losing new job due to unfair work reference. Help Pls

colino

You may think that, it is not correct. Anything provided in business, "in confidence" is exactly that. There isn't a time limit, or, "I'll let you have a peek", anyone in business will respect that and if (remember in this case it's entirely hypothetical) a confidence was broken, the company would be known pdq as a bunch of untrustworthy amateurs.

denla

colino wrote: »

You may think that, it is not correct. Anything provided in business, "in confidence" is exactly that. There isn't a time limit, or, "I'll let you have a peek", anyone in business will respect that and if (remember in this case it's entirely hypothetical) a confidence was broken, the company would be known pdq as a bunch of untrustworthy amateurs.

That only applies to normal circumstances. Right now this reference has defamed OP. OP will be able to force the potential employer to show him that reference.

Confidentiality agreements means nothing if the content determines whether someone has been defamed and it's central requirement for a ET lawsuit.

And no you can't deliberately write a bad reference using confidentiality agreement as a loophole to escape being sued. The content of your reference will be revealed and you will end up paying for damages if proven wrong.

MissSarah1972

colino wrote: »

You may think that, it is not correct. Anything provided in business, "in confidence" is exactly that. There isn't a time limit, or, "I'll let you have a peek", anyone in business will respect that and if (remember in this case it's entirely hypothetical) a confidence was broken, the company would be known pdq as a bunch of untrustworthy amateurs.

Sorry but it is correct. You can request to see a copy.

colino

OK, last shot. You can ask, but if it was supplied in confidence (don't know in this case), the current employers correct response would be no, it was provided commercial in confidence.
The OP may believe they have been libelled, but again, if the original employer is speaking from their experience and it is a truthful representation, no libel exists.
OP is better served working very hard to persuade HR they are a very talented member of the team or they will find themselves with a very poor work record moving on to their next job.

MoneySavingUser

colino wrote: »

OK, last shot. You can ask, but if it was supplied in confidence (don't know in this case), the current employers correct response would be no, it was provided commercial in confidence.
The OP may believe they have been libelled, but again, if the original employer is speaking from their experience and it is a truthful representation, no libel exists.
OP is better served working very hard to persuade HR they are a very talented member of the team or they will find themselves with a very poor work record moving on to their next job.

which act of parliament defines this "in confidence" rule?

denla

colino wrote: »

OK, last shot. You can ask, but if it was supplied in confidence (don't know in this case), the current employers correct response would be no, it was provided commercial in confidence.
The OP may believe they have been libelled, but again, if the original employer is speaking from their experience and it is a truthful representation, no libel exists.
OP is better served working very hard to persuade HR they are a very talented member of the team or they will find themselves with a very poor work record moving on to their next job.

OP won't be requesting to see the reference from the current employer. OP will request to see the reference supplied to the potential employer. Doesn't matter if current employer believes it's truthful or not. OP will be able to obtain a copy of the reference. Whether libel exist lies on how the ET court views all the evidence, and the reference is the central piece of evidence that must be revealed to OP before OP can prove it's wrong.

real1314

colino wrote: »

OK, last shot. You can ask, but if it was supplied in confidence (don't know in this case), the current employers correct response would be no, it was provided commercial in confidence.
The OP may believe they have been libelled, but again, if the original employer is speaking from their experience and it is a truthful representation, no libel exists.
OP is better served working very hard to persuade HR they are a very talented member of the team or they will find themselves with a very poor work record moving on to their next job.

There are 2 flaws in your contention.

Firstly, as others have pointed out, the data protection act would allow access to the reference, and in fact it could be requested from either the current employer or the former. Your idea that some trivial agreement between two organisations has more power than legislation is mightily misplaced.

Secondly, in the case of libel it is for the author to prove that their statement is true. They would have to provide irrefutable evidence of their statements, which given the OPs position that the reference was unfair and dishonest seems rather hard for them to do (we only have the viewpoint of the OP, so we can only comment on the basis of that, any other course is speculating on the unknown).
:cool:

gavinh_2

ok... regardless of who is right or wrong with this, here is what happened to me when i went back to work.

i went stright to our HR department and politely told them i have the right to see this reference, they said basically i have to request it from the company that sent it. i then said due to my problems with that company and the fact that the whole thing is just someone trying to slander me im pretty sure they wouldnt co-operate with this.
but the HR manager told me not to worry, as my manager and her own opinion of me is that i am not the person this reference is trying to make out, and they think it comes across as someone with a grudge trying to cause trouble for me. so basically they have rejected this reference and are basing their decision on myself and performance. i havnt hit my expected targets as of yet, but they can see im improving day by day and my attitude is very good so although i have to have a formal meeting with them about this in a few days, they said if i continue to improve they will be happy with that also they actually let me "accidentally" see the reference, as they really feel for me and think my old referee is being spiteful - which after reading it i could see they were, especially with the comments at the end of it about me having "no interpersonal skills whatsoever, bad attitude, not at all conscientious" etc...

so the only thing i need to know now is this:
iv taken my bad reference details off my CV, but some companies will still want to contact them as they are my 2nd most recent workplace. so can i stop this company sending an awful refernce back about me again? i have no proof what they isnt true, but they have no proof it is either, but i obviously dont want to be in this situation again!

colino

Glad to see its working out for you and its pretty unlikely that a future employer would check or even ask for anything beyond most recent employer +personal referee.

denla

Even if you can't prove anything still bring the ex-employer to court. It'll give the manager some restless nights before any ET decision is made, knowing he can be convicted for slander.