Job offered but then withdrawn due to references

terra_ferma

rupee99 wrote: »

Both of these cases do "stand up" legally.

There does not have to be an employee/employer relationship if the OP's wife can establish a case that the prospective employer has been unreasonable or perverse in the rejection of the references. That would be under normal contract law and she would have a claim for damages against them.

If the references were untrue then she would have a claim for defamation against the person who gave it/them.

I specifically stated that neither claim was under employment law, and as Uncertain was responding to my post, by implication so did s/he.

It looks like his wife was sacked from another job where she did not pass probation, so that would probably make it very difficult to argue that they have been unreasonable....

Uncertain

woody01 wrote: »

Neither of those would stand up anywhere legally though.
The never has been an employer/employee relationship so there is no case to answer.

As for the references, it doesnt matter what they say as long as it is factual.

Morally its bad but legally its too bad.

Not so.

The OP could sue the intended new employer for breach of contract if they were unreasonable in deciding that the references were not good enough. This has nothing to do with employment law.

However, the chances of winning and getting anything worthwhile are slim.

rupee99

terra_ferma wrote: »

It looks like his wife was sacked from another job where she did not pass probation, so that would probably make it very difficult to argue that they have been unreasonable....

Quite so, but the point I was making was that there is a legal case, albeit probably not under employment law and, as said further up the thread one with little prospect of success.

daveboy

May I firstly thank the majority of people who have posted here, most posts have been worth reading and they are much appreciated.

May I make it quite clear that my wife has never been dismissed/sacked, or even been disciplined to any degree in any previous employment. So terra_ferma is well off the mark.

I am prepared to chase this issue down the route of the references being acceptable but that they have made an unfair decision. To do this I plan on writing to them and posting the letter on Monday by Special Delivery.

One question I do have, is that I want to (and my wife does too) see the information relating to the references. Will this be an application under the Data Protection Act. Will I have to stump up £10 to these unethical people?

They measured my wife up for uniforms and everything. So I will do everything I can to get at this company, including writing to the local media if there is even a remote chance of them being named and shamed.

Additionally, the job she is about to leave has been filled, so that avenue has gone too. We have managed to go back to a previous employer but it will mean working a 33 hour week for less money, and it's overnight too. But it is better than nothing and having to sign on every two weeks.

I will keep this thread up to date as and when I learn anything. Whilst I hate this company and what they have done, at this stage it may well weaken any chance I have of getting anywhere if I name the company.

Uncertain

daveboy wrote: »

May I firstly thank the majority of people who have posted here, most posts have been worth reading and they are much appreciated.

May I make it quite clear that my wife has never been dismissed/sacked, or even been disciplined to any degree in any previous employment. So terra_ferma is well off the mark.

I am prepared to chase this issue down the route of the references being acceptable but that they have made an unfair decision. To do this I plan on writing to them and posting the letter on Monday by Special Delivery.

One question I do have, is that I want to (and my wife does too) see the information relating to the references. Will this be an application under the Data Protection Act. Will I have to stump up £10 to these unethical people?

They measured my wife up for uniforms and everything. So I will do everything I can to get at this company, including writing to the local media if there is even a remote chance of them being named and shamed.

Additionally, the job she is about to leave has been filled, so that avenue has gone too. We have managed to go back to a previous employer but it will mean working a 33 hour week for less money, and it's overnight too. But it is better than nothing and having to sign on every two weeks.

I will keep this thread up to date as and when I learn anything. Whilst I hate this company and what they have done, at this stage it may well weaken any chance I have of getting anywhere if I name the company.

I well understand how angry you and your wife feel and sympathise, for what it is worth.

Do please remember that the civil courts and employment tribunals are there to compensate losses, not score point or help you "get people".

The problem is that the new company seem to have decided they don't want to employ your wife, however unfair that may be.

Sadly they could have let her start and then sacked her after a few days for almost any reason. Had they done this you would probably have been in an even worse situation.

If you can get hold of the references and they are really excellent (i.e. not give any reasonable person grounds to find the unsatisfactory) then you MAY be able to get some modest settlement out of them.

In your favour is the fact that most large organisations hate disputes for small (to them) sums of money where a determined, intelligent individual is representing themselves. In a way it is a lose, lose, lose situation for them. The chances of them recovering any costs if they win are very slim (although they will no doubt make threats), it takes up huge amounts of time and causes bad publicity.

However, take a deep breath and take care.

terra_ferma

daveboy wrote: »

May I make it quite clear that my wife has never been dismissed/sacked, or even been disciplined to any degree in any previous employment. So terra_ferma is well off the mark.

In the post I referred to you stated:
"My partner was informed she wasn't being kept on after the three month probationary period"
I made three assumptions:
- your partner at the time is now your wife
- she did not pass her probation and they terminated her contract
- the job was mentioned on her application form (or the employers could have known through other means)

You can correct me if I'm wrong....

What I'm saying is simply that if her new employers found out that she had not passed her probation because they checked her full employment history then they would have good reasons for not giving her the job.

rupee99

daveboy wrote: »

.........

I am prepared to chase this issue down the route of the references being acceptable but that they have made an unfair decision. To do this I plan on writing to them and posting the letter on Monday by Special Delivery.

One question I do have, is that I want to (and my wife does too) see the information relating to the references. Will this be an application under the Data Protection Act. Will I have to stump up £10 to these unethical people?

They measured my wife up for uniforms and everything. So I will do everything I can to get at this company, including writing to the local media if there is even a remote chance of them being named and shamed.

................

Be clear that if you want to pursue this matter the only remedy in law that you have is to take them to court under contract law in that they made an unfair or perverse decision.

IMO it is very unlikely that you will win such as case, and you most certainly will not get legal aid to pursue it. Again, IMO, the chances of "naming and shaming" the prospective employer are remote and are very much a double edged sword. The no smoke without fire brigade, as represented by several people on these boards, will say, words to the effect "What's she hiding, she must have done wrong" and your partner will lose in the court of public opinion without so much as having the chance to put her case. Thereby not only failing to get satisfaction against the prospective employer but by putting her name into the public domain potentially harming her future employment prospects.

BligBlag

As others have said OP, I can understand you and your wife feeling annoyed and frustrated by the whole situation.

But seriously, move on and stop letting it consume you. Whatever you do (writing letters etc) won't get the decision turned around. You can try and sue the Company (which would cost you £) but I can't see what on earth you would sue them for, and name and shame them for what? Not giving your wife a job?

I'm really struggling to see what the point would be in pursuing it...?! It comes down to the fact that your wife wasn't given a job...?! She was never formally offered a job in writing. The Company didn't do anything wrong (IMO) and as has been said on this thread several times already, your wife should never have handed in her notice in on a verbal conditional offer.

jackomdj

From reading this I would say your wife did not have the offer in writing . However from personal experience, even if she did the most she could claim would be her new notice period's worth of wages.

I was offered, in writing, a job. I handed in my notice, then receied a letter stating they did not need me! I was fortunate as I told them I would take it further & they gave me a lump sum....but also the company I was leaving put me on a 2 week rolling contract where I did some work which nobody had time to do (my replacement was already in place so my work had been handed over) & they were happy for me to go for any interviews which meant a full day off as I was relocating from Cornwall to Wiltshire.

daveboy

My wife received a letter today, which she was told she would get when the telephone conversation took place in which she was told she wouldn't get the job.

I told her that the letter would be their way of ending the matter without actually telling you anything you don't already know. The letter is exactly that, two and a half lines saying as little as they possibly could.

Whilst I accept there is little chance of getting anywhere, my wife would like to see the information they hold on the references.

Can someone please tell me whether this is a Data Protection Act application in which a payment of £10 will be needed. Additionally where would I stand if they said they had destroyed any records? Surely they have to keep information for a certain length of time.

I have advised my wife to apply for JSA even though she has something lined up. It could be 4 or 5 weeks before she starts that because of another CRB check being required. As this situation (being unemployed) was not through gross misconduct in my view sanctioning it shouldn't happen.

Once again many thanks for the guidance the majority of posters have given. I have been quite surprised as to how often this has happened to others.