Breach of COT3 agreement for incorrect reference leading to loss of earnings.

Hutchy81

Hi

In 2012 I parted company subject to a COT3 with the terms agreed around reference for future employers. Fast forward 3 years and my recent new role, gave the company details for reference purpose and I was hauled in after 2 weeks as my ex employer had emailed a reference which said I was Dismissed. The agreed reference was not used and the ex-employer admitted their error immediately.

Being in a senior role I felt this somewhat compromised my position with the new employer as I had to answer some very difficult questions regarding how this error came to light. I have already made a formal compliant with ex employer and had the reference corrected however I felt my role was untenable due to the breach. Following my requests for compensation for upset and stress caused my ex employer continued to contact new employer to verify what action was to be taken (calculating the risk!?!). So after much soul searching I decided to resign and find a new role.

I have today sent costs to ex employer for 6 weeks loss of earnings verified with proofs for them to consider, I am assuming they will refuse. Can I take them to the small claims court as less than £10k?

Interestingly the only minor thing raised in ex employers defence is that new employer did not contact the title named on the COT3 (head of HR) for reference. I did state this on my application form however new employer was told that it was done centrally and directed to a mailbox. I was told the error occurred because a new starter didn’t follow process when issuing the reference.

I was also assured in the COT3 agreement that company policy for references was that only basic information was disclosed however this changed. My COT3 agreement states if the company policy changes regarding references then I would be informed. No contact was made with me, when I mentioned this it was ignored.

In summary do I have a case for small claims if they refuse my request for loss of earnings, and will the fact I felt my role was untenable and resigned go against me? I felt the impact of being dismissed or resigning the same... loss of earnings!


Thanks so much for any help, after taking legal advice wondering the value of the agreement at all if action cant be pursed for breaches.

sangie595

It is almost impossible to enforce such terms in a COT3 that is three years old. But even so, the loss was of your own making - you resigned. I strongly suspect that you will find that it costs you a lot of money in order to find that you have no case. Especially since the first stage of enforcement for a COT3 is an employment tribunal, so you are looking at much higher costs than civil court. Had you been dismissed, you may have had a case - but even that would be a weak one. Given your resignation, I can't see any court determining that the loss was of someone else's making.