References and HR obstacles

Hi all,

Not sure if I'm looking so much for any answers or advice or more so just looking to vent!!

I recently just went through the long and stressful process of switching from a Tier 4 to a Tier 2 visa...I was offered a job at the end of June and considered myself so lucky. It wasn't until August that HR finally provided me with a COS number. And then it was 2 months of waiting for my actual visa to come in just last week - October!!

During that time of June until October I had been in constant communication with my manager and HR about providing them with everything they may have needed to get me started. In June shortly after I was offered the job they asked me to provide an additional reference to cover 3 years of history (the only reason I hadn't provided one that old was because the application didn't specify they needed that and it would have to be one of my employers from the states...I assumed keeping things within the UK would have been simpler).  Anyway, I got back in touch with my last manager in the states and asked that she was okay for me to list her as a reference and she agreed so I sent her contact details to HR and figured that was sorted.

About two or three weeks ago my manager had informed me that he spoke with HR and they said everything they need is in place and the last thing they need is my visa. So happy days when I received my visa, went into the office and showed it to HR to be verified. I was told a copy would be sent to recruitment and they would get me started...

WRONG. I got an email from recruitment again stating they needed a further reference to cover 3 years. The email also said that failure to provide that and successfully complete these checks could risk the employment offer being withdrawn. That caused me to panic after the amount of time, energy, and money I've spent to get my visa to fill this post. So I call into HR and asked what has happened, assuming that maybe the reference I had provided them back in June didn't meet their requirements or something like that. The person I spoke to said that none of that information for my manager in the states was on the system and no reference request was sent to her. So I provided her contact details again, but now I'm concerned that this is going to cause an issue.

I guess my main concern is that I don't want this to jeopardise my visa in any way. I also feel like I'm now being penalised and not being allowed to start work for a shortcoming of their HR department, I've done everything in my power to fulfil their requests and requirements, why is it my fault they have not done their part??? Not to mention I left my part-time job once my visa came in, anticipating that I'd be starting my full-time post basically immediately and I can't spend much more time not getting paid.

Sorry to hear of the problems you are having.  Hopefully they will pull their finger out soon.  Do you think they still need you or are trying to weasel out of employment?  Have you signed a contract?

When I hire someone, I'm desperate for them to start as soon as possible.  I can't figure out why they don't want you NOW.

Yeah they definitely still need me to fill the post - my line manager and the service manager are just as frustrated as I am as they already have a case load for me to pick up and the post has been vacant for nearly 6 months now.

I'm just going to keep calling and chasing them up, but it just feels like the responsibility of HR is falling back on me...I thought getting my visa was going to be the biggest obstacle, not all this nonsense!

I'll just keep daydreaming of a time when I'll (hopefully) be settled and no longer have to stress about all of these things impacting on my ability to stay in the country.

Could be wrong, but I read somewhere on here that it's best to get the reference letter from prior employment yourself and present to U.K. HR. They don't tend to contact US or other foreign entities. You might try that. Hope it all works out for you soon!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

If it makes you feel any better, I have noticed that HR in this country is probably the most disorganized mess I have ever seen in my life and is, usually, the cause of lengthy holdups and incompetence. Im currently waiting almost a week for an amended contract (amended for additional pay), and also fighting with my LAST employer to actually return a one month overpayment and get myself off their systems. Another took two WEEKS to let me know if I had been successful in my job interview. These are major FTSE 100 companies that should know better.

Last year HR incompetence in issuing a written contract in a timely fashion saved my partner from being out of a job as they reorganized in the mean time and cut the position. Good thing I told him to wait until he saw something formal before quitting his current role.

Its mindblowing, it really is, but I have learned to go with the flow and be mildly amused at what comes my way. Yeah, I want to get working sooner rather than later, but what can you do.