So I was just about to put in an application for a job online when I came across a problem. This message appeared (Hope this isn't a breach of EC T & C. I've deleted the name of the establishment hoping this makes it ok) Privacy Policy _____ is committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and our Privacy Policy. By completing and submitting an employment application to ______, you are consenting to ______ collecting, using and disclosing your personal information for the purpose of considering your employment application, confirming references, and for such other purposes as may be necessary in order to establish an employment relationship with you or contemplated by our Privacy Policy. By clicking submit you are also confirming that you have all necessary authority and/or have obtained all necessary consents from any other individuals about whom you have provided personal information to ________ in order to enable us to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes described above. You also confirm to the best of your knowledge the information given in your application above is true, accurate and complete. You understand that ________ reserves the right to decline to offer me employment/withdraw an offer or to dismiss me without notice should the information given by you prove to be inaccurate or misleading in any way. You understand that all offers of employment are subject to and conditional on the receipt of satisfactory references and that in the event of my commencing employment prior to the receipt of references, the subsequent receipt of unsatisfactory references would entitle _______ to terminate the employment without notice. You also understand that in appropriate circumstances any offer may be conditional upon receipt of a satisfactory medical and/or acceptable criminal records bureau checks. For further information regarding our personal information handling practices, please refer to our Privacy Policy So what I wondered was, as I have not yet officially changed my name and title, and my previous employers and education establishment don't know about my trans status (and why the fuck should they), if I applied for the job with my birth name, biological sex and title and then turned up to the interview where my trans status would be disclosed either by a.) the way I dress b.) if I decided to be upfront and tell them, would the T & C above (esp. highlighted in bold) mean that they have the right to turn me down for employment because of my trans status or if I had already been employed, terminate my contract because it looks that way to me. Another thing, how would I ensure my privacy is protected from my previous employer? I need them to provide a reference and right now, I would get a good one but any correspondence between a potential employer and my previous place of work could lead to my previous employers finding out about me being trans and then being the complete bastards that they were, they would probably give me a bad reference (EXTREMELY homophobic/transphobic/racist place of work) which will make it impossible for me to get a new job What do you do in this situation? I am willing to try my luck going for interviews/applying for jobs being out as trans but what I cannot and will not condone is my privacy being violated and my previous place of work finding out that I am trans. Any advice from those of you who have transitioned between employment?
Right. You don't have the forms to back up an application in a new gender anyway so you need to either tick the box that says female or if there is an option, prefer not to say. A lot of forms will ask you for your name and then ask if you've ever been known by any other name. If this is the case, put your new name and then your old one. If you only have one option put your old name and if you get an interview say you prefer Alex. IF they ask you why (and they shouldn't) then you can explain you are going to be changing it soon but since you didn't have any ID with it you thought it would be best to wait until you found a job! If they bother to get a reference they will usually only bother after at least an interview has been offered. They will either get it in preparation for the interview or afterwards. If they get it before your identity is protected. If they get it after you have chance at interview to explain. Now. If you get an interview, turn up as male. Male clothing. In one on one speech, gendered pronouns don't come up a whole lot. I mean if they want to refer to you they will use your name, so as far as you are concerned you are going there as male, they can think what they like. As long as you are dressed smart, wearing male clothing probably won't be a problem. Basically I wouldn't even bring it up unless it comes up. You are going and presenting as male. You can start rocking boats when the job is yours and the best bit is they can't say a damn word about it once you are employed. Not. ONE.
Ok so I'm not deceiving them and giving false info if I apply with my birth name and say I'm female? I don't know why but I'm just really anxious about them finding out about me being trans where I used to work and then giving me a bad reference to every potential employer. Doesn't help I live so near....eh. I don't really even want this job that I'm looking at. It's a job and that's all. I don't feel in a position to know what career I want because I feel so....underdeveloped. Idk. I just want to spend time with people, people I care about but I don't really have anyone I can feel that way about at the moment. You know how I feel about my family and after realising I've spent most of my life shut away hiding from the world with my art and music, I just feel like there's this massive void I need filling...Idk..I'm just talking rubbish now
I wouldn't be worried about that. I'm always more concerned with the part where an employer can drop you, for whatever reason, and not have to tell you why.
It would only be false info if you had already changed your name be deed poll and had some way of identifying yourself as male, say through a passport change. As I say, you can tell them you prefer to go by Alex at the beginning and usually they will go with it. Most people are fine with using a different name as long as it's normal. If you went in and said "By the way, call me DOMINATOR" they probably wouldn't be so keen! Thing is, you can bring up being trans at interview if you want, but they CANNOT ask you about it, because if you actually had a GRC you could get them in way more than theirs jobs worth of trouble. If it doesn't come up, and the chances are it won't, then I wouldn't even mention it. As I said, once you HAVE the job you can tell them that you need them to remember to use male pronouns and things if they don't already and they can't do anything about it. If they refuse you have a rather nice discrimination case building. You're not talking rubbish, I feel the same way. Right now I have no idea what I want to do, I just want to do SOMETHING a couple of days a week so I have some money and human contact. That's natural when you've spent the majority of your life hiding inside your own head!
So is it better to wait until I have a job to change my name by deed poll? The thing is, even if I got this job I don't think I'd be doing it for long before looking for something else and so at some point, I'm going to have to apply for work as Mr. Alex _______ before hormones and surgery. So it doesn't seem to matter one way or another and if it does, I will have to start looking for something that is a longer term career and transition on the job.
Not at all, just don't do it in between. The last thing you want is to apply for a job and have no ID with your new name! Think is if you change your before applying you will have to talk to them about it before you get a reference, because they will need to know who to ask about. Word of warning. IF you decide to change your name/ID before you apply and you get an interview and they ask if it's OK for a reference you MUST MUST MUST make sure you do the following. Explain that they will need to ask about you using your OLD NAME EXCLUSIVELY. Bring your deed poll document along with you to the interview to prove the name change happened AFTER you left your old job. DO NOT mention that you old boss was ANY kind of phobic. All your new guy needs to know is that you changed your name between now and then, they do not need to know WHY you don't want them to know about it.
If I'm not honest about my gender in the interview and they ring up my old boss to ask for a reference and then start asking my old boss questions if they're curious as to why I've changed my name and the fact I'll be wearing men's clothing, I'm worried that will tip them off What to do.
Like I said, they can't legally bring up your gender in the interview. YOU can, but you don't have to. So if you want to avoid it, don't bring it up. Bring it up when you get the job. That way your old employer cannot find out. Your new employer is unlikely to care about what your old employer thinks about your new name, I wouldn't think they would even mention it. They want to know if you work hard and do what your told, your personal life probably isn't of much interest to them. As for the men's clothing, again, they can't ask about it so you don't need to worry too much. Keep in mind that your new employer has NO IDEA what your relationship is with your old boss. For all they know you are best friends and you will hear EXACTLY what they ask for when asking for a reference. I wouldn't think they would bring it up.
I just think it will look suspicious to them that I left my old job, changed my name and now I'm applying for another job. I would like to think there's no need to mention it but it feels like it would be the elephant in the room lol
People change their name all the time. If they ask why, you just really hated it. As for mentioning you are trans. Unless you have something to go on, all they have is a name and some clothes. Now keep in mind it may well be enough to suggest, but not enough to confirm. As I say, if you WANT to mention it, by all means, my only concern is that if YOU bring it up and the decide not to hire you because of it, they don't ever have to tell you why. Where as if you get the job and THEN you tell them, they cannot FIRE you for it without breaking a whole bunch of human rights treaties we are signed up to.
I would recommend checking the Human Rights Campaign website, find the Corporate Equality Index. This big pdf lists and rates every major company on their equality, including rights based on Gender Identity. I landed my current job from that list and my co-workers are all absolutely wonderful
See... Being a teacher and mass state law says I cannot be discriminated against. On paper if I come out there. Except there are ALWAYS loopholes in terms of finding a reason to fire or "let go" a teacher due to budget cuts... so yea.
What sucks the most is being in a "will to work" state. Which basically means you work at X place so long as X places wills you to work there
I'll get tenure... But that only guarantees they will ask me back next year and I have a job based on senority. But yes. I have heard the stories about transgender teachers "being let go" for "reasons".
I've got a gay friend who was a middle school teacher for a while, and he's super careful about who he's out to cause he could've gotten fired in an instant. Alabama is a shitty place ><
Gay doesn't get you fired in MA at least. Trans... Still not safe even in MA for teachers. Remember trans is at least 10 to 15 years behind gay rights or more.
You and me both, sister! What sucks for me is that I live in a city with an anti-discrimination ordinance that includes gender identity, but I work in a neighboring county where there's no non-discrimination law or ordinance in effect (and probably won't be until long after I retire).
