Background check company ask to provide payslips for every worked year with my current and former employer

Question

I accepted an offer in the financial sector in the UK.

The offer is contingent on successfully passing the background checks, which are carried out by a third party. The background process has been ongoing during seven weeks, which I find excessive.

I have submitted many documents and references, and they keep always moving the goalposts, asking for more and more documents and references. From bank account statements to letters of service, HR and manager contacts in my previous and current roles, authorisation to obtain all university records... nothing is enough. They have even contacted my current employer.

I think at this point that they don't trust me, clearly, they don't take anything I say at face value. The latest drop in the glass is asking for one payslip for each year I have worked for during the last eight years with my current and former employer. Honestly, I think that mapping my whole compensation across this period of time is too much and unheard of. Specially if the stated purpose is to verify the employment dates.

I am considering replying saying that they already have a wealth of information to make a very informed decision, and not provide any payslips. The only valid alternative that they might accept is a HMRC Employment History Letter.

Do you find this standard practice or do I have a thin skin? Isn't salary information confidential?

Update: apparently my past employer has already shared my salary with them, without me even knowning. We live in 1984.

Answer 1

tl;dr - push back gently and respectfully and see if they really need this paperwork...

Long Version

I've been through this a couple of times in the past (both the financial sector, both in the Square Mile, London, UK).

You're at the point where it's in everyone's interest for you to join:

• The recruitment agent liked you enough to put you forward for interview, and is in line for a nice commission when you accept an offer

• The hiring manager liked you enough at interview to offer you the role - they can stop interviewing other candidates, and they'll have someone to help with their workload as soon as you're on board

• The HR department can close down the interview process for this role if you accept the offer, and that's one less job for them to do.

• You get a new job which is (hopefully) better than your current one

But HR also have a compliance requirement to do background checks, which they outsource to a third party company. If that company just went back to HR and said "yeah, we checked the same stuff you already looked at and it's fine" it wouldn't really justify their costs, so they just keep asking for more and more documents to build a big dossier on you to look like they're doing a good job (ok, that's a bit cynical, but you get the idea).

When I got to the point where they repeatedly asked for documents I didn't have, or I didn't want to give, I contacted the HR department of the hiring company and explained that I'd given a lot of information to the background check company but they now wanted quite personal documents that I didn't think were relevant, that I was reluctant to provide them, and did they really need these specific documents?

You could also ask if there are any other documents that would give them the same information - e.g. a letter from past employers confirming employment dates, for example, rather than payslips.

If HR say it's a dealbreaker without these documents then you need to make a decision about whether to give them the documents or walk away from the offer. And if you do walk away, make it clear to HR (and if possible the hiring manager) that you'd love to work for the company, but the personal nature of the documents the background check company is asking for means you can't accept the offer - you never know, they might change their mind.

Ultimately HR and the hiring manager don't want to lose a good candidate and start the whole recruitment process again so they'll potentially ask the background check company for their evaluation of the dossier they've already built, and they might agree they've seen enough.

Note - depending on how you applied for the role, talk to the recruitment agent, or the hiring manager instead, but remember the background check company is a supplier to the hiring company - they'll do whatever they're told to do by HR so they're the ones you want to talk to really.

Answer 2

The latest drop in the glass is asking for one payslip for each year I have worked for during the last eight years with my current and former employer.

That is clearly excessive. Payslips are confidential information and you could get in trouble for disclosing them. I would reach out to your hiring manager and ask why this is necessary. Unless there is something highly unusual about your job, this is out of line. Maybe your hiring manager can reel this guys in.

If they insist, I would re-assess this opportunity.

Answer 3

If they push and say they really do need the pay slips, you could do what I did and just black out all of the pay information.

Basically, all they could read was my previous employer's name and address and my name and address. All of the fields that disclosed my previous pay, benefits, and etc. were blacked out.

Answer 4

If they are wanting to verify who you've worked for, you can send then (pay-redacted) copies of your P60s - these are the end-of-year tax summary. The HMRC recommends that you keep these.

Answer 5

Others have given great advice: push back and tell the company that they have ample amount of information to run a background check.

I am of a paranoid mind and wonder if the company you applied to is running a scam. What business would not want a worker starting as soon as possible (let alone 7 weeks later)? It's very odd that they keep asking you for all types of personal information.

In the USA, over the last couple of years there has been Paycheck Protection Program scams - where a boss/CEO wants a PPP loan, but cannot obtain the loan because they have too little workers so they pretend to be in the hiring process to get the relief. Possibly something like that is happening here (?). I hope the company is legitimate and are working as efficiently as they can to get your background check finished.