u/EternallyBlue72

Just received a provisional offer from HMRC for an EO role and I’m currently going through the pre-employment checks/references stage.

I’m a bit unsure what to do with the referee section and was hoping for advice from anyone who’s been through the Civil Service vetting process before.

The form asks for 3 referees who can confirm your history over the last 3 years, including an employer or academic reference from within that period. Ideally I’d use current or previous line managers, but I’m a bit hesitant about current management potentially being contacted before I’ve received a formal offer/start date.

The form also says:

“We will only contact your referees if we need to. We are asking for their details in advance to avoid any delays in your pre-employment checks.
We will ask them to provide information for the name that you have applied under.”

How strict are HMRC/Civil Service generally with referee requirements during PECs? Do they specifically expect managers/HR contacts, or are they mainly just looking for people who can verify your employment/history and identity?

Also, in people’s experience, how often do they actually contact referees during the process?

Appreciate any advice from anyone who’s been through it.

Would honestly advise anyone dealing with this to not even bother wasting time with Permethrin.

For us, it was completely useless. You barely get enough in a tube to properly cover your whole body, so you’re constantly worrying you’ve missed areas. Me and my girlfriend done 4 full rounds (with follow-ups) and it didn’t clear it at all.

Weeks of this and nothing changed - just constant itching, marks coming back, and feeling like we were slowly going insane. It genuinely felt hopeless.

We were then prescribed Malathion (Derbac M) as a second-line treatment and it worked straight away for both of us. Way easier to apply, plenty in the bottle, and you can actually cover yourself properly without stressing.

If you’re in the UK and going to your GP about this, I’d honestly push for Malathion or even Ivermectin instead of repeating permethrin over and over.

Just my experience, but permethrin felt like a complete waste of time for us.