I was in a permanent position with a major employer in Switzerland. My employment contract was there after two years so basically I was sacked from my permanent job position. I am in the process of receiving a 6 months contract from another company in Switzerland. This contract will be through an employment agency in London. What should I tell them about my previous employment? Should I tell them my contract with them ended or should I tell them the truth that my permanent job position was terminated? Basically shoukd i tell them the truth that i was sacked from my job? Is there a way for this agency to find this out in Switzerland? I already told them my contract with my previous employer ended. They then said they thought I am in a permanent position with that employer and it’s not a temporary contract. Will it be a problem that I lied to them?
You will very probably get found out. It is very usual in Switzerland for a new employer to take up references from the previous employer. In my experience as an employer, they do this by calling the previous manager directly. I’ve had these calls from recruitment agencies too about ex employees.
You should always tell the truth. But what is missing from the above story is why you were “…basically sacked from my permanent job position”. Were you moved from perm to temp because the company did not need so many people full time due to a downturn in business? Was it a redundancy situation or business closure? Gross misconduct?
People on the receiving end of the boot may call all of these options “sacked” - but there is a great difference to your prospective employer.
Your possible bigger issue might be one of permit. Eg. If you’re UK and not EU and you were on a B tied to your previous employer, you may not be eligible for this new contract.
Kind regards
Ian
My first concern would be to find out if the agency is properly licensed in Switzerland, because if it is not, then you will have bigger problems - like permit problems. And yes it has happened in the past.
As for your past history, unless you are joining a very local Swiss company, the chances are good someone will find out. The Swiss market is small and the expat market is even smaller.
Just a few examples from my past (now retired):
- I came home one evening to have my wife tell me how she had found an ideal candidate for a position at her company. On hear the name I had to explain that I had escorted him from our offices a few weeks earlier for gross misconduct!
- On another occasion I had a former colleague at another company call me to tell me a former subordinate was presenting my CV as his own! And yes when we went over it about 80% of it had been lifted from my resume.
- On another occasion I had what I believed was the ideal candidate, but when I presented him at the managers weekly meeting I was told by a colleague that she had been terminated for serious misconduct at a company where he worked.
It’s your call, but if you are joining an international or national firm, there is a good chance someone will have heard of you.