How Do You Verify Salaries When Candidates Refuse to Share Proof in Education Sector?

Hi everybody,

It's been a long time since I last wrote to the forum. I am working as an HR Manager in an education institute. During interviews, when I ask candidates about their current CTC and request proof, they usually refuse. This seems to be a common trend in the education sector where salary slips are not provided, making it a headache for me to determine their exact salary.

How can I find out the exact salary a particular person is earning? Can I ask for their bank statement? Some colleges also do not issue increment letters. In a recent interview, a candidate claimed to be receiving 21500/- per month, but his appointment letter stated 15000 per month. When questioned, he mentioned receiving an increment without a formal letter from the institute.

I feel helpless in such situations. Please suggest what steps I can take in these cases.

Regards,
Himani

Hi Himani,

You can ask them to submit the appointment letter copy to see the salary offered to them at the time of joining. Also, ask them to submit the bank statement of that bank where their salary is credited for the period when they got the increment. For example, if they received the increment in October 2007, then ask for the bank statement for the period July 2007 to December 2007. You will get the required information.

Hope I have clarified your query.

AMATYA

Hello Himani,

Today, salary proof is very important. You can ask for a bank statement, and the candidate should also submit the offer letter or joining letter. Nowadays, candidates are experts in making fake salary proofs, so a bank statement is a good and reliable option.

Jyoti Gupta
jyoti.jesmin@gmail.com

First of all, nice question. As we are all facing the same challenges one way or another, we all know the saying of the great Napoleon, 'Nothing is impossible in this world.' Today, we have attended so many soft skills seminars that the word 'impossible' has taken a backseat and has transformed into 'I'm possible.' Right? 😉

Now, coming to the point, when requesting documents like an appointment letter or a bank statement, one should be cautious of a potential danger point. An appointment letter can be easily manipulated with the help of a scanner to create a new one.

Similarly, in the case of computer-generated bank statements where signatures are not required, manipulation can also occur easily.

Another document that could be requested is a copy of an Income Tax return. However, we should be cautious as there might be no tampering with it.

I believe the best approach is to verify these documents with the respective organizations immediately after an interview. Even a slight appointment percentage might deter the candidate from sharing their experience with others, leading us to the truth. 😊😊

What do you think?

Hi Himani,

Very well suggested by others. Apart from the salary statement, you can ask for a salary certificate as well if not carrying the salary slip. And yes, well suggested by Viral. Cross-check with their present employer shortly after the interview.

Regards,
Amit Seth.

I am into recruitment and have a couple of clients in the education sector. Our clients had a similar situation - we resolved this by informing the candidates they would have to submit a declaration for any part of salary for which they were unable to provide evidence, and that the declaration would be subsequently checked with their previous employer through the verification agency. That has largely resolved the situation.

Warm regards,
Kalyan

First question: Why do you want current salary? Anyway, don't be surprised with this question as all companies want this information because of just one reason - To see if they can give a higher salary than the person's current salary.

Unfortunately, the benchmarking has started happening on the so-called "current salary" rather than internal and pre-decided salary range/scales (i.e. sticking to our guns). And this has started creating salary imbalances in the industry as a whole.

Now every candidate realizes that if his current salary is low, he will get a low hike as an offer as most of the companies have capped a percentage hike over the so-called current salary. Hence, if a person with 3 years of experience gets 4 lakhs, he can get 5 lakhs. But for the same position, if a person's current salary is 2 lakhs, he will get 3 lakhs. So rather than ensuring parity, we are creating disparities within the same team/organization leading to not very positive consequences.

So candidates have started boosting their current salaries as they know the tricks employed by organizations to fix their offer salary.

Hence, as an HR person, can you dare to say that as per your capabilities and our requirements, you may offer an amount abc rather than I give you x + your current salary.

Anyway, the answer to your question is "current bank statement". (Please note that in the US it is illegal to ask for this info though perfectly legal in India as this has not been challenged in the courts in India)

Hello Himini,

This may be a bit problematic if the annual salary claimed is below Rs. 110000 (non-taxable limit). Otherwise, above this, companies are expected to provide Form 16 to employees to enable them to file their returns.

So, ask for a copy of the last Form 16 used by the candidate for filing the returns. You will get a clear picture of the salary breakups in there.

Dear all,

When you are searching for a required candidate's qualifications/experience and interviewing them, once you have assessed their abilities, why do you need their previous employers' salary certificate? Regardless, you are going to offer them a salary based on your company's standards. I don't understand why this is important when you find a talented person. Am I right?

Kantha

Hi experts,

I appreciate all of you for giving me suggestions. I would like to add that salary proof is required because there is huge competition in the education sector. If anybody is getting 20k, he will tell you 25k. And as demand is high and supply is low, he has to give a good hike in his salary. But if we know his correct salary, we can give him a hike in an appropriate manner and we may be able to maintain decorum in our department regarding salary matters because salary is a very sensitive issue that may hurt old employees of the institute.

What do you say?

Of course,

I asked for a bank statement and an appointment letter, but is it right to ask for a bank statement? Please suggest.

Thank you,
Himani

Hi,

I agree with Verma (vaverma). Why ask for last salary?

I am a firm believer in offering what we should offer and what we can afford to offer. A bank statement... as rightly pointed out, it is illegal in the US and unethical in India. If an organization is paying certain amounts in vouchers, how do you get that figure in a bank statement?

During senior management negotiation, I request the IT return. In any case, we need to obtain it if they are to join us. There is nothing illegal about it. I also inform them that if there is no proof, we do not accept it. Furthermore, we are generally aware of certain practices regarding voucher payments in some companies.

At a lower level, I believe we should forget about what they were previously earning. We have a policy and offer that works. Initially, there may be some teething problems, but it works.

This is my view on this subject.

To respond to your query, I would say it is a combination of many things that will help you:

- Appointment letter
- Assume an 8 to 10% increase every year if there have been no increment letters
- PF statements if available
- IT returns
- Cross-checking

Siva

Remember that you are poaching an employee from another company. Will any company accept losing their employee? One of my friends' management called him and showed him the verification email where that person had attended the interview. The management told him that they are going to send a negative reply to that verification email. If he tries to leave the company, they will not provide a relieving letter and could potentially harm his future prospects.

The same management has also done this to other ex-employees of that company. For one of its employees, they told the HR department (where he attended the interview) that there was no one by that name in the company. Typically, in such situations, HR wouldn't contact the employee. However, the HR was a friend of that employee, and he provided some proof that he had worked in that company, which later resulted in him receiving an offer.

This is the way many companies are threatening their employees to retain them.

Note that the salary is also very low in that company. People with 2 years of experience are paid only Rs. 9000 to Rs. 11500, whereas it should be Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000. Many employees have their lunch at roadside shops for Rs. 15-20 to save money to send to their parents.

I don't understand how the current employer would provide real data to their competitor. While many big companies are honest with their employees, what about companies like the one I mentioned above?

Dear Himani,

The problem you have mentioned is mostly in the unorganized or manufacturing sector. The best way to resolve this in the most convincing manner is to ask for the Form 16 of the last year. Once it is not available, and you positively want to hire the candidate, do a background check with the parent organization. Hope these methods help.

Thanking you, Nihar Ranjan Panigrahi Dy. Manager - HR 09329445004

I am working in a college as an assistant professor, and I am receiving my salary through bank cheques. Can anybody tell me if a photocopy of my bank statement is enough to show my work experience and income proof?