Problem with providing proof of a past employment for a new job

September 21, 2013 5:05 AM

In order to accept a job offer I have to provide documentation as proof of a past employment. Problem: I don't think there is any. What should I tell the company who have offered me the new job? Can documentation for an old job be acquired 6 months post-leaving?

I am in the last stage of accepting an offer for a new job and a problem has come up with my background check.

When providing information for the background check I was asked to detail my work experience over the last 5 years. If there were any gaps in employment for more than 6 months I had to explain why. For most of the gaps I was studying so I was able to choose the preset "In School" option. However, I have pretty much been unemployed for the past year (after finishing university) except from a short stint (3-4 weeks) at a restaurant where I received my pay in cash and tips. As such I do not have any pay slips, contract offers, tax forms etc. as evidence of my employment there. I felt I had to mention this job as it's the only thing that breaks the gap in employment since I left university.

I have now received a notice informing me that I need to urgently reply with documentation as proof of this employment, else the job offer could be withdrawn.

I was thinking of going to the restaurant and asking them to check their accounts for references of payment to me, my hours worked, or anything else that might have been filled out on my behalf. I have a feeling there won't be anything because, to make matters worse, the management I worked under is no longer there. Other than that, I thought of trying to contact the previous manager, but I was there for such a short time I'm not sure he'll be able to help.

The process to get this job has been quite time-consuming and expensive. If it were to fall through then the gap in my CV is going to continue growing and it'll make getting another job more difficult. I should have thought about this when I was filling out the background information and instead described the gap in my history in another way, but now it seems I'm stuck.

What can I do to save this situation?

posted by Lubo to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Is your old job willing to just write a letter confirming that you were working there from StartDate to EndDate? Even if the old management's no longer there, it's hardly any skin off their back, especially if there's literally anybody in the business who still remembers that you were there at the time. I doubt they really need documentation of literally every hour you worked, just someone besides you who says that you worked there.
posted by Sequence at 5:27 AM on September 21, 2013 [3 favorites]

You know the answer already: Contact the restaurant. If they have nothing, contact the old supervisor. If he won't help you, write a letter explaining all this to the new job. Be prepared to answer why it may appear you were working "off the books."
posted by Etrigan at 5:27 AM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

I would show up to the old job with a pre-written letter stating that you worked in a certain position for these specific dates. "This letter serves as confirmation that Ludo was employed by (name of restaurant) as a (whatever) from (start date) to (end date). Maybe title it Employment Confirmation Form on top. Make two copies so you have a backup for the future, and go get someone to sign it. Even if they don't know you, most people would be willing to help you out if you demonstrate basic knowledge of your position.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:42 AM on September 21, 2013 [11 favorites]

Do you have any pictures of you while working there? Pictures of all the waiters hanging out or something?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 5:49 AM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Any kind of tax records? Either ones you filed or they filed.
posted by easily confused at 6:02 AM on September 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

I've seen lots of letters from former or current employers used as verification.

Call the restaurant and ask if they will write you a letter. They may already have a form letter they use for this, if not offer to write it up for them to review and sign, as suggested above.
posted by bunderful at 6:18 AM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

I don't think any business will provide written proof of tax fraud. I mean, I feel for you, because waitstaff don't make much and you didn't work there but a few weeks, but still your income was supposed to be reported to the IRS.

Will they accept a notarized letter from a coworker? Offer it notarized, just so it feels more formal to them, and then ask any waitstaff for help with this -- especially if they are also working off the books. Surely someone will help you out.

(In the future, I would just not mention that job.)
posted by Houstonian at 6:58 AM on September 21, 2013

I don't think any restaurant will be willing to sign something that admits to tax fraud, if you were paid off the books. The option you're left with is letting the place you're interviewing know that that happened and what you learned from it. You'd have to frame it like, "I didn't realize I was being paid off the books, but as soon as I put it together, of course I stopped working there. I'm willing to sign something to that effect, please let me know what will satisfy your requirement." If I were hiring a young person, I'd be impressed with this as it shows evolving good judgement. (No idea if you're a young person, but your last question involved spilling beer on a keyboard, so I'm taking a guess here based on that and you're writing style.)

Good luck. Next were time, explain the gap by saying you were either traveling or taking care of family obligations, if either one of those is remotely true. Don't ever claim that you were volunteering when you weren't, that's very easy to check up on.
posted by juniperesque at 7:50 AM on September 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Just write up a letter as described above. You don't know who's going to be signing it, so just have whoever it is print their name underneath the signature. Don't bring up the tax fraud issue. If they do ask for a pay stub, then you'll have to say "they paid me cash."

And by the way, this whole thing is bizarre. Why aren't they doing the standard employment verification phone call? The only time I've ever seen a request for written documentation is when an employer asks for an old pay stub to verify prior salary.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:09 AM on September 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

Is this restaurant in the U.S.? They may not have done it, since it seems they were paying you under the table, but businesses in the U.S. are required to get employees to fill out the form I-9. Perhaps they have one on file, they have to keep them for years after your separation from employment.
posted by IvoShandor at 10:42 PM on September 21, 2013