Stuck in Background Check Limbo: How to Handle Employers Who Won't Share Your Info

I have been recruited by TCS, but their background check team states that my first employer, Reed Elsevier, has denied sharing any employee or ex-employee-related details to any party as per their new policies. So, my BGC is not getting completed. As I was on contract there, I do not have the payslips since the salary was paid in the form of a cheque.

Though I have the relieving letter from the company, that would be considered later after the initial verification. My joining has already been extended several times due to this.

Since the last salary was paid to you via cheque, you may have earlier salary slips in your possession. You should check with the TCS BGC Team to see if they can accept your earlier salary slips. However, if they insist on seeing the most recent salary slip, kindly request them to accept your bank statement.

Even if it was paid through cheques, you will have the bank statements clearly showing the company name. Check if that is acceptable. If your previous company has changed its rules, that is not under your or TCS's locus of control.

Thank you for the reply. Here's the catch: the bank account I used to deposit the cheque was closed by me after I left the job there. I have scanned the documents of the bank passbook, but I am unsure if the bank would be interested in sharing any details for the account that is already closed, although I know that banks do keep a person's details for 7 years after the account is closed. Also, when I know I am honest and have the necessary documents, why should I be waiting for that long?

You could explore the following options:

1. Provide TCS with a copy of your appointment letter and relieving letter.

2. Provide TCS with a copy of your bank statements if they reflect the name of the company from which you received your salary.

3. Try to reach out to an ex-colleague of yours who is still with your previous company and see if they are willing to speak to TCS to convey their policy under which they are currently unable to confirm whether or not a person had worked for them.

4. Or try to get the contact details (phone and email) of the current Head of HR of your previous company and provide them to TCS with a request that they could speak to the previous company and confirm that their policy does not allow the disclosure of information about previous employees.

These are some suggestions to try and place facts in front of TCS, hoping that a "Cannot be Verified" comment by the BGC would get overridden to your benefit.

If none of these work, you could seek a formal meeting with the Recruitment Manager at TCS and present your case to him, requesting guidance on how the gap can be addressed.

While you may be clean and honest, the unfortunate reality is that many people do not hesitate to falsify their experience, etc. For any large organization, they need to know conclusively that you are stating the truth and it can be verified independently.

All the best.

Regards,
Raju Bhatnagar