Advice on employer releasing information

BigTone

Morning all,
After a terrible few months things are starting to pick up again, as I have 3 job offers (Woohoo!!) however...

I have recieved a letter from DWP this morning and it is from my previous employer to DWP.

It states in detail the reason why I left my last position was for breaching company policy and goes into great detail about things, whereas what my understanding of the situation is that I resigned (I was given the option to) before any disciplinary action commenced, as to "protect" my employment record.

My question is,
Are my previous employer allowed to disclose this information as it clearly states in the same policy that ALL information will be treated with the strictest confidence?

The letter stipulates that I was dismissed, that's why I chose to resign, so that I wasn't classed as dismissed????

Any help you can offer is well recieved.

Uncertain

I assume you didn't sign a formal compromise agreement (you would have to have received legal advice)?

The problem is that without any offer of "go quietly and we will give you a good reference" it comes down to trust. Whether or not it is wise to trust any employer who wants you out of the door is debatable - although in certain circumstances they may be little alternative.

Unless they have said anything that is provably untrue I suspect there is little you can do about it.

It may be that a sharply worded solicitor's letter will prevent them from doing it again but this would be more because they want to avoid any hassle rather than solid legal grounds.

williacg

I would certainly be looking at issuing a solicitor's letter, because if they are prepared to write such a letter to the DWP, what are they likely to put in future references?

BigTone

I was given 3 hours to submit a letter of resignation or go through the disciplinary procedure. I chose to resign.

I spoke to the union and it was agreed, verbally, that future referances would be ok, and resignation would be the reason for my leaving the company.

So I was just a bit shocked when this letter, which is a copy of what my previous employer has sent to the DWP, clearly describes details of what happened and states my reason for leaving as dismissal rather than resignation.

If it doesn't affect future employment prospects then I am not bothered, I made a mistake and want to move on, but I need to be able to, I don't want this coming up in future.

williacg

BigTone wrote: »

I was given 3 hours to submit a letter of resignation or go through the disciplinary procedure. I chose to resign.

I spoke to the union and it was agreed, verbally, that future referances would be ok, and resignation would be the reason for my leaving the company.

So I was just a bit shocked when this letter, which is a copy of what my previous employer has sent to the DWP, clearly describes details of what happened and states my reason for leaving as dismissal rather than resignation.

If it doesn't affect future employment prospects then I am not bothered, I made a mistake and want to move on, but I need to be able to, I don't want this coming up in future.

Then you need to address this sooner rather than later, don't leave it to the last minute, or wait until you receive an offer of employment.

Was your union rep present at the meeting when it was agreed that future references would be OK?

hartcjhart

was it a case of the DWP requesting info from your employer or did they just write to them out of the blue,
If you were applying for the dole then your past employer 'may' have though they were doing you a favour by putting 'dismissed' so ther would be no delay in benefits?

BigTone

hartcjhart wrote: »

was it a case of the DWP requesting info from your employer or did they just write to them out of the blue,
If you were applying for the dole then your past employer 'may' have though they were doing you a favour by putting 'dismissed' so ther would be no delay in benefits?

I thought JSA would be sanctioned for 26 weeks either way?