?
In my EC, there is just one remark: No Recourse to public funds.
For EC Type, they mentioned: Visa Highly Skilled Migrant Programme

Is this normal, or should the EC clearly say "Eligible to work"?

[John]

Ashwin ..... and I have to say I find this strange ..... if the person is not allowed to work then the EC would state that. However the lack of such words on the EC effectively confirms that the person is indeed able to work in the UK.

For example, when my wife first came to the UK her spouse visa had just one condition ... No recourse to Public Funds ... and accordingly she was able to work in the UK as soon as she got here.

Hope that helps.

[Ashwin2005]

Thanks very much John.

[philgeorge999]

The employer has an obligation to inspect and collect evidence of work eligibility prior to someone starting employment. And obviously he can ask about work eligibilty during the recruiment process.

But if the employer explicitly asks about Nationality or Marriage Status at an interview or on a questionnaire and the candidate is not offered the job, the employer could fall foul of anti-discrimination legislation.

Our personnel department have told us to only ask about whether the candidates have a right to work here, and to leave it at that. Only when the candidate accepts a job offer is he asked to prove his eligibility.

In reality an employer doesn't actually have the legal right to enquire about your nationality or what sort of visa you've got. All you are obliged to tell them is that you have the right to work here.

I also do not agree with that statement. The employer has the right to see and to photocopy and retain evidence that all of their employees, or potential employees, have a right to work in the UK.

[vin123]

But if the employer explicitly asks about Nationality or Marriage Status at an interview or on a questionnaire and the candidate is not offered the job, the employer could fall foul of anti-discrimination legislation.

Point to be noted here is: I don’t think asking nationality for a purpose stated (in this case, lawfully employing someone) is not against any law, even at the recruitment stage.
If the candidate thinks there was a bias or discrimination because of his nationality he has also got the rights to get this clarified by asking “reason for rejection” in writing.
The prospective employer (whether it’s a recruitment agency or employer themselves) is obliged to provide a reason for this, and from this point, the severity, non-severity and validity of the "reason for rejection" with respect to anti-discrimination can only be seen and judged in the court of UK law.

[philgeorge999]

(I'm probably going way off topic here)

It's not as simple as that. The 'reason for rejection' on any rejection letter is irrelevant. If a rejected candidate PERCEIVED that a question in an interview or questionnaire was an attempt by the employer to identify the candidate's facial origin, sex/marriage status, sexual orientation, religion or disability status (or his age, from October 2006) then the candidate has a right to take action under the relevant anti-discrimination laws.

If this happens then it is up to the employer to prove that the allegation is false. The candidate does not have to prove there was discrimination. How exactly do you prove that someone's race took no part in the decision for rejection? My HR department have told us that trying to prove we have not discriminated against someone is very difficult, so it is best to just avoid asking anything that can be perceived as being discriminatory. To cover our backs, all our interviews are recorded so we can prove which questions we asked.

NATIONALITY questions are potentially discriminatory. Your nationality has no relationship to your work eligibility in the UK. So we are allowed to ask whether a candidate requires a visa to work in the UK. That's it. Once a job offer is accepted we then ask about nationality, age and so on.

Many employers/agencies do continue to ask questions about things they should not ask prior to the offer, e.g. marriage status. I suppose you have to answer the questions if they ask... but legally these employers are on thin ice and it could easily lead to them being sued by anyone who's clued up on the law.

Point to be noted here is: I don’t think asking nationality for a purpose stated (in this case, lawfully employing someone) is not against any law, even at the recruitment stage.
If the candidate thinks there was a bias or discrimination because of his nationality he has also got the rights to get this clarified by asking “reason for rejection” in writing.
The prospective employer (whether it’s a recruitment agency or employer themselves) is obliged to provide a reason for this, and from this point, the severity, non-severity and validity of the "reason for rejection" with respect to anti-discrimination can only be seen and judged in the court of UK law.

[John]

Phil, this is very useful. So as regards :-

So we are allowed to ask whether a candidate requires a visa to work in the UK.

-: is that exactly the question to ask? I say that because it is possible that the person already has their visa allowing them to work, and looking at the words of your question I think shows they should answer "Yes, but I already have the visa.".

So do you think it is possible to ask something like .... "Are you allowed to accept this position without requiring a Work Permit?". Do you think that would be OK?

[olisun]

"So we are allowed to ask whether a candidate requires a visa to work in the UK"

is that exactly the question to ask? <== I don't think there is anything wrong with the question, as I have been asked the same question in the past by almost all the agencies, where I had submitted my CV when I was looking for work.

[philgeorge999]

So do you think it is possible to ask something like .... "Are you allowed to accept this position without requiring a Work Permit?". Do you think that would be OK?

I think that would be ok. If the question cannot be perceived as being an attempt to identify the facial origin of the applicant, then the employer is completely safe. (You could argue that nationality and race are two different things... but, hey, that's what HR told me). Firms are permitted to identify (and therefore, I guess, discriminate) against people who do not currently have a permanent work visa.

Ultimately I guess all of this comes down to how a barrister is able to spin things in court to make the mud stick. Best to err on the safe side given that discrimination suits are always very expensive to fight, and settle.

[pantaiema]

Let take an example you are answering an advertised vacancy in the newspaper or Online. Very often they ask you to contact the phone number to ask for applcation form. in hwich they will send you an application form. You then need to Fill in Applcaiiton Form ot fill in the form Online.

VEry frequent they will ask you question
"Do you have a legal right to work in the UK ?"

But of course you coud also send speculative application and the prospectice employers will consider whether they want to apply the work permit for you.

Pantaiema

In reality an employer doesn't actually have the legal right to enquire about your nationality or what sort of visa you've got. All you are obliged to tell them is that you have the right to work here. Whether you *choose* to reveal more is up to you (and I guess perhaps some employers might think you're hiding something if you're cagey about it).

phil

Hi buntosaya

if i may ask who sent you the mail to update your CV to reflect working status.

in my opinion one does not need to show that on one's CV, if such a status is indicated it might cause a certain bias in selection (e.g. many employers are not aware that HSMP is a "free" visa with the freedom for the holder to work anywhere within the UK)