I had someone apply for a job through a recruiter at my company and passed the interview with flying colors. However, it has come across after the interview that they may not have the legal ability to work. The company I work for is audited regularly, so I can’t have hiring them swept under the rug.
How do I deal with this without jepordizing the applicant?
We were going to hire them, but they can’t show proof of working in the country.
And since I recommended that they get hired and they can’t show the right paperwork, it is becoming my job on how I should proceed.
Edit: Yeah, I was the one interviewing.
Ok, sorry, I read it differently when I first commented. Asking for proof of eligibility to work in the US with a reasonable timeline to furnish documents definitely seems like it makes sense like others said, but I’ll admit this isn’t my area of expertise by a long shot in terms of hiring protocols and my initial comment was from entirely the wrong perspective to address your dilemma.
Well, they have to show proof of ability to work in the country. If they can’t, they don’t get the job.
Consult your HR department. Likely they will give a reasonable timeline for the appropriate documents to be provided and if they can’t furnish proof of work eligibility, they don’t get the job.
I’ve been consulting with HR. They’ve come to the conclusion that the applicant probably isn’t able to work. I’m just trying to wind this down.
I understand that your concerned for the person, but simply telling them that they need to produce proof before you can go any further seems fine.
This is all HR’s problem, not anyone else’s. It’s what HR is for.
Not sure why they’re punting it back to you.
What country are you in? If USA, you must be able to fill out an I-9. It’s pretty cut and dry. If there is a recruiter involved, they are required to have the potential employee complete one before they refer them.
US. We’ve tried to get the applicant to fill out an I-9, which failed.
“we would love to hire you, but can’t until you fill out this document, I can wait until X date, but after that we will have to hire another applicant. Please get back with us as soon as possible, we would hate to miss out on the opportunity to work with such a highly qualified candidate”
Well then give the candidate a deadline and move on when/if they can’t.
If you are in the US and they aren’t able to work in the US legally, I’m sure they are worried that admitting they are not legal would possibly mean getting deported that much faster, so they are looking for a way to sneak out without admitting their status.
I’m looking to try to unwind this with as little blowback to the applicant as possible.
They have to file paperwork with the necessary supporting documents. If they can’t, you have no idea why. Maybe it’s because they’re ineligible and in violation of immigration and visa restrictions. Maybe it’s because the documents were lost in a move. Maybe they had their identity stolen and are awaiting new documents. Maybe they just don’t actually give a shit about the job and aren’t bothering to do the paperwork to start working.
All you can say is that you’ve asked them to fill out the paperwork and they haven’t done so.
Then don’t report them to ICE? Repost the want ad and move on. Treat it like they stopped responding, because they did.
I’m not going to report them to ICE, but I’m trying to address all the issues of going non-responsive.
How would you normally handle someone going dark at this point in the hiring process?