Reference problems

105lad

Hi just wonder what you guys think of my following reference situation:
Over a year ago I resigned from a job (on the agreement from a senior manager in writing) that I would get a neutral reference. As part of this agreement I agreed to drop my work greviance as I had concerns about miss management and bad practices by my manager along with a huge problem the actual accusation of 'theft and dishonesty'.

As I got a letter from the senior manager stating that if I resign I would recieve a neutral reference on the basis I drop my greviance I thought this would be the best option. I had another job lined up as I was suspended for nearly a month while they decided what they were going to do.

I put my resignation in, I clearly stated I was only resigning on the basis of the promised neutral reference and that if this not be possible I would have to take up my greviance and attend the disciplinary. (I had to clear my name, but didnt want to get sacked, I had only worked for the company 3 months and I did feel this would go against me, even if I did clear my name)

Anyway I trusted what the letter stated as I got confirmation of my resignation and neutral reference. I got my new job and all was fine.........

Until two moths later I got a letter stating a mistake had been made and any reference I recieve will state I resigned! I only resigned as I was given a neutral reference, I would have carried out my greviance and attend the disaplinary if not.

I have applied for another job, now have been successful pending a reference chrvk, I told my interviewer what happened at the time. So it obv satisfied him, its just a job in a bank and the lady now assigned with my application seemed unsure what would happen. If I get a bad reference where do I stand? What do you think my chances are at explaining this further if needed? Its a bank and I really want the job. Do I have any legal rights?

notanewuser

105lad wrote: »

Hi just wonder what you guys think of my following reference situation:Over a year ago I resigned from a job (on the agreement from a senior manager in writing) that I would get a neutral reference. As part of this agreement I agreed to drop my work greviance as I had concerns about miss management and bad practices by my manager along with a huge problem the actual accusation of 'theft and dishonesty'.As I got a letter from the senior manager stating that if I resign I would recieve a neutral reference on the basis I drop my greviance I thought this would be the best option. I had another job lined up as I was suspended for nearly a month while they decided what they were going to do.I put my resignation in, I clearly stated I was only resigning on the basis of the promised neutral reference and that if this not be possible I would have to take up my greviance and attend the disciplinary. (I had to clear my name, but didnt want to get sacked, I had only worked for the company 3 months and I did feel this would go against me, even if I did clear my name)Anyway I trusted what the letter stated as I got confirmation of my resignation and neutral reference. I got my new job and all was fine.........Until two moths later I got a letter stating a mistake had been made and any reference I recieve will state I resigned! I only resigned as I was given a neutral reference, I would have carried out my greviance and attend the disaplinary if not.I have applied for another job, now have been successful pending a reference chrvk, I told my interviewer what happened at the time. So it obv satisfied him, its just a job in a bank and the lady now assigned with my application seemed unsure what would happen. If I get a bad reference where do I stand? What do you think my chances are at explaining this further if needed? Its a bank and I really want the job. Do I have any legal rights?

It was a 3 month job. Delete it from your CV and stop giving their details as a referee!!

105lad

This reference was actually with another bank. I thought about not putting it down but dont they all share information? As stated the current potential employers know about my predicament, I just wonder will another bank accept my reasons for resigning. I feel I was screwed over badly. What is the deal with reference checks do they ever ask for more information or an explanation?

Savvy_Sue

Are they saying why you resigned? And if not, does it matter if they say you did?

Apologies if you said this already but your first post is hard to work through with no paragraphs ...

Winchmore

I would ring up your old HR office and have a friendly word with them. They should stick to the facts…dates of employment and you resigned…that’s all nothing else bad… Which should be enough!

heretolearn_2

Saying you resigned as a reason for why your employment ended is still pretty neutral to me. They aren't commenting on you, they aren't saying you resigned while under a disciplinary process, they aren't saying anything bad (or good) about you. It's a simple fact, same as stating your working dates.
If you wanted more control over your reference you should have agreed wording at the time, as 'neutral' is open to interpretation. As I said, saying you resigned isn't a negative thing to me. It clearly is to you. But it isn't a clear cut situation. I can see both sides.

And really there are only two options why you would leave after 3 months. either you resigned or you were sacked. How is their confirming your resignation worse than letting your new employer assume you were sacked? What reason did you give your new employer?

ValHaller

There are only 2 basic reasons for leaving - pushed or jumped. Everything else is a refinement on those. I would say that jumped is better than pushed - so you can't expect better than saying you resigned.

zzzLazyDaisy

105lad wrote: »

T I feel I was screwed over badly

Really? I think the company has treated you pretty well considering you only had three months' service. At that time you needed one year's service for statutory protection so they could have dismissed you for any reason (as long as it was not a discriminatory reason related to sex, race, disability etc) and you wouldn't have had a leg to stand on. So they didn't need to do a deal with you about the reference, since they held all the cards anyway.

LannieDuck

105lad wrote: »

Until two moths later I got a letter stating a mistake had been made and any reference I recieve will state I resigned! I only resigned as I was given a neutral reference, I would have carried out my greviance and attend the disaplinary if not.

If you don't want the reference to say you resigned, what reason do you want them to give for you leaving the job?

zzzLazyDaisy

I guess OP probably wants the former employer to simply say something like:

"Mr X worked for this company as a [job title] from [Date] to [Date].

With no reason for leaving being given. That is a fairly standard reference for a lot of companies these days (since the less they say, the less likely they are to get something wrong). So in a way I can see why OP might be disappointed they are choosing to include the reason for leaving, but it is still a 'neutral' reference.

Aryndeneth

Have they said if they're going to state why you resigned or just the fact that you left by resigning? As you had another job to go to won't it just look like you resigned from one job to go to the new job? People do this everyday with no negative connotations.