Screening & vetting
What is employment history?
Employment history is the continuous record of what an individual was doing over the screening period, verified rather than taken on trust. Accounting for the whole period is the point of it.
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<img src="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/employment-history/diagram.svg" alt="employment history — diagram from SecureOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/employment-history">What is employment history?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk">SecureOptix</a>
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</figure>Continuity is what the standard is actually asking for. A list of jobs with months missing between them has not been established, and the missing months are where the interest lies.
Verification means contacting the source rather than relying on the applicant's account. A reference from a previous employer confirms the dates as well as the conduct.
Periods of self-employment, study, travel and unemployment all need evidencing by acceptable means, and knowing what those are before starting saves repeating the exercise.
What goes wrong in practice
- Gaps noted on the application and never resolved.
- References taken from personal contacts where the standard requires otherwise.
- Dates accepted as stated without being confirmed with the source.