Informal reference cost me amazing job offer

sangie595

Rudess wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply. What I'm trying to do is to expose what exactly been said about me. It's most likely about HR issue, but maybe it's something different which I'm not aware of.

So you are entitled to make a subject access request to your former employer - assuming that they officially gave you a reference. But if the "reference" was informally word of mouth, then you are going to have to prove every step of the way to make anything stick legally. Assuming won't cut it. you will need to prove that someone said something that is not true. And by not true, I need to be clear on this. Youi got stitched up. I believe you. So you say. But if "it" is on the record, then it is true unless you proved it untrue.

I am afraid that in this situation, you cannot make someone employ you; and you would need some form of proof that someone acted outside the law to make any case against that person.

agrinnall

Rudess wrote: »

What I'm trying to do is to expose what exactly been said about me.

How do you propose to do that? I doubt if the prospective employer will tell you anything about who gave the reference, and without that you've got nothing to go on with your current employer.

Rudess

sangie595 wrote: »

So you are entitled to make a subject access request to your former employer - assuming that they officially gave you a reference. But if the "reference" was informally word of mouth, then you are going to have to prove every step of the way to make anything stick legally. Assuming won't cut it. you will need to prove that someone said something that is not true. And by not true, I need to be clear on this. Youi got stitched up. I believe you. So you say. But if "it" is on the record, then it is true unless you proved it untrue.

I am afraid that in this situation, you cannot make someone employ you; and you would need some form of proof that someone acted outside the law to make any case against that person.

Is it legal for someone who works for the company to give a bad reference about me, even though we never worked together and he was never my manager and all he know is through gossip he got from my manager? that's one of the key issues from my point of view. I want to try and claim that my manager should not have gossiped in the first place, as this mate of his wouldn't have known about my HR issue otherwise.

sangie595

Rudess wrote: »

Is it legal for someone who works for the company to give a bad reference about me, even though we never worked together and he was never my manager and all he know is through gossip he got from my manager? that's one of the key issues from my point of view. I want to try and claim that my manager should not have gossiped in the first place, as this mate of his wouldn't have known about my HR issue otherwise.

There is no law against "gossip". If what was said was true, it is true. And you seem to be saying it was true. In which case, you may not like it, but it's the truth! A reference only has to be truthful - not good.

bumpercars99

I think if I was hiring and I knew people who had worked with my prospective employee, I would probably sound them out. In my view that's just using your professional network.

If I were you, I'd be more likely to SAR the prospective employer considering that the relationship has already broken down and also that they're more likely to have written details about any references provided in their files. If I gave a reference over the phone, I wouldn't then write notes on what I said and file it away so I doubt a SAR to prior employer would achieve anything.

Hopefully you can find something else soon!

Gavin83

Rudess wrote: »

Is it legal for someone who works for the company to give a bad reference about me, even though we never worked together and he was never my manager and all he know is through gossip he got from my manager? that's one of the key issues from my point of view. I want to try and claim that my manager should not have gossiped in the first place, as this mate of his wouldn't have known about my HR issue otherwise.

It depends what was said. If it was 'He got a previous warning for xyz' then there is really nothing you can do about it, despite who gave that information. If it was a lie that was told you can probably pursue this. I'm actually surprised the new company said anything at all, normally they'd just withdraw the offer with no justification what so ever.

You say he stitched you up. Does that mean you actually did the thing you got the warning for then?

Rudess

Gavin83 wrote: »

It depends what was said. If it was 'He got a previous warning for xyz' then there is really nothing you can do about it, despite who gave that information. If it was a lie that was told you can probably pursue this. I'm actually surprised the new company said anything at all, normally they'd just withdraw the offer with no justification what so ever.

You say he stitched you up. Does that mean you actually did the thing you got the warning for then?

I didn't do anything wrong. My manager is just a bully who couldn't patronize me and i got warning for baseless allegations that i spreaded rumours in office and demotivate people, this in contrast to reality where i'm top performer and role model for team members who ask my help and not manager's help. Company never provided any evidence, it was like Franz Kafka's book The Trial.

All this hr warning happened a month after i complained that my manager bullies and harrass me. Not coincidence. Now probably the same vile manager stopped me from getting another job.

tomtontom

Rudess wrote: »

I didn't do anything wrong. My manager is just a bully who couldn't patronize me and i got warning for baseless allegations that i spreaded rumours in office and demotivate people, this in contrast to reality where i'm top performer and role model for team members who ask my help and not manager's help. Company never provided any evidence, it was like Franz Kafka's book The Trial.

All this hr warning happened a month after i complained that my manager bullies and harrass me. Not coincidence. Now probably the same vile manager stopped me from getting another job.

But if they stated "Rudess got a warning for xyz" that would be a fact, you did get a warning. Have you tried explaining the circumstances around what happened? (In a rather more humble, self aware way than you have here.)

Rudess

tomtontom wrote: »

But if they stated "Rudess got a warning for xyz" that would be a fact, you did get a warning. Have you tried explaining the circumstances around what happened? (In a rather more humble, self aware way than you have here.)

I haven't as the future employer didn't confirm what exactly been said about me but it's most likely related to the warning. The offer was retracted so it's not that I can change that unfortunately.

pmduk

You may find your new employer already has staff who have previously worked with you, they may well have been the origin of the problem. I've seen this cause problems for a few applicants in the past.