Can ex employers give a bad reference?

MimiJane

A friend of mine asked me this question the other day as she left her last employer on bad terms and is worried about possible future employers receiving a "bad" reference from her previous employer.

I must admit, I've no idea on this one. Anyone know the legal position as I have heard in the past it's illegal to give a deterimental one.

I suppose it would be perfectly possible to give a very brief reference and say something like "good timekeeper", leaving a possible future employer very suspicious.:rolleyes:

Anyone know more about the legal position here please?

missprice

no employer can give a bad reference

however they can refuse to give a ref at all. which is just as bad.

pickle

I don't think they can say negative things but its easy to give a bad reference by just refusing to provide one which is perfectly within their right to do.

Bossyboots

Just to confirm the two replies. An employer may not give a bad reference. They can refuse to give a reference which is obviously open to interpretation. However, any good prospective employer should ask you why they will not provide a reference and judge you on your reply.

If it is any comfort my friend did actually get a bad reference from her employer (this is how I found out the position) but still got the job because she knew someone else who worked at the same place she wanted to go to and they vouched for her. My friend subsequently received compensation from the original employer who learnt a valuable (and costly) lesson.

Becles

I left a job on bad terms. They were very clever in that they wrote facts in the reference but didn't put any evidence to back up the reasons for the facts.

They wrote things like:

"Rebecca joined the company in June and by the end of the year had accumlated 6 weeks sick leave".

This was true, but they didn't add that the sick leave was due to me having my appendix removed and was taken all in one go.

"Rebecca was closely supervised and had to have her work checked as she completed it."

This was true, but it was due to working in a laboratory. Every time you did a reaction, you had to write your calculations for chemical quantities on paper and get a supervisor/manager to check them. If you used the wrong amount of chemicals it could be dangerous, so everybody's work was checked and we were all closely supervised for safety reasons.

peterbaker

This is an area of the law that needs serious review.

I visited a recruitment agency recently which happened to be the same one (Reed) that found me my last job and they volunteered that the previous employer had already told Reed that I had made an application to the Employment Tribunal for wrongful dismissal.

I haven't yet decided what if anything I can do about it, but my experience of the nasty little businesses that form most of the nations recruitment industry leads me to suspect many of them are in cahoots with unscrupulous employers to make life as difficult as possible for people like me. Most of the contact is by telephone anyway so how on earth can that be policed?

I guess I will just have to do my bit to rectify the situation as usual...

Furniture_man

I left my last employment 'not on the best of terms'
I have written to the Company asking for a reference for future use.
They have failed to respond.
I am informed by my 'legal eagle' that employers are becoming wary of giving out glowing references for wronged employees.
If it turns out that things go belly up, the new employer can challenge the last employer in court, and can sue for this.

MimiJane

Very interesting replies ... thanks all.

I wasn't aware that companies could refuse to give you a reference (though I suppose no-one can actually make them:rolleyes: ).

I'll pass all the replies on to my friend, though there may of course be a few more yet as it's an interesting topic.

cash99

My understanding is that an employer can put any comment they like in a reference provided it is factually correct. If there is something negative to report and the question is specifically asked on the reference then the employer is potentially under a legal obligation to provide an honest answer or alternatively decline to provide a reference.

e.g. if someone is dimissed through poor time keeping, and all the appropriate dismissal procedures were followed then this can be put on a reference which asks about the employee time keeping.

In a case say where a manager and an employee fall out and the employee looks for another job. If the original employer comments that the employee is difficult to work with etc., but no formal disciplinary procedure took place the employee would have grounds to sue for negligence if the job offer was withdrawn due to the reference.

In practice most employers will stick to factual references only. i.e dates employed, abscence record etc, and avoid subjective opinions.

cash99

Becles wrote:

I left a job on bad terms. They were very clever in that they wrote facts in the reference but didn't put any evidence to back up the reasons for the facts.

They wrote things like:

"Rebecca joined the company in June and by the end of the year had accumlated 6 weeks sick leave".

This was true, but they didn't add that the sick leave was due to me having my appendix removed and was taken all in one go.

"Rebecca was closely supervised and had to have her work checked as she completed it."

This was true, but it was due to working in a laboratory. Every time you did a reaction, you had to write your calculations for chemical quantities on paper and get a supervisor/manager to check them. If you used the wrong amount of chemicals it could be dangerous, so everybody's work was checked and we were all closely supervised for safety reasons.

Rebecca if you were turned down for a job based on the above you probably have a claim for negligence against your former employer. Although they have been factual they have also been deliberately misleading. Speak to a solicitor.

The link below has more details

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/recruitmen/references/references.htm?IsSrchRes=1

Murphy_The_Cat

can you ever.

If you have left your previous employer on bad terms, ask yourself the question why the hell should he/she give you a good reference !!!

or should they just be satisfied on seeing the back of you ?

But if you are going to give ba 'bad' reference nake sure it's true and you have documentary proof to back it up.

It swings both ways does this employer/employee malarkey and it comes as a bit of a shock when it swings back to some.

MTC

if you think i'm being harsh, you should see some of the dross who come to me for a job. Fortunately, i work in a rural area and the jungle telegraph is better than any written reference.