Previous employer refused to be a referee?

FBaby

It sounds like they felt they had invested in you and you let them down. They didn't do anything illegal as a result because they clearly knew better, but they still feel resentment. You might have been an ok employee in terms of work you were doing, but they will consider that you are untrustworthy. They can't say that though, so are preferring not to give a reference which is their choice.

sniggings

a few choices

Just put the old boss down anyway and hope the don't ring, many don't.

Put down two personal referees and hope they miss one is not an old employer

Put down one personal and the other also personal but put the persons job title down so it looks like a works reference but isn't.

Just tell them the situation, your old employer keeping you on pass your training says you were a good worker, telling this to your new employer and mentioning the reason you think he wont give a reference may make the new employer see you were a good worker and he is being unreasonable because you left.

Remember they won't fancy interviewing a load more people if they don't give you the job, so will be keen to keep you if they possibly can, just give them plenty of reasons why they should.

moominpops

Hi Sambuus Nigra, i went through an independent company and not a college to do my NVQ. I have tried to email my personal assessor but the email was not delivered so either she doesn't work with them any more or she has a different email. I will ring up the company who i did my apprenticeship with tomorrow and see if she is still with the company and if they have any contact details or not but then again she might not even remember me to give me one! I can't call them anyway until tomorrow but it is my only option as my previous boss is the only person i could think of to give me a professional reference. It is really niggling away at me now as to why he said no, i know he is not legally entitled to give me one but surely he knows it would look a bit fishy if i tell my new job he has refused

Sniggings - Thank you i will mention that they kept me on and explain why i think they won't give me a reference if it comes to it. They did not ask specifically for a reference from my previous work only for two references but i am guessing they would expect me to give them one from my previous employer anyway. They did seem really keen to get me working there as soon as possible as i am supposed to start next week and they needed to employ two people for the position but only found me so far, so maybe that would work in my favour.

I understand FBaby but i did not purposely get pregnant so they had to pay me maternity pay, it was not planned at all but i think they still feel bitter that this was the case.

I know that legally they can refuse to give me a reference but if HR were to contact them and just ask for proof that i have worked there, would they have to just say a basic, yes she worked here from such a year to another or can they refuse to have any contact at all??

sniggings

moominpops wrote: »

Hi Sambuus Nigra, i went through an independent company and not a college to do my NVQ. I have tried to email my personal assessor but the email was not delivered so either she doesn't work with them any more or she has a different email. I will ring up the company who i did my apprenticeship with tomorrow and see if she is still with the company and if they have any contact details or not but then again she might not even remember me to give me one! I can't call them anyway until tomorrow but it is my only option as my previous boss is the only person i could think of to give me a professional reference. It is really niggling away at me now as to why he said no, i know he is not legally entitled to give me one but surely he knows it would look a bit fishy if i tell my new job he has refused gahhh.

Just leaving can be enough for them to get upset, add in the pregnancy and I think there is your answer.

Some people are just no nice.

BobQ

dseventy wrote: »

Thats quite a bold statement!

Only a ET or a court can decide if the OP was discriminated against! Not "BobQ" and not on a internet forum!

OP, I would speak to the new company and explain the situation, see what they say.

D70

Oh for heavans sake! That is why I said "appears to have" based on the information provided. As I said its probably irrelevant now she has resigned.

glasgowdan

A pregnant person can ruin a very small business who simply can't afford to pay someone not to be at work. It's true and no amount of pc-driven rule making is ever going to change that.

Good luck in the new job, think forwards, not backwards.

fleesaurus

moominpops wrote: »

I know that legally they can refuse to give me a reference but if HR were to contact them and just ask for proof that i have worked there, would they have to just say a basic, yes she worked here from such a year to another or can they refuse to have any contact at all??

Easy to say they can't give out any names of their current or past employees due to data protection act. Or they can say they'll need time to look through their records and never get back to them. Plenty of petty ways to work around being forced to confirm you've been employed by them, and you don't want to use them as a referee after they've refused, or they'll confirm your employment dates and perhaps imply you're a problem employee.

You can make a dozen of reasons why your referee won't help you out, but will the new employer really listen to you out of face value? Probably not. Your past will always remain questionable.

marybelle01

We're making a lot of assumptions about why they won't give a reference. perhaps they won't give a reference because they haven't employed this person for two years and have no idea whether she has been in prison or set up a drugs den in the meantime? Maybe they don't feel competant to comment on the skills of someone they haven't employed for two years?

sniggings

marybelle01 wrote: »

We're making a lot of assumptions about why they won't give a reference. perhaps they won't give a reference because they haven't employed this person for two years and have no idea whether she has been in prison or set up a drugs den in the meantime? Maybe they don't feel competant to comment on the skills of someone they haven't employed for two years?

are you for real.

An employment reference is just that, a reference of how she performed at work, unless she was selling/ taking/storing drugs at work etc then nothing to do with her employer, and they can not give a reference for the 2 years since leaving, so they would not need to know about those 2 years as it has nothing to do with them.

marybelle01

sniggings wrote: »

are you for real.

An employment reference is just that, a reference of how she performed at work, unless she was selling/ taking/storing drugs at work etc then nothing to do with her employer, and they can not give a reference for the 2 years since leaving, so they would not need to know about those 2 years as it has nothing to do with them.

Yes thank you, I am for real. You don't need to get snitty. My comments are just as valid as the other assumptions as to why the employer said no. The fact is that nobody, including the OP knows why they said no, and everybody is guessing. I agree that they don't need to know about the other two years - but equally they also don't need to give a reference either. For all we know, after the OP left the employer found a pile of work that had't been done and was hidden behind the filing cabinet. That is also a guess. Guessing at their reasons and then judging the employer for the reasons we guessed at is pointless.

And by the way - it is the policy of my employer that they will not provide employers references after a break of 12 months. I am not assuming that just because they do that that others do - but nor am I assuming that others don't. I am pointing out that assumptions are just that, and nobody knows why they said no.