Job lose over a false Reference ?

jgallcash

Perhaps if you have some evidence of your meeting with Unison you could show that to your new employer.

In effect i think its unreasonable to totally rely on a reference provided by a previous employer you had a greivence with!

A reference is a guide but your actual performance in the probationary period is more of an indication of the ability and attitude than any reference can provide.

I had a new member of staff start in August and we recieved an very bad reference for him. As this hadn't happend to me before I sought some advice from HR department. I was told that this was to be taken with a pinch of salt as past employers commonly have something negative to say. Even if it had of been true then as long as this new member of staff performed well then that was ok. Since then best member of staff i have ever had, imagine if we had taken that reference too seriously.

Employers should be committed to supporting and developing the skills of employee's rather than dumping them!

There is a flipside to this conversation. Now i'm not questioning or doubting the OP at all. but as this information is being relayed through the OP and not the actual person could there be a possibility that her performance over the probation period was average? Not necessarily bad but just ok, middle of the road? If so then this reference would definately carry more weight and it may be being used as a get out clause for the new employer. an easy way to get rid of someone perhaps.

I certainly hope this isn't the case but eaither way i hope you have a positive result.

vale46_2

greenwheels007 wrote: »

Fopund it hard to read too..
If the job was given subject to references then there may be no argument

A'negative' reference can be given provided it contains evidence and fact.

What does your daughter say about her previous job, what did she do that may be portrayed badly?

Firstly Thank you ALL for the replys/edit.

My Daughter is waiting for a reply about getting a copy of the Reference

what did she do that may be portrayed badly?

A. There could be a reason ?.
Being responsible she and a work Colleague.

had to report something in writing to her boss

Since then she and her Work Colleague have been out of favour..?

Merlinexcalibur

Please don't take this the wrong way as I don't mean it offensively, but would it be fair to say that English is not your first language? The structure and grammar of your post

Why do people always jump on the 'obvious?' Maybe the OP has a disability, preventing them from forming 'structured grammar'. I really don't think you can go on a post on the internet from first glance. And, TBH, 'Kayleigh' looking around the net at the illiteracy of the 'innit' mob I could easily say English isn't their first language, either.
Maybe they aren't English but ... there are any number of other reasons as well.

Halloway

Regarding the reference: you have a right to see the reference. This should be your first step. You have a right under the Data Protection Act to get a copy of the reference from your prospective employer but not your previous employer.

If the reference contains inaccurate or unfair comments then you have possible redress either through courts (consult the Citizens' Advice Bureau or a solicitor specialising in employment law) or via an employment tribunal. The latter particularly applies if the comments could be seen as discriminatory for the usual reasons (race, gender, age etc etc.)

The law is not clear on what constitutes an unfairly negative reference. There has been established a requirement that references are fair such that negative aspects are not emphasised at the expense of positive ones. So for example, if an employee arrived for work late on one day out of (say) five years, it would not be fair to mention that one occasion.

anniecave

Could it be that the new place are just a bit shocked at receiving a "bad" reference, and therefore rightly or wrongly have put her back on probation or given her a new probationary period.

If she performs as well as she can for the next few weeks then the new place may keep her on anyway?

If I was her I would go to the personell department of the new place and ask to see a copy of the reference and also ask to discuss with them what exactly the scenario is here, with particular reference to her current job. Are they happy with her progress so far? Is there anything she can do to improve? Is there anything that they are unhappy with her so far in her new job?

If she explains that she left the previous employment on bad terms due to the fact she was asked to relocate to a place she couldn't get to and any other relevant reasons (eg personality issues) then the new employer may take less notice of the reference.

Tozer

Halloway wrote: »

Regarding the reference: you have a right to see the reference. This should be your first step. You have a right under the Freedom of Information Act to get a copy of the reference from your prospective employer but not your previous employer.

If the reference contains inaccurate or unfair comments then you have possible redress either through courts (consult the Citizens' Advice Bureau or a solicitor specialising in employment law) or via an employment tribunal. The latter particularly applies if the comments could be seen as discriminatory for the usual reasons (race, gender, age etc etc.)

The law is not clear on what constitutes an unfairly negative reference. There has been established a requirement that references are fair such that negative aspects are not emphasised at the expense of positive ones. So for example, if an employee arrived for work late on one day out of (say) five years, it would not be fair to mention that one occasion.

I cannot see how the Freedom of Information Act entitles you to a copy of the reference in this case.

Halloway

Tozer wrote: »

I cannot see how the Freedom of Information Act entitles you to a copy of the reference in this case.

I meant 'Data Protection Act'.

vale46_2

Sorry its has been a while.

Things do seem strange she has got a copy of her reference last night it was given to her by her present employer.

She has been given a weeks notice in writing on the grounds of not receiving 2 satisfactory references and losses her job next Thursday.!!

The strange thing is her present employer has said there is nothing wrong with her work and they can see she is capable of doing this job she has completed her second period of probation and there is no probs with her work its based on the reference only why she is getting her notice,
(Her notice letter states that its only due to the Reference)
and they will give her a good reference themselves based on what they have seen in her work since she started last Sept

Now looking at her copy of her reference its dated Nov 08 ?

So why didn't her present employer bring this up 3 months ago ?

Her reference has no substance to it
it says

name/address etc
Name/she is a good carer a good worker is honest and trustworthy

in regards to reliability she is not full reliable due to time off sick
and on this ground we would not employ her again

thats it ^

she was off work with her former employer for 2 weeks which included a stay in hospital and her absence was covered by sick note.all this kicked off when she was given a return to work note and they refused her to return to her place off work.
and said she was suspended on medical grounds as i said in my original post

we have a copy of her notice and her reference we hope to get advice
Monday were going to contact acas and i did manage to ring Unison Fri and they want to see the letters Monday as she is a member.

this all stinks to me but i cant see what we can do to save her Job

Shes totally Heartbroken

ps.Sorry not the best at grammer.Doh
i have read all replys

Thank you all
Vale

maninthestreet

vale46 wrote: »

Sorry its has been a while.

Things do seem strange she has got a copy of her reference last night it was given to her by her present employer.

She has been given a weeks notice in writing on the grounds of not receiving 2 satisfactory references and losses her job next Thursday.!!

The strange thing is her present employer has said there is nothing wrong with her work and they can see she is capable of doing this job she has completed her second period of probation and there is no probs with her work its based on the reference only why she is getting her notice,
(Her notice letter states that its only due to the Reference)
and they will give her a good reference themselves based on what they have seen in her work since she started last Sept

Now looking at her copy of her reference its dated Nov 08 ?

So why didn't her present employer bring this up 3 months ago ?

Her reference has no substance to it
it says

name/address etc
Name/she is a good carer a good worker is honest and trustworthy

in regards to reliability she is not full reliable due to time off sick
and on this ground we would not employ her again

thats it ^

she was off work with her former employer for 2 weeks which included a stay in hospital and her absence was covered by sick note.all this kicked off when she was given a return to work note and they refused her to return to her place off work.
and said she was suspended on medical grounds as i said in my original post

we have a copy of her notice and her reference we hope to get advice
Monday were going to contact acas and i did manage to ring Unison Fri and they want to see the letters Monday as she is a member.

this all stinks to me but i cant see what we can do to save her Job

Shes totally Heartbroken

ps.Sorry not the best at grammer.Doh
i have read all replys

Thank you all
Vale

Two weeks off work due to sickness (only sickness in 3 years employment?), hardly makes a person an unreliable employee. I feel the old employer may find they have made a costly mistake.

ghostmadlittlemiss

Merlinexcalibur wrote: »

Why do people always jump on the 'obvious?' Maybe the OP has a disability, preventing them from forming 'structured grammar'. I really don't think you can go on a post on the internet from first glance. And, TBH, 'Kayleigh' looking around the net at the illiteracy of the 'innit' mob I could easily say English isn't their first language, either.
Maybe they aren't English but ... there are any number of other reasons as well.

Maybe because things are often obvious for a reason, ie because they're true. Maybe the OP does have a disability but it seems more likely to me that they don't speak English as a first language. Couldn't agree with you more on the "'innit' mob" though.
Kayleigh