Techie calls hiring process in India ‘filthy’, slams HRs’ demands for previous pay slips: ‘Privacy is a myth’

An Indian expat working as an engineer in France’s capital Paris has sparked a debate on the pre-recruitment process in India, calling it “filthy,” particularly criticising companies that ask for previous payslips. The social media user, who goes by the name Akhilesh on X, shared a series of tweets and invited opinions from others, many of whom expressed their perspectives in the comments.

“Today I learnt that it is very common for Indian companies to ask for your previous payslips while hiring. This is a filthy practice. It is invasive and shows zero respect for candidate privacy. Any company doing this deserves public shaming. Stop tolerating this trash,” the techie wrote.

Akhilesh questioned why companies rely on candidates’ previous salaries instead of assessing and compensating them based on their skills.

“Most replies are—’because people lie about their previous salaries. Why is this data point needed in the first place? It surely isn’t needed to judge skill or role fit.

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Companies already know their budget and the market rate for a role. Knowing previous salary serves no purpose,” he said.

He also reignited the discussion around HR practices such as asking candidates about their plans for marriage, pregnancies, and other personal details. “Simply incredible, this needs to stop,” he added.

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Tweets Spark Heated Debate on X

One user in the comments shared a personal experience, saying, “This is what I got from one of the companies I applied to in 2023 as part of the initial screening! It still haunts me!!” The attached HR questionnaire reportedly asked for personal details such as the applicant’s living situation, family background, service commitment, and more. Responding to this, Akhilesh wrote, “I don’t have words for this, lmao.”

He reiterated: “Why is it difficult for some people to understand? Let the market and your skills decide your future salary—not your past salary, ffs.”

However, not everyone agreed with him. One user countered, questioning what’s wrong with sharing payslips with HR, especially when people readily share the same documents with bank officials.

“Privacy is a myth. There is nothing wrong with asking for a payslip, previous offer letter, bank statement, etc. An employer has every right to check such documents. In fact, many times candidates themselves ask for a 20–30% hike based on their current salary. So how else can an employer verify the current salary?

And as for privacy, that’s just nonsense. You’re happy to hand over your financial documents to a bank executive for a loan or credit card, but when HR from a reputed company asks for the same, suddenly it’s a privacy concern? That’s pure hypocrisy.”

To this, Akhilesh sharply replied:”‘An employer has every right to check such documents.’ No, they don’t.”

The post has garnered over one million views and triggered a flurry of comments online.

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