What to do if keep getting bad references

rainbowj63

Hi i am completely stuffed have been unemployed since march since i was terminated after i made a complaint under the grievance procedure about abuse at work and the fact i was being bullied becaused of my complaint, anyway it backfired i was terminated instead of being kept on after my six months probation. I have been offered jobs but after the reference the offers are being withdrawn which is devastating.I am a social care worker and have worked tirelessly for the last 20 years and now i find i am unemployable. It is making me ill and wonder if anyone else has and experiences similar or any advice to help me out of this hole. The sad things is I had already worked for this company and was recommended for the role, had always got impeccable references from my previous manager but now they are seemingly preventing him giving me my usual reference so i am really stuffed.
Help anyone i am truly desperate and also worried if my JSA will eventually be affected if i am turned down for jobs.
I am really struggling its making me ill. I feel ashamed and worthless and very embarrassed. :huh:

dmg24

Is the reference accurate?

Louise22

Hi there

I can totally sympathise with this - I was dismissed from my last job and had one job offer withdrawn and another one nearly withdrawn (although they gave me a chance to explain myself, and have thankfully gave me the job). It is horrible - I felt exactly the same as you - scared that I would never get another job, as my old job told potential future employers I had been dismissed. It looks bad, doesn't it? Even although I had been dismissed at the end of my probation because I could not reach some impossible sales targets, the word "dismissed" can pretty much cover anything!

It depends what you were dismissed for......?

rainbowj63

I dont know what the reference said, they just said it was very poor, and that i was not allowed to know what it said. I had already explained to the people that offered me the job that I would not get a fair reference as my previous boss was very vindictive, i did not use terms such as that and tried to sound objective and professional hard when it is so personal. The reason they dismissed me was contrived to get rid of me i should have seen it coming i just expected to be treated fairly, as the complaint was against my boss and her deputy who were so abusive in the house it just shot myself in the foot. I felt i had no choice and thought the procedures in house would be fairly used by they all closed ranks and i am left out in the cold with a ruined record. Thanks for replying.

damoandclaire

as i understand it, companies cannot give you a "bad reference" however, they can be truth about what happened in previous employment.

can i just clarify some of your post -

you filed a greviance at work regarding abuse (abuse you carried out, or abuse they carried out towards you?), then starting to be bullied about said complaint and then dismissed?

could you clarify a little bit for us?

one thing i would say, is that, your previous employer should have records of everything they have sent out, including all your employment records(including greviences etc). do a SAR to them to obtain a copy of your records, which, in theory, should include copies of the references they have sent out based on requests received (i could be wrong). if they are being derogatory (that spelt right? :rolleyes:) in the references then i beleive you may have some sort of legal ground. A visit to the CAB would also help you clarify things.

hope you get it sorted out.

Louise22

That sounds very similar, OP! As someone else has stated, you can get a "bad" reference as long as it is factual and they could prove it. Chances are the reference just said "dismissed", which is obviously enough to put a dampner on a job....it is just a shame that you were not given a proper opportunity to explain the situation, as I was when my bad reference came through.

I can really sympathise with you - it breaks your heart. My best advice would be to be completely honest about the situation without !!!!!ing about your old employers. This is what I did and I got a job.:D

dmg24

damoandclaire wrote: »

as i understand it, companies cannot give you a "bad reference"

This is wrong. A reference can say pretty much anything, as long as it is accurate.

rainbowj63

it was abuse i witnessed at work from the deputy and unfair treatment of employees by the manager and deputy. Also bullying directed towards me when i challenged things. The problem is in the dismissal letter they used a procedure which everyone did not adhere to as it was impractical particularly the deputy and the manager and everyone blatantly i did not adhere to it very slightly one shift and on paper i guess they have grounds to say i did not adhere to a policy they did not listen to my explanations, as they just wanted to use this to get me out. Dont think i have a leg to stand on. Have just been very very naive in thinking people are honest and not underhand. I hate myself at the moment for being so stupid i should have got out when i realised i was being victimised but i did not want to leave my clients or my colleagues.

damoandclaire

dmg24 wrote: »

This is wrong. A reference can say pretty much anything, as long as it is accurate.

hence i said further on that they can be truthful in them. for example, they can't simply say that a person is rubbish at workl did nothing but complain and not worth employing.

if for example, their targets and stats etc were very poor and constitued disciplinary and then dismissal then that can be put in the reference because it is fact and accurate - a reference cannot be derogatory towards someone else as this would NOT be truthful or accurate - it would be based on assumptions.

rainbowj63

felt so bad did nt go to the last three interviews i had because i could not face the embarrassment of trying to explain it all.
Some people have said to leave them off as references ie. but i dont want to be dishonest, also they are my last and third last employers so i dont see a way out of it.

Oldernotwiser

If you do some work on a voluntary basis it will enable you to maintain and/or improve your skills and get a reference which will supercede the one you're having problems with.

You might also consider going back to college to upgrade your current qualification, which could include a work placement, and this would have the same effect. If you do this part time you should be able to carry on claiming JSA and probably get the course fees paid for you.