Sabi Star

If you're in compliance in the financial sector your whole life can be examined in any country.

UKMS

Not just senior hires ..... but position related ..... as mentioned positions requiring utmost integrity don’t necessarily have to be senior and like I say not necessarily UAE specific but does happen here.

UKMS

Just because you’ve never heard of it ? Or because it doesn’t happen in your line of work.

scrubbedexpat141

This doesn't surprise me at all, I'd expect it. But financial checks on someone's current and previous affairs for a 'normal' (non-gov/finance/security type) job seems extreme.

Just not heard of it before and surprised, that's all.

uk_grenada

In the uk i was a hirer in the nhs. Every employee from junior nurse to director gets so called enhanced disclosure checking. A minor drug user bust probably wont get in as a junior nurse, though once in it might not lead to problems, any breach of trust issue will get you barred, and no manager will get in with any financial issues.

If you are convicted for fraud or similar as an nhs employee, your punishment will also be more severe, even if the fraud is nothing to do with your work, as you are classed as in the publics trust.

I know someone who lied on an application for their child to get into a state school [forged a docs signature] and got sacked for it...

Interestingly, if an existing medical issue is revealed, so long as you can do your job day to day you are guaranteed no impact, even if this means we realise you’ll be retiring at 50 and be off work a month a year forever [which is wrong imho.]

jareth442

Thanks for your reply. It's a role at an educational institution but not a teaching role. It has nothing to do with finance but I've heard so many speculations by rejected applicants that it was due to their debts in their home country... I realise there could be a plethora of other reasons but it does seem like a common theme. That said, some were getting checked for finance roles.

uk_grenada

Well, checks on proberty in the nhs are partially because you are working with / have influence over the public, including children, same thing i guess...

UKMS

Any vetting or screening that includes any kind of financial doesn’t preclude debt/borrowing ..... it’s all about level of debt compared to income and how it’s managed. It’s also about honesty and transparency, trying to hide it is a big no no.

UKMS

Even in ‘normal’ large/global companies outside of those mentioned above, many people work in positions that can be considered sensitive or where there could be some degree of risk if they are not background checked.

carcajou

As I said to you earlier - applicants do not get told why they fail a security check. Most employers don't get told why their applicant has failed it either.

In the Middle East, in the education sector, it is common for offers to get pulled at the last second (even after a contract has been signed) and I always advise people entering employment in that sector of the ME to not quit their jobs or make irreversible plans to leave until they actually receive a plane ticket (NOT a contract).

As I also said - some companies pull the offer and then lie about why. "Failed the security check" is an easy one because it's not verifiable by the applicant and not many people will question it. They'll just think to themselves "I had a missed payment five years ago - that must have been it!" and move on.

I will also add that when a company wants to get rid of someone for non-performance, and non-financial reasons (ie, someone has run afoul of the office culture or irritated someone vengeful), one of the common ways to do it is go to a friend or contact at the security directorates and get the security clearance revoked. As I said, nobody ever gets told why a clearance was denied or cancelled, and forcing somebody out that way leaves no fingerprints at the company.

Consequently anyone who tells you they know why they were denied a security clearance in the Middle East, and it was because of a debt/financial issue, is just guessing.