Social Insurance #
- Thread starter master_bates
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Before? No. They can't ask during the interview process. After? Yes, they need it to set up the pay.
Elections Canada is a government agency. The SIN (Hey! Work with this hobby!
) is a governmental number and cannot be used by anybody else but the government except for purposes of communicating with the government. My insurance company used to use the SIN as customer numbers and was forced to change their entire system of classification.
After employment, employers need the SIN to ensure the TAXES and other government deductions are paid and the employee is legally allowed to work in Canada. It's illegal for an employer to demand the SIN before he gives somebody a firm job offer. Once you get the job, you CAN get fired if you don't provide a SIN, possibly ensuring a very short career with the new employer if you can't.
) is a governmental number and cannot be used by anybody else but the government except for purposes of communicating with the government. My insurance company used to use the SIN as customer numbers and was forced to change their entire system of classification.After employment, employers need the SIN to ensure the TAXES and other government deductions are paid and the employee is legally allowed to work in Canada. It's illegal for an employer to demand the SIN before he gives somebody a firm job offer. Once you get the job, you CAN get fired if you don't provide a SIN, possibly ensuring a very short career with the new employer if you can't.
master_bates said:
Yes. Employers usually use it to run a credit check on you before issuing a final offer. They don't absolutely need a SIN to run a credit check, but it makes it easier and reduces the odds of pulling up the wrong file.
Note: It's a good idea to write to the main credit bureaus every couple of years and ask for a free copy of your credit report, so you can check for errors.
What does credit have to do with getting a job?
You're not looking to buy something long term
I recently applied for a job with elections canada on voting day
and even they asked for my SIN # on a 1 day job
You're not looking to buy something long term
I recently applied for a job with elections canada on voting day
and even they asked for my SIN # on a 1 day job
the only time you are to give out your SIN in Canada (not sure about the USA) is when you stand to make money. Any job - one day or 20 years - you're making money. If you're investing, opening a bank account (interest).
Other then that, by law you DO NOT have to give them your SIN number for any reason at all.
This is one piece of identiy they recommend you DO NOT carry around in your wallet, but commit to memory or only bring it when you're either hired (they can ask for it on your application, but you don't have to give it to them until you're actually hired).
Other then that, by law you DO NOT have to give them your SIN number for any reason at all.
This is one piece of identiy they recommend you DO NOT carry around in your wallet, but commit to memory or only bring it when you're either hired (they can ask for it on your application, but you don't have to give it to them until you're actually hired).
master_bates said:
If an employee's file shows terrible credit or bankruptcies, the employer might ask what the cause was. The employer has legitimate cause to wonder if you're more likely to steal from them if you're deep in hock, especially if your job is to handle money.
Btw, bad credit can even cause you to pay more for car or home insurance, or lose security clearance for some jobs.
This doesn't apply in Canada. Here, my employer have no say on my financial situation, besides the money he's contributing and, if I would ever find my employer does try sticking his nose in my finance, I could get him in serious trouble for invading my privacy. In Canada, for now, it might change if The Conservatives are reelected, employees have priority over employers, unlike the States where employees are less than nothing. (California-excepted)Kepler said:
One's financial situation also have no impact on insurance whatsoever: as long as the premium is paid on time, there's no impact and no way the premium can legally be related to one's financial situation.
On the insurance front, some studies tend to say peoples who have financial troubles are more likely to have claims. This would explain the relation between financial status and premiums in the USA. Of course, these studies were held by insurance companies and the data on how and what was checked is not readily available so, assessing the validity of these studies is quite difficult.
metoo4 said:
I'm sorry, but this is largely incorrect.
In Canada, the controlling legislation is PIPEDA, passed by the Liberals, and it fully allows what I've described above.
And if you think Canadian insurance companies are not allowed to charge different premiums based on your credit score, I invite you to call and find out for yourself. (some, but not all of them do it)
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Kepler said:
This is quite true and little known in Canada. Canadians are not as sensitive to the state of their credit ratings or their use as US citizens who make a hobby of this.
I got this from Equifax Canada site:
"A credit reporting agency may only provide a copy of your file when the request relates to the extension of credit, collection of a debt, housing rental, an application for employment or for insurance purposes. Since your credit file contains only factual information, it is important to remember that each of the companies requesting your credit file will interpret those facts in its own way to arrive at a decision. "
This is very similar to the US. It is important to note that, by law, credit reports can only be pulled with written consent of the consumer (both Canada and the US). Unfortunately this requirement is routinely ignored and many consumers are unaware of this.
Many studies have been done on the strong correlation between credit ratings and insurance risk. The same principle clearly applies to employment performance.
Finally, while the Federal PIPEDA (could there be a worst acronym) governs disclosure of personal information, provincial laws restrict the usage of credit information to specific purposes as noted above. In the US, the Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) performs about the same function.
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