Employer requesting a Bank Statement and Passport

Hira_Tana

Hello,

I've been working in Ireland for the past five years and this has never happened before.
My employer with whom I've worked for a year, messaged me asking for several documents which no previous employer in Ireland has asked of me.

1. A scan of my passport
2. A bank Statement

I am not Irish, but I am a European citizen and frankly, I don't feel comfortable giving this information. He said that it should have been collected when I first started but I've worked with this company for a year now. Yes, other employees who are not European have been asked to do the same.

Am a required by law to supply this information?

dudara

Have they told you why they are asking for this information?

If they haven’t, I would ask them why they are collecting this personal data, and their legal basis for doing so.

BowSideChamp

Asking for bank statement is odd - they would have all your bank details with payroll.

This should put a stop to them.

https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/FAQ_-_passport/919.htm

Beasty

Depends on the nature of the business, but my employer asked for ID information last year. There was never any question but they had to tick all the right boxes, as they had never done a check in my prior 29 years of employment with them. All new employees automatically go through it, and they were simply going through everyone that had never been checked previously

Bicycle

The passport may be needed to (a) establish your identity and (b) show that you are entitled to work in Ireland

The Bank Statement may be required because you are working in a financial area. To show that you are not heavily in debt and therefore be less of a security risk.

I am an Irish citizen and have been asked to show my passport when being interviewed.

siobhan08

1) Passport - to show evidence that you have the right to work in Ireland i.e bring an EU citizen.
2) Bank Statement - Proof of Address. That is usually the document asked for to prove address.

It's likely they were overlooked when you started and the company could possibly be due a HR audit and are getting all their ducks in a row

I was asked for the same when I lived in England and I'm an Irish citizen

Glass fused light

Hira_Tana wrote: »

Hello,

I've been working in Ireland for the past five years and this has never happened before.
My employer with whom I've worked for a year, messaged me asking for several documents which no previous employer in Ireland has asked of me.

1. A scan of my passport
2. A bank Statement

I am not Irish, but I am a European citizen and frankly, I don't feel comfortable giving this information. He said that it should have been collected when I first started but I've worked with this company for a year now. Yes, other employees who are not European have been asked to do the same.

Am a required by law to supply this information?

With the Bank statement just put a blank page over the transactions and any balances leave the name, address and bank account details plus the issue data visible.

As an anti-fraud measure Payroll may need proof of the account your payroll money is being paid into to prove that they are not faking an employee.

If they are doing a credit check they would be looking over a period of time.

Hira_Tana

To everyone who answered,

Thank you very much for your fast reply.
Quick update, as I just spoke with my collegues.

1. I work at a restaurant chain.
2. None of the Irish employees have been asked to submit any of the above mentioned information.
3. When I asked my employer as to why I should submit said information, I was not given a concrete answer. I was just told to "bring whatever" and "should have been done long ago"
4. I'll probably provide my ID and proof of address bank statement page. I don't feel the need to make a big issue out of this. Still, the fact that Irish employees need not provide this information seems unfair.

Thank you for your help.

JennyZ

They have a legal obligation to establish that you have a right to work in Ireland. Hence the need to request and take a copy of your EU passport. If you didn't hold an EU passport they would need to see a Stamp 4 Visa.They should have requested it from you before you started but it's not a big issue. It's standard procedure and a lot companies request it across the board. No biggie.

average_runner

Hira_Tana wrote: »

Hello,

I've been working in Ireland for the past five years and this has never happened before.
My employer with whom I've worked for a year, messaged me asking for several documents which no previous employer in Ireland has asked of me.

1. A scan of my passport
2. A bank Statement

I am not Irish, but I am a European citizen and frankly, I don't feel comfortable giving this information. He said that it should have been collected when I first started but I've worked with this company for a year now. Yes, other employees who are not European have been asked to do the same.

Am a required by law to supply this information?

This is very common if your role is anything to do with financial data or insurance companies info.

For my last job i had to provide all of my previous addresses, passport and bank statements for six months as was dealing with financial info

Jim2007

Hira_Tana wrote: »

Hello,

I've been working in Ireland for the past five years and this has never happened before.
My employer with whom I've worked for a year, messaged me asking for several documents which no previous employer in Ireland has asked of me.

1. A scan of my passport
2. A bank Statement

I am not Irish, but I am a European citizen and frankly, I don't feel comfortable giving this information. He said that it should have been collected when I first started but I've worked with this company for a year now. Yes, other employees who are not European have been asked to do the same.

Am a required by law to supply this information?

This is a standard requirement throughout the EU/EEA/CH. Employers must be able to show that they have checked out the people they are employing. If the employer is controlled and is unable to produce the necessary documentation there are serious consequences for the employer.

If you don't wish to provide the information, that is your business. But you should know that in such circumstances your employer will have no choice but to terminate your employment as to do otherwise would be a breach of the law.

lawred2

Jim2007 wrote: »

Hira_Tana wrote: »

Hello,

I've been working in Ireland for the past five years and this has never happened before.
My employer with whom I've worked for a year, messaged me asking for several documents which no previous employer in Ireland has asked of me.

1. A scan of my passport
2. A bank Statement

I am not Irish, but I am a European citizen and frankly, I don't feel comfortable giving this information. He said that it should have been collected when I first started but I've worked with this company for a year now. Yes, other employees who are not European have been asked to do the same.

Am a required by law to supply this information?

This is a standard requirement throughout the EU/EEA/CH. Employers must be able to show that they have checked out the people they are employing. If the employer is controlled and is unable to produce the necessary documentation there are serious consequences for the employer.

If you don't wish to provide the information, that is your business. But you should know that in such circumstances your employer will have no choice but to terminate your employment as to do otherwise would be a breach of the law.

Standard for whom?

I've never once been asked for such paperwork in 15 years.

JennyZ

lawred2 wrote: »

Standard for whom?

I've never once been asked for such paperwork in 15 years.

It's pretty standard for employers to request proof of entitlement to work in Ireland. I'm Irish and have had to provide my passport for public and private sector roles. I work with foreign nationals in the employment arena, in this case OP they simply need to see either an EU passport or a GNIB Stamp 4 as proof that you are entitled to work in Ireland plus bank statement as proof of address before they can legally employ.