Sacked for gross misconduct - can I find out what the reference will say?

cupboardie

Hi,

My sister got sacked for gross misconduct (works in a call centre, customer was rude and hung up on her, she called back 3 times, they kept hanging up and threatended to call the police, was done for harrassment - was not rude to the customer though)

She is scared to apply for a new job - should she admit to why she was sacked or just pretend it was because she didn't hit sales targets?

Is there a way of applying to the company pretending to be a new employer so we can see what they will say in the reference? What kind of things are asked in a reference request anyway?

Any help would me much appreciated

gravitytolls

Honesty is the best policy. It will look far worse for her if she's found to be fibbing and thereby becoming employed under false pretences.

Why did she call the customer back three times?

If she has a reasonable explanation, her best plan would be to briefly give that explanation in cover letters/applications.

If she really believes she shouldn't have been sacked fro gross misconduct, she can always try appealing via a tribunal, possibly giving her the opportunity to explain herself and perhaps ensure a more suitable reference?

paddedjohn

A reference can have anything written in it as long as its factual and relevant.

andygb

cupboardie wrote: »

Hi,

My sister got sacked for gross misconduct (works in a call centre, customer was rude and hung up on her, she called back 3 times, they kept hanging up and threatended to call the police, was done for harrassment - was not rude to the customer though)

No sympathy from me I'm afraid, because I have been on the end of persistant muppets from call centres, who refuse to take "NO" for an answer.
The only thing which tends to deter some of the ruder ones, is saying that you are TPS registered, and then they are only worried that the company will get involved.
In your sister's case, I am glad to see that the company take customer harrassment seriously.

dandelionclock30

OP your sister needs to ask her employer what the reference will say. Often when people are sacked they tend to give just dates of employment. Some places do this anyway.
They can legally say what they want as long as its true. However they dont tend to give a warts and all account as they dont want the hassell of any potential comeback.
They could of course refuse to give her any type of reference. Thats why she needs to find out and then decide what she wants to do.
In todays job market she will have a very hard time getting another job if she explains she was sacked for harrassment. She will be better off doing something where you dont need references or doing some voluntary work to get new ones.
It is not the best option to be disclosing this to a new employer as she will remain unemployed as a new place wont want to take the risk. She will have to be creative if she wants another job.

Prothet_of_Doom

Okay, CV wise, I know people who have left employers off, their CV

By using only the Years and not the months.

So Company A 1993 to 1998
Company C 1999 to Present

Thus missing out the fact that they worked for company B from Jan 1998 to November 1999.

Rather than give a P45 to next employer, she can also give a P46

Finally, do you have any friends who run a business ? My brother in law once requested a reference for an old friend, from his previous employer, because he suspected that it was the reason, he was struggling to find work. (It turned out notto be the case)

I'm not sure that the sacking would stop me employing her, if she could talk about what she'd learned from the sorry event, and how it would change her in the future.

Galaxy1987

Honesty is the best policy.

I had same issue, however I was not dismissed but resigned under investigation.

My line of work is VERY controlled in terms of recruitment and process. I had difficulty with getting work and wasted time going through interviews etc for an offer to be revoked.

I have however started to be honest about it at application stage. However I was interviewed today for a job where they found my cv online, I took a letter along and discussed it and was offered the jobe there and then for better terms than advertised.

The seen the honesty in very good light.

J

jacques_chirac

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

Okay, CV wise, I know people who have left employers off, their CV

By using only the Years and not the months.

So Company A 1993 to 1998
Company C 1999 to Present

Thus missing out the fact that they worked for company B from Jan 1998 to November 1999.

Which is fine until the previous employers are asked to confirm dates of employer - then the potential employee is shown to be a liar (or at best, someone who manipulates the truth).

fruitedeli

The reference will say she's sacked for gross misconduct, and may or may not detail it's for harrassment. It was a stupid thing to keep calling someone who keeps hanging up. If a customer is rude, never call back after they hang up the first time. If you genuinely believe there's a phone problem and they are happy to be your customer, calling back once is sufficient. Calling back three times looks really bad.

fruitedeli

Jayt1987 wrote: »

Honesty is the best policy.

I had same issue, however I was not dismissed but resigned under investigation.

My line of work is VERY controlled in terms of recruitment and process. I had difficulty with getting work and wasted time going through interviews etc for an offer to be revoked.

I have however started to be honest about it at application stage. However I was interviewed today for a job where they found my cv online, I took a letter along and discussed it and was offered the jobe there and then for better terms than advertised.

The seen the honesty in very good light.

J

It's the same thing. Resigning pending investigation is equivalent to admission of guilt.

dandelionclock30

fruitedeli wrote: »

The reference will say she's sacked for gross misconduct, and may or may not detail it's for harrassment. It was a stupid thing to keep calling someone who keeps hanging up. If a customer is rude, never call back after they hang up the first time. If you genuinely believe there's a phone problem and they are happy to be your customer, calling back once is sufficient. Calling back three times looks really bad.

Not necessarily, it depends on the employer. Its not right to say that when you dont know OPs employer and what their reference policy is.
Thats why OP needs to ask and then they will know for sure.