Leaving current job, HR asking for name of new company of employment. Am I entitled to keep that private?

Question

I was blessed with a new job opportunity which I have taken. Having put in my 2 weeks with my current employer, I am being asked by HR to fill out a pre-exit-interview survey. One of the questions marked as mandatory is "What is the name of the new company, and what will be your position and role there?"

I feel like this violates my privacy. I do not think it is applicable information for which they are entitled. Is this an appropriate way to think? I've never resigned from a job before and I don't know if this is normal. Am I entitled to keep private the name of company for which I took a new job?

The question on the survey is nonsense because anyone can resign without having a new job lined up. — sf02, Jun 02 '20 at 17:59
If you are worried about the legality and your rights, you should ask on https://law.stackexchange.com/ and really needs a country/state tag since local laws vary a lot. If you want some advice on what to do or how to react, please rephrase your question accordingly. — Hilmar, Jun 02 '20 at 18:00
Marking this as a duplicate of the linked question as that's basically what your question boils down to. If it's more about what you can (refuse to) say at an exit interview take a look at these questions as well. — Lilienthal, Jun 02 '20 at 18:03
Read this question a couple of days ago - the answers/ comments are about the same... — Solar Mike, Jun 02 '20 at 19:20
Tell them to get lost. Is that difficult? What can they do, fire you? — Rui F Ribeiro, Jun 05 '20 at 23:28

score 14 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 02 '20 at 17:44

14

Unless contractually obligated (and it will hold up to scrutiny), you have no need to fill out that survey, much less tell them where you're going and what you'll be doing.

answered Jun 02 '20 at 17:44

Havegooda

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Right, and it has less to do with keeping in touch with you. They tend to disguise that question to make it appear friendly. Truth is they're seeing what the competition is like and if it is something they need to offer. I don't think it is for sensiter reasons though that they would ask, so you don't have to worry about that aspect. – Dan Jun 02 '20 at 18:35
It absolutely can be sinister reasons. I know of a case were two employees left for the same company, but 3 years apart, so the old company sued the new one for targeted recruiting. I was a bogus case, but they drug out the proceedings until they settled the case and the employees lost their jobs. – Whistler Jun 03 '20 at 17:22

Leaving current job, HR asking for name of new company of employment. Am I entitled to keep that private?

1 Answers1