Hi David, He should never (have) been (given) the job. Notice that the verb is used in the present perfect tense. Present perfect tenses are used to describe actions that took place in the place and are still taking place now as we speak. This also means that he was given the job in the past. He is still working for the same organisation or employer now. However, there are people who do not think he is up to the job. Perhaps the job should have been given to someone else more competent. He should never (be) given the job. The word "be" means that an action has not started yet. For example: I will be attending a musical performance this weekend. In your sentence, the person is not accepted for the job. In addition, some people do not think that he is a suitable candidate for the position. Hope this helps! Cheers, Lance

Hi David! Yes, if the sentence reads "he should never have been given the job," it means he currently does have the job (but the speaker regrets that he has it and believes whoever gave him the job made a mistake doing so). Notice the words "have been given"? That means the job was given to him already some time in the past. If you changed the sentence to "he should never be given the job," it now means that (a) he currently does not have the job in question and (b) the person speaking does not think he is qualified (or will ever be qualified) to have the job. I hope this helps answer your question. 如果没有看懂，请跟我讲。我可以用中文帮你解释。