losing new job due to unfair work reference. Help Pls

gavinh_2

Hi all

basically, i started a new job a couple of months ago, and this week i was called into a meeting and told by our HR department that my last employer had sent back a terrible reference about me (which was totally unfair and dishonest), and company policy is to have a good last employer reference so they were going to have to let me go.
i explained to them that my manager at my last workplace had been bullying me and i had put in a grievance about them, and that this grievance was dismissed due to me having no proof - and 3 weeks later my temporary contract was ended without warning. i had a case to go to a tribunal, but i had been so miserable in my last job that i decided not to pursue this. but now i regret it as this was over a year ago now and they are trying to wreck my future by ticking boxes to say i was "poor" at everything my current employer asked, and they had written something about me apparantly.
i have been told due to the circumstances they are going to review the situation and let me know the outcome next week. unfortunately i havnt managed to start hitting my targets yet so this makes it all worse, but thats something that iv told them will improve as im only just getting confident with the job.

so what should i do?! i gave up my flat and moved 100 miles for this job, i have alot to lose here
am i right that i can ask my current employer for a copy of this reference? and what else can i do??
hope someone can help, all advice would be good, thank you.

peediedj

gavinh wrote: »

Hi all

basically, i started a new job a couple of months ago, and this week i was called into a meeting and told by our HR department that my last employer had sent back a terrible reference about me (which was totally unfair and dishonest), and company policy is to have a good last employer reference so they were going to have to let me go.
i explained to them that my manager at my last workplace had been bullying me and i had put in a grievance about them, and that this grievance was dismissed due to me having no proof - and 3 weeks later my temporary contract was ended without warning. i had a case to go to a tribunal, but i had been so miserable in my last job that i decided not to pursue this. but now i regret it as this was over a year ago now and they are trying to wreck my future by ticking boxes to say i was "poor" at everything my current employer asked, and they had written something about me apparantly.
i have been told due to the circumstances they are going to review the situation and let me know the outcome next week. unfortunately i havnt managed to start hitting my targets yet so this makes it all worse, but thats something that iv told them will improve as im only just getting confident with the job.

so what should i do?! i gave up my flat and moved 100 miles for this job, i have alot to lose here
am i right that i can ask my current employer for a copy of this reference? and what else can i do??
hope someone can help, all advice would be good, thank you.

sorry for butting in, but i was led to beleive EMPLOYERS werent allowed to give bad refernces ??

mildred1978

peediedj wrote: »

sorry for butting in, but i was led to beleive EMPLOYERS werent allowed to give bad refernces ??

They absolutely can - provided what they say is true.

Dunroamin

peediedj wrote: »

sorry for butting in, but i was led to beleive EMPLOYERS werent allowed to give bad refernces ??

Urban myth.

Hmm71

https://www.gov.uk/work-reference

A reference must be fair and accurate- and can include details of performance and if the worker was sacked.

peediedj

mildred1978 wrote: »

They absolutely can - provided what they say is true.

how can you prove its NOT true though?

denla

peediedj wrote: »

sorry for butting in, but i was led to beleive EMPLOYERS werent allowed to give bad refernces ??

Long as it's true and factual they're allowed. And can OP prove ex-employer lied? Choosing not to bring ex-employer to Tribunal after making a grievance doesn't look good.

OP if I were you I'd find several references from work colleagues and character references from other people in the meantime.

gibson123

denla wrote: »

Long as it's true and factual they're allowed. And can OP prove ex-employer lied? Choosing not to bring ex-employer to Tribunal after making a grievance doesn't look good.

OP if I were you I'd find several references from work colleagues and character references from other people in the meantime.

This and also get in touch with CAB either on here or your local CAB, you will need to ask your current employer for a copy of the reference and you could even take the last employer to court if they have lied.

quirkynesss

Was the bad reference the truth? Not sure what you can do except find a temporary job which doesn't require the last reference, and use that as your last employment reference for the next job, if that makes sense.

danielanthony

Like allegations of slander, they need to prove that what they say is true. What evidence do they have that your performance was poor? Did they give you a performance review whereby your performance was recorded as being poor and you AGREED with those findings?

For example, my last employer ran yearly appraisals, I always got good marks and so any reference would have to reflect this. If it didn't, then I'd be able to take them to court and get compensation for them loosing me a job due to providing untrue information.

If you didn't have performance appraisals, then it's just your word against them I suppose but definitely worth taking proper legal advice on though.

wrightk

gavinh wrote: »

Hi all

basically, i started a new job a couple of months ago, and this week i was called into a meeting and told by our HR department that my last employer had sent back a terrible reference about me (which was totally unfair and dishonest), and company policy is to have a good last employer reference so they were going to have to let me go.
i explained to them that my manager at my last workplace had been bullying me and i had put in a grievance about them, and that this grievance was dismissed due to me having no proof - and 3 weeks later my temporary contract was ended without warning. i had a case to go to a tribunal, but i had been so miserable in my last job that i decided not to pursue this. but now i regret it as this was over a year ago now and they are trying to wreck my future by ticking boxes to say i was "poor" at everything my current employer asked, and they had written something about me apparantly.
i have been told due to the circumstances they are going to review the situation and let me know the outcome next week. unfortunately i havnt managed to start hitting my targets yet so this makes it all worse, but thats something that iv told them will improve as im only just getting confident with the job.

so what should i do?! i gave up my flat and moved 100 miles for this job, i have alot to lose here
am i right that i can ask my current employer for a copy of this reference? and what else can i do??
hope someone can help, all advice would be good, thank you.

Like the others said. attain a copy of this reference asap from your current employer so you can see what they have said. Employment law doesnt exclude employers from giving a bad reference at all. employment law says nothing about references other than the reference must be true and accurate. If you can attain a copy of this reference and believe it to be untrue, you could take action against the employer. It would then be down to them to prove their comments are true not for you to prove they are untrue. Get a copy as soon as you can. It might also be worth mentioning to your current employer that you believe this reference to be completely untrue and are considering action