How To Verify The Employees Previouse Company's Salary

Dear All,

Please let me know how to verify the previous salary details (Previous company) of a new joining employee.

Waiting for your valuable responses.

Thanks & regards,

Sarika

If the employee gives permission to contact his previous employer, then you can check with his HR department.

What is the need? Don't you have your own compensation norms? Even if a company - the previous company - erroneously pays much more to that candidate, will your company pay the same or more? Kindly develop a set of yardsticks for compensation based on educational qualification (with relative ranking to institutions), number of years of experience (and relevant experience), and how much you are paying your employees with similar qualifications, experience, and competencies. You can offer a maximum of 15-20% above your norms in special circumstances. That is it.

Why act like a private detective to find out exactly how much he was getting? If he was working in his uncle's company and getting 10 times the "normal," justified salary, will you offer him double that salary? Dear, one should offer only as per one's company's norm (and not negotiate like a fish market). If it's not acceptable to that person, you can look for another candidate. Warm regards.

Hi,

I completely agree with Mr. Raj Kumar. Why do some companies behave in such a manner, and why don't HR professionals really understand the importance of a professional attitude? A professional is supposed to create and set standards, not just to look out for others' standards.

Dear Sarika,

You can request the candidate's last 6 months' salary slip or check with the HR of that company (this can be initiated once the candidate has accepted the offer). Another option is to check the candidate's bank statements from the last few months.

In addition to the above, prepare a salary standard based on the industry norms, and remember to segregate them into tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 companies. The reason being, you cannot hire a person from a tier 1 company (e.g., MNC) and expect them to accept a lower salary. Similarly, you cannot offer a person from a tier 3 company a direct 100% hike. Education also plays a significant role, so include it as part of your criteria.

Determine where your company stands - is it Tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3? This can be based on turnover, location, etc. The criteria for this classification should be discussed and finalized by the top management as well.

Hope this helps.

Hi Raj,

Exactly, you are right. I agree with your point. I believe we should not verify the previous employer's salary. Each company has its own standards on which the salary should be based.

One request from my side: please don't use strong or harsh words for any issue. Give the answer politely. I found your way of replying quite strong. Some small companies might not follow HR policies as per industry standards. In such circumstances, what can HR people do? Should they follow their boss's or director's instructions?

I hope you won't feel bad for me pointing this out.

Cheers,
Jeeva

Hi,

These days, almost every company prefers to transfer salaries to bank accounts. You may ask for the employee's bank statement.

Another point to note is that you cannot ask about a candidate's previous salary from their former employers; you can only inquire about their performance.

I completely agree with Mr. Raj Kumar. All companies have salary policies in place.

You can offer salaries based on your company's norms. If you offer more than that, it means the candidate not only deserves it but also their expected output aligns with the salary.

Hi all,

I fully agree with Mr. Raj Kumar's view. As an HR professional, we should create our own salary matrix for our company. We should select candidates based on their experience, qualifications, and ensure that their salary aligns with our matrix before calling them for an interview. Additionally, it is important to verify the previous employment of potential recruits.

Thanks and regards,
N. Srinivasan

By just asking him to write his previous salary and asking him/her to attach a salary slip even later, he or she can never cheat you that way.

I don't agree with Mr. Raj Kumar. I think one should be paid according to their abilities and what they deliver. Sometimes, to retain or attract talent, a company has to pay more.

There is something known as Antecedent Verification exercise. Try using the attached format; it may prove useful. It covers the relevant areas on which you may like a reference check.

However, if it's only the last salary drawn that you wish to verify, ask for the latest Salary Slips, Appointment letter, etc.

Vasant Nair

Hi,

First Step:
If the previous company pays salary through bank or cheque mode, compare it with the salary slip and bank statement for the last 3 months. The banker mentions the salary in the statement.
If the previous employer pays through cash mode, gather the company details such as location, head office, and the employee's working location. Determine if the employee was working under a contract or permanent role, etc. Analyze and draw conclusions.

In the case of a contract role, verifying employee salary can be challenging, but it becomes simpler with experience. Discuss these related matters with senior HR personnel or senior officials in your organization, or seek help from them.

There is no second step, and there is no end step as well—just for a simple purpose only.

Have a nice day.

Hi Jeeva,

Thank you for this statement because I also agree with Raj. However, I am working in a private limited company, and I also want to improve the standard of the compensation policy of the company. Unfortunately, in my company, my boss and the owner are resistant to my ideas. What can I do?

Regards,

Amrish Singh Raghuwanshi
Manager - HR
Natraj Foods Pvt. Ltd.

Joining hands with Asha Mathew, though I personally do not ask for the salary of our candidates. Whatever the payment the company is giving, it is not relevant for you. As an organization, you should have your salary scale based on the industry you are in and the kind of policies you have.

All the best

Dear Friend,

"That's EXACTLY what I mean; according to abilities and delivery; and how to judge is through his:

- qualification (quality of Institution quantified according to parameters, such as IIT's at the top, next REC's...etc as per RANKING);
- his experience (no. of years; duration; level/post; Company RANKING);
- weightage for personal assessment.

Yes, that is why I wrote, one should have a cushion of 15-20%!!! (which is reasonable).

But if you are going to make the company bankrupt by enhancing the Labor and Administrative costs to an extent that is not covered by the profit margin; then it's YOUR CHOICE. (After all, being a consultant, you know better).

Moreover, if you keep giving HEFTY cash remuneration for attracting talent then you'll make existing employees VERY UNHAPPY.

So, to RETAIN TALENT you give HEFTY INCREMENTS.... and this spiral will continue... in course of time, I don't know if the financials of your company will head north or south. (As a consultant, you are in a better position to explain).

In fact, had SALARY been the SOLUTION to all the problems; FINANCE PEOPLE would have replaced HR PROFESSIONALS everywhere. What is the purpose of having an HR dept. then??

As an HR consultant, I think you should give a satisfactory answer.

Regards.

Hi,

Try to avoid asking for payslips, bank statements, etc. It is not necessary. You can conduct interviews with individuals using your standard format and procedures. If you are satisfied with their qualifications and experience, you can then determine the salary according to your company's norms.

MANOKAVIN

The points mentioned by Mr. Raj are completely in accordance with the current practice and to be viewed precisely.

KB

"See, I think one should be paid according to his abilities and what he delivers."

That's EXACTLY what I mean; according to abilities and delivery; and how to judge is through his:

- qualification (quality of institution quantified according to parameters, such as IIT's at the top, next REC's, etc., as per ranking);
- his experience (number of years; duration; level/post; company ranking);
- weightage for personal assessment.

"Sometimes to retain talent or to attract talent, the company has to pay more."

Yes, that is why I wrote, one should have a cushion of 15-20%!!! (which is reasonable).

But if you are going to make the company bankrupt by enhancing the Labour and Administrative cost to an extent that it is not covered by the profit margin; then it's YOUR CHOICE. (After all, being a consultant, you know better).

Moreover, if you keep giving HEFTY cash remuneration for attracting talent, then you'll make existing employees VERY UNHAPPY. So, to RETAIN TALENT you give HEFTY INCREMENTS... and this spiral will continue... in the course of time, I don't know if the financials of your company will head north or south. (As a consultant, you are in a better position to explain).

In fact, had SALARY been the SOLUTION to all the problems; FINANCE PEOPLE would have replaced HR PROFESSIONALS everywhere. What is the purpose of having an HR dept. then? As an HR consultant, I think you should give a satisfactory answer.

Regards.

I agree. One can conduct a compensation benchmarking exercise and carry out a compensation mapping to map the various criteria as mentioned by Mr. Raj Kumar.

Hi, nice to go through the replies and active participation from everyone. Mr. Raj is right that we should have our own salary matrix and offer the candidate as per that only. However, it does not stop us from checking a candidate's salary from their previous employer; it is as good as checking other antecedents. In some industries like telecom, we really need to sell the job, and to do so effectively, we need to know the exact and correct salary of a candidate. I am sure any recruiter from Telecom would understand this very well.

Hey Sarika,

I am sure you must have made a decision. Please, I would like to know what you have done based on the suggestions our experts have given here. If you are confused, please do share it here so that the experts also understand how they can confuse someone by putting their comments on others' advice and suggestions instead of giving their expertise to the problem or concern.

Awaiting to hear from you,
ukmitra

I do not agree with Mr. Raj as Sarika wants to know how to check the last salary, which suggests that they are offering more than his/her (candidate's) last salary drawn. I think you should ask for the last month's salary slip, and if needed, you can also ask for Form 16.

The point made by Mr. Raj is correct, but it's not answering the question, and it seems too harsh.

Very useful format, and your attachment suits well as the answer to the thread starter.

Regards,
Shijit.

Hi all,

I appreciate what Mr. Raj wrote, but I'm wondering, "why the recruiter may need such information?" For small companies, maybe you need such information as a competitive advantage, but for companies which have grading systems, competency profiles, salary structures, and at least minimum qualifications (or job descriptions) for the vacancy, and the candidate fits your requirements, there is no need to verify the history. Headhunting for seniors is totally different from what I've mentioned above.

In summary, KISS = Keep It Simply Statistically. Simplify your HR operations.

Salam,
Eng. Muhammad Abuissa
Compensation & Benefits Specialist

While I tend to agree with Raj Kumar to a large extent, as compensation offered to a prospective employee is based on organizational philosophy which is again based on factors like location, prevailing salaries in that industrial segment, value of the job, etc. However, there are some reasons which make it desirable to have existing salary details. Some of the reasons could be:

Where candidates express their expected compensation at a new place in percentage hike.

Where you find a candidate extremely good and wish to hire him and go an extra mile which may necessitate exceeding the upper limit of the salary band for that level, it seems rational to be sure if the candidate has not falsified his current compensation.

There are some mechanisms to have a reasonably good idea of his salary. The same are:

- Ask him to bring along the letter in the original last appraisal letter giving a breakdown of his revised compensation.

- Ask for the last 3 - 6 months' salary slips.

- Ask for Form 16 for the last year.

A serious candidate is expected to come up with these documents at the time of the interview and in all probability will not give false compensation details under such circumstances.

However, once you have hired someone, no useful purpose will be served in gathering the last employment salary since you will not fire him just for this reason whereas he may be doing very well on his job responsibilities.

I strongly feel that organizations should have their compensation plans updated as per their respective industrial segment, location, nearest competitors, etc., and stick to the same, but I understand many a time this is not feasible and that is the reason why one has to yield to a candidate's demands, although not a healthy trend.

Thanks,

With Regards,

Arun Tripathi

Hi Sarika,

Asking for a bank statement would not be a genuine idea because many employees have the habit of using their salary account for personal use, for which employees may not feel comfortable to reveal.

Regards,
Geetha K
HR
Retail Firm

I endorse all these options. There might be yet another one; but, I would not choose to do so. That is: Ask for the components of CTC. If there are some 'missing figures' / if all these totals up do not make the total the candidate has claimed, ask him for the details.

Regards, M.S. Sreekumar
HR Professional
Cochin

Dear Sarika,

I feel there is no need to verify for salary decision per se. If the company can afford it, it will be given eventually to the candidate. Additionally, the organization should have exact figures on the talent, qualifications, and market value before the hiring process starts. This way, negotiations can be based on solid information. Salary surveys like those from PayScale or Shine provide a fair idea as it is market-driven and based on individual choice.

Another point to consider is that if someone was underpaid before but now understands their value, they have every right to ask the company for a higher salary, regardless of what they were paid previously. Whether to pay or not is the company's policy and decision.

To verify if a candidate is truthful, there are other ways of assessing their personality. If you wish to verify, I would suggest asking for the candidate's salary slips for the last six months as the best option, as salary slips are hard to fabricate.

Furthermore, if you contact a previous employer, I believe no employer should reveal the salary of personnel without their explicit permission as it is a privacy issue.

Raj Kumar is 100% right. Why should we bother about the previous salary of an employee? We should never encourage this.

Organization can set its own recruitment process for recruiting and retaining the employees.

Based on so many factors- company policy, understanding, practical experience etc., the organization sets the process. Some Organization may have the policy that the maximum compensation can be 20 % more than the existing salary. In this case the process of recruitment will take care of checking his previous company’s salary in order to understand how much maximum he can offer for the candidate. So there is no harm in checking his salary with his previous company.

So many abnormal examples as quoted by Mr. Raj kumar may seem to be logically correct. But practically, 70 – 80 % of the candidates intend to project his/her salary more than what he/she earns.

One should have the maturity to understand the need of verification of previous salary.

How to verify the previous employment salary is to ask for Pay slip / Bank statement copy ( if the salary is credited in the bank) / Income tax deduction certificate, when the HR department collects documents in support of candidates education and qualification.

If your recruitment process warrants previous employers reference check, even during the reference check also one can verify the candidate’s salary along with other details like his designation, his attitude, his behavior etc

I think all of you are not getting the crux of the request. People are talking about professionalism, HR norms, etc., but all this is not needed. I am surprised by the kind of replies sent by HR professionals. HR professionals are meant to help internal and external customers by extending support in whatever ways possible. Rude and harsh replies should be the last resort for any HR professional.

As part of the joining process, all the information declared by the candidate needs to be verified. Not all companies have the budget to hire a vendor for this purpose. However, the same can be verified by contacting the concerned HR professional (previous employer) via email. Send the scanned copy of the latest salary slip submitted by the new hire and request the HR to validate and confirm whether the attached document is issued by them.

Upon receiving the reply, appropriate action can be taken, either initiating action against the employee (if the information is incorrect or forged) or filing the validated copy of the email in the employee's personal file.

Note: This action should be initiated only after the agreement (signed) of the new joiner.

Thank you, Jeeva, for your reply.

The question that had been asked was "How can one verify previous salary details of a candidate?"

I have read all the responses and appreciate the very informative inputs given by members. However, please appreciate the fact that no one would take up a new assignment unless there is a reasonable increase in their present CTC. If one does accept a lower package, well, there is something wrong somewhere!

Best Wishes,
Vasant Nair

Hi,

When I recruit a person for my company, whether they are a fresher or an experienced individual, I make sure to explain our standard pay scale and hike systems to them. This helps them understand if their previous company paid them according to HR policies or just for the job at hand. Not knowing this information often leads to employees sticking to their Expected Cost To Company (ECTC), which can hinder opportunities, especially for senior IT experts looking for jobs in Small and Medium Business (SMB) industries.

Calculating the pay for an experienced employee is quite simple. You can consider the basic pay your company offers for a specific position and add a 20% to 30% hike based on the number of years of experience the individual has. For instance, for a Senior Business Development Manager (Sr. BDM) position with a previous salary of 6 lakhs per annum and 4 years of experience, the calculation would be as follows:

For a fresher BDM (basic pay around 12k depending on the company), the Sr. BDM salary with 3 years of experience would be:
12k + (30% of 12k) x 4 years
= 12k + 3600 x 3
= 12k + 14,400
= Rs 26,400 plus any additional benefits like transport allowances that your company may offer.

This approach helps employees determine if they are on a standard payroll process. This is how I address my concerns within HR policy.

Thank you.

Hi, the best and professional way is to ask him to provide Form 16 of the current year. That's needed by your finance department for official purposes, and any employee would love to provide it since he will be more interested in avoiding paying more tax. Regardless of this, it's just for verification. Many times employees edit the payslip and manipulate the numbers. Instead, HR should have their own standards and map the new candidate to that band of salary standards and pay him. It doesn't matter how much he was getting earlier.

I do agree with Mr. Raj. See, companies will have different standards of pay packages. Some companies, to evade the burden of tax from the employees, will give two types of salary: one will be on paper, and the other part is given as voucher payment. How will the hiring company come to know the pay package of the candidate they are hiring? Actually, a company is hiring a candidate based on his efficiency and worthiness, not on what another company was offering. There is no need to be speculative about such aspects. If your company feels that the candidate is worthy, then go ahead and hire them, that's all.

Prathibha
Natco Pharma Limited

Hi Sarika,

I agree with Raj. As long as you know that your company's salary offer is on par with the market, there is no need to verify the salary. But if you would prefer to do that, then you can request the candidate to send you his/her recent salary slip.

Silindile

Dear Sarika,

Please ask for the previous year's Form-16, as it is a valid proof. You may also request his/her bank statement.

Regards,
Sujata

Write to his old employer and get the reply. If no reply is received, accept the candidate's statement.

Dear,

Don't go for checking the salary of the candidate if you have doubts that the candidate is furnishing the wrong salary. You are in the position to fire him at any time if you find him guilty of that. Moreover, don't choose such candidates whom you don't find trustworthy. What Mr. Raj Kumar has suggested is perfectly right.

Thanks.

Rajkumar, you are right, but normally the company is not ready to agree with this concept. As I am in HR, I am not able to implement this or convince them.

Dear Raj Sir,

I totally agree with you. I am an HR fresher, but through this site, which is filled with intellectual HR professionals like you, I am learning a lot. Thanks for enlightening.

Dear Sarika,

A simple way to find out the previous company salary is to ask for Form No. 16 and Income tax return. This will provide all necessary information. You may ask for these documents at the time of the offer so that the employee can provide them immediately. Additionally, at the time of the offer, you may also request the salary slip.

With regards, wish you a happy New Year and Happy Diwali.

Himanshu Pathak
Ahmedabad
9227233315

I agree with Shining's idea also.

In my opinion, though I am a fresher, it may not count to all of you. However, what I feel is that reference checks should only be done to understand an employee's behavior and the qualities they have demonstrated in their last job.

Hiiiiiiiiiiii,

Dear all

I am agree with Mr. Raj. Raj is cent percent correct because every profressional have own level and there is no need to find out his previous salary. Strictly it should not to be checked.

But if the company wants to check the previous salary of his new joinees, the company should use the Grapevine Communication (Informal Communication). Through it the company would know about the previous salary of new joinees's.

The term grapevine communication is often used interchangeably with the term informal communication. The term originated in the 1860s during the American Civil War. It was used as a term that described the telegraph lines that were strung through the trees in a manner that resembled grapevines. It also came to mean informal communication that was not very effective because the telegraph system was not a reliable source of communication at the time. Almost a century later, it was discovered that the path of grapevine communication does resemble a cluster of grapes.

It has been shown that informal communication or grapevine communication occurs when formal communication is not sufficient. Research and studies have concluded that informal communication occurs either when insufficient of ambiguous information is transmitted through formal communication. Some organizational theorists feel that some informal or grapevine communication is needed in organizational life.

The way grapevine communication works is one person, Person 1, sends a message to Person 2 and Person 3. Then, Person 2 tells Person 4 and Person 5. And Person 3 tells Person 6. Not all participants within the grapevine send messages. Some participants are just receivers. Liaisons within an organization usually help facilitate grapevine communication. The use of this type of communication is common among managers as well as subdivision employees.

The types of rumors that are spread through grapevine communication can be classified into two groups, spontaneous and premeditated. Spontaneous rumors are spread when people are stressed or in an untrustworthy environment. Premeditated rumors spread within highly competitive environments. These two groups can be broken down into four classifications: wish fulfillment, anxiety, wedge drivers, and home stretchers. These types of rumors can also be spread through other types of informal network structures such as the single strand chain, the cluster chain, the probability chain, and the gossip chain.

Jitendra Mishra derived 8 reasons Grapevine communication Exists. Some of the reasons include the need for faster communication, useful messages transmitted, outlets for imagination and apprehension, and helps build teamwork and corporate identity. Surprisingly, 75% of all organizations’ practices, policies, and procedures are shared through grapevine communication. Studies have shown the employees find informal communication such as grapevine communication to be more effective than formal channels of communication.

Thank you, Asha Mathew.

I believe Raj Kumar, to some extent, you are also correct, and the others who are supporting his reply as well. A HR profile does hold significance for a company, and as an HR professional, you have to thoroughly check the complete background of the candidates. If HR professionals are overlooking these fundamental aspects, it would be challenging to justify the salary that HR professionals negotiate from the company.

Regards

Hi Raj,

What you said is correct, and we need not verify the previous salary details like a detective. If the employees submit their salary slips, that could be better. Every company should have its own norms and policies. According to that, we can work.

Looking forward to your support.

Regards,
Sumana

Dear all,

I would like to know the payroll process and salary generation norms as I am looking out for a job in HR-Payroll.

Sumana

What is the necessity? You will be paying as per your company’s pay packages only.
G. Harikumar

Any person who applies for PGDBM HR from distance learning at Amity for the 1st semester, please provide assignments and last year's exam paper. (Please send the email ID).

Dear Sarika,

If your company policy requires you to verify his experience and salary, consider hiring a background verification agency. Alternatively, once the candidate joins your organization, you can contact his/her previous company's HR/Finance department to request the necessary details.

Please refrain from contacting the candidate immediately after accepting the offer letter, as this could disrupt their presence during the notice period. You may include a note in the offer letter stating that background verification will be conducted to authenticate the information provided by the candidate, even if you do not actually conduct it.

At times, it is essential to verify the salary and experience of a candidate, as it reflects their ethics and character. If you are seeking a cost-effective method, contact the candidate's previous company and identify yourself as calling from [Your Company Name] Bank to verify their salary. The decision on the verification process lies with your company. Take all necessary steps to ensure thorough verification. Ask yourself, "Have I taken all the required actions to accomplish this task?" and "Has the objective been achieved?"

Beg, Borrow, Steal

Thanks,

Chaitanya Deshpande

Hello,

The salary offer depends on the candidate's profile, including experience, education, core qualities, and personal stability. However, while selecting a candidate, we have to consider our company's profile, such as tier 1, tier 2, position, location, and most importantly, the minimum and maximum salary brackets approved or affordable to management. For critical positions, a maximum of 10% to 15% hike on the maximum salary bracket for that particular position can be offered.

It is the recruiter's responsibility to attract core competency profiles within our salary bracket.

Regards,
Brijesh

Why do you want to verify the salary of the previous company? Even if the previous company had offered him a crore rupee, and if it is proved, are you going to match it? Here, the purpose of verification is very important. So don't waste your time when you are not open to a salary increment. Every company has its norms depending on the qualifications and experience you require for the position you want to fill. Only follow the norms.

Regards, Ajjay

I agree with what Raj said; he has almost hit the bull's eye. However, not all companies have their grading system in place. From my understanding, companies 'spy' on a candidate's previous salary because some candidates inflate their salaries at the time of the interview to secure a bigger pay packet. But only such companies that pay according to one's past salary encourage practices like this. It is nobody's fault, I may say, but companies must take the initiative and establish a proper grading system. This would ensure that even if someone is currently in a low-paying job that does not reflect their capabilities, they will not exaggerate their salary expectations during the interview.

I am not an HR person, but individuals on this forum who are HR professionals working at companies lacking a candidate grading system should advocate for the implementation of one to their respective managements.

Hmm! Raj, your wordings are strong and impressive. I fully agree with you. You have given fair logical reasons.

I am an employee and still have a question. Don't you think if a new employee is cheating the employer by stating an inflated salary from their previous employment, they may also cheat the new employer in some way? What do you say, man?

I do not know why all of you have come to the conclusion that verifying the previous company salary is for benchmarking the new offer. It can also be to see whether the proposed incumbent is honest in declaring the facts. Think from that perspective, buddy.

Hi,

Before starting a job, we should understand why we are doing it and what the purpose of verifying the salary is. With a little thought and cooperation, bank statements, IT returns, and salary slips can be "created."

The only conclusion we will arrive at after verification is that the new employee is not a descendant of Harichandra and that he is like 99.999% of us - a human being of six sigma order.

When you receive an order from the top or the rule book for verification, do the verification sincerely. In case the employee deviates from the norms, this will help us in confronting them when necessary.

Best wishes

Hi dear,
Simply you need to send reference request letter to his/her previous company requesting to know the joining date, last working day, line manager comments related to his/her performance, name of the department, his/ her designation, and salary.
This letter should be issued from HRD in your company to his/her pervious company.
This practice is done in banking sector because it’s intransitive and it’s legal. On the other hand asking for 6 months salary slip is illegal, you can be sued accordingly
Regards,
Arwa

I completely agree with Mr. Raj Kumar's thought. He is absolutely right. I do not think that there should be any ambiguity.

Srinivas

Question: How can I get salary information? The question is not what to use. Different organizations have different policies, practices, and norms. You can ask for a salary slip or bank statement. If both are not available, ask for a salary certificate, which is given by every employer at the time of leaving a job. Providing exact salary information over the phone is not possible. It is my personal advice; please do not ask for salary details over the phone.

Thanks,

Pramod Pandey
Senior Manager - Admin & HR
The Crescent Group, Mumbai.

Hey all,

Just a quick thought, the question was "Please let me know how to verify the previous salary details (Previous company) of a new joining employee" and not about the purpose of verifying or arriving at a salary to be offered. As per Sarika's question, it's clear it's for someone who has joined her organization.

To clarify, Raj:
1. As an employer, an organization has every right to validate the credentials of the prospective candidate to understand the background, ensuring the right talent is coming into the organization. As a candidate, if I'm clear, I would definitely not have any problems getting my background check done.

2. To determine a salary, definitely yes, as an organization, there are set norms for a band/level based on education, technical expertise, years of experience, type of organization coming from, value added to the table, and internal parity. There will not be a set salary; it would be a range, for example, between 5-6 Lakhs or 6-7 Lakhs. All these are only indicatives and not the underlying rules. When you arrive at a salary, all the above factors, including the previous organization's salary, play a vital role.

Hope this gives you some insights.

Sarika, you can check the salary in the following ways:
1. Review the candidate's payslips and the latest revision letter with a breakup, and compare them with the bank account statement. This will give you a fair idea even if the candidate tries to forge any of the documents.
2. Form 16 will help you identify if the candidate has been employed by the same organization or not.
3. There are multiple background check vendors available in the market (First Adv, Carrier Cruse, AutoBridge are a few recognized ones); you can approach them for a complete background check of the candidate - education, all employments, address, and criminal records.
4. If you want to do it yourself, you can approach the candidate's company (HR person) at the manager/above level in the core HR team who can confirm over an email.

Hope this clarifies.

Prashanth Narva

Hey Guys,

All of us have given great inputs on what should be the ideal manner of handling salary fixing for new entrants.

However, have most of us not ignored the fact that the query was "How to verify the employee's previous salary."

The query clearly implies that there is a need to verify the previous salary details of the candidate. The query was how to do it.

Raj has done a fine job of explaining the HR practices prevalent in some organizations where they have their own set norms for fixing the remuneration package of a new entrant, and previous salary details are not really relevant in such environment.

I can assure you that many large companies do follow the practice of deciding the CTC package of a new entrant based on the last salary drawn by the candidate. It is the HR person's responsibility to ensure that parity is maintained.

If while doing so, the salary demanded by the candidate is likely to cause a mismatch in the company's remuneration structure, the person is dropped. And life goes on. We look for someone else.

Please do appreciate that every organization has its own set of practices that suit their respective environments.

Therefore, in the instant case, let's try to help our friend in finding out the best ways to "VERIFY AN EMPLOYEE'S (I SUPPOSE A NEW ENTRANT) PREVIOUS SALARY."

There have been some responses, let's have some more.

Cheers and Happy Diwali to all CITE members and friends.

Vasant Nair

Hi all,

I am very glad to have received various pieces of information on this topic. Regarding the previous employer verification point:

1) I agree with the bank statement of the last 2 or 3 months.
2) I agree with the payslips of the companies (There are cases where our people are smart enough to manipulate the payslips; those cases are exempted).
3) Background verification can be done directly or through third-party verification agencies. If the particular employee is very close to the HR person, there are a few HR persons who will support the employee due to their mutual understanding. If the HR person is genuine, it can be accepted.
4) Income Tax Return (ITR) or Form 16. I hope this won't help find the recent salary. This will help determine the salary received for the entire year. If the employee received increments a few months ago, how can we find out the recent salary from that?

Cheers,
Jeeva

Dear narva_prashanth and friends,

Thanks for your response to my earlier posts on this topic.

When you say the poster wants to know "how" and not "why"; do you mean to say that this activity of verifying salary has no 'purpose'?

Dear friend, instead of answering queries, I prefer to give solutions. Would you prefer to go to a doctor who only treats your symptoms without going into the cause of it?

Every experienced HR professional knows that one can 'verify' it from salary slips, bank statements, etc. (which can be forged). So what is the big deal in it?

In a thread in CiteHR, someone suggested to call their wives masquerading as bank officials willing to give soft loans, etc.

Well, if you have that kind of time in your hand, you can keep playing the Private Dick games.

Moreover, by these means, you can only verify the cash component.

These days, every company talks about CTC, which comprises a basket of perks. How can you verify the perks which can be of more than 100 types?

Perhaps, you can; as you sound so confident. Please share your expertise and educate us.

Moreover, many companies pay part salary through vouchers (of expense reimbursements), which give them the benefit of tax savings by making them genuine business expenses.

Another problem is part payment in "black". If a prospective employee claims he is getting 20% through this route, how would you verify it?

I doubt any company would disclose it to you just by asking.

Dear Prashanth, I trust you need to be the Presiding Officer of a Judicial court to put the company under oath for that.

Warm regards.

I still feel we should answer queries within the perspective of what has been asked. Solutions are fine, but then the poor HR fellow has to work and operate within the organizational culture. We cannot cut and paste HR practices of other companies.

Recently, we had one "Personal Manager" with over 5 years of experience wanting to know how to resign and what notice period he should give.

Vasant Nair

Hi All,

When it comes to verifying a candidate's previous company's salary, past employment verification is the perfect option. It is a process wherein a candidate's past employment details, including his/her salary history, can be verified.

There is an online platform called Verified Resources that you can rely on to verify your candidates' previous salaries. In addition to the last withdrawn salary, this tool validates a candidate's work experience, the status of exit formalities, and whether the notice period was served or not.

The information provided by your potential employees is verified by their former employers, ensuring you receive accurate reports. Moreover, being an online solution, it saves your time, money, and resources.

Here is the link: www.verifiedresources.com

Thanks,
Meesha