Experienced. Driven. Effective.

Can bankruptcy affect your employment prospects?

On Behalf of | Apr 14, 2022 | Bankruptcy

You work hard in your full-time job but have still run into financial trouble. Maybe your hours have been cut, or your household bills have been increased? This is by no means your fault. Millions of Americans are currently struggling to keep their heads above the water financially.

You’ve carefully considered all of your options and finally decided that bankruptcy is the only viable path. What consequences will this have? Will it affect your current or future employment prospects?

Can you lose your current job?

You may be losing sleep over the prospect of being fired, so it’s important to establish where you stand. An employer is not permitted by law to get rid of you solely on the basis of filing for bankruptcy. If they do this, you may have a legitimate legal grievance against them.

What about future positions?

While employers cannot terminate your contract because of bankruptcy, some prospective employers can take your credit history into account during your application. This is an aspect of your finances that will take a hit during and after the bankruptcy process. It’s important to note that you can begin to rebuild your credit score relatively quickly.

Some professions require employees to handle large sums of money every day. They justify a credit check to ensure that the people they task with this are trustworthy and financially savvy. If you are planning a career in law enforcement or the security services, you may also find that prospective employers want to find out more about your financial history.

What can you do?

They say honesty is the best policy, so it may be in your best interests to come clean with prospective employers about your finances. A decent employer should be understanding, and they might even be able to offer useful advice, yet it will not always be the case. That said, remaining stuck in debt with an ever-worsening credit score will not help your prospects either. Finding out more about bankruptcy options allows you to make the best decision for your future.