Bad Reference

jpalmerzt

Hi Guys,

I am very new to this so please bare with me.

I have been informed I was successful at Job Interview to which 3 weeks later I have recieved the documentation in writing but notice its a conditonal offer.

I have been informed that my former employer has provided a reference which has included my absence. They have told my new employer that I was absent for 53 days during my employment but this is not true for what I can establish.

I had a long term sickness In November and December 16 which the Assistant General Manager has marked me down for 47days off in this period when I only actually took 22 sifts off but hes included the rest days in this.

Is this correct process?

Many Thanks

James

marliepanda

jpalmerzt wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I am very new to this so please bare with me.

I have been informed I was successful at Job Interview to which 3 weeks later I have recieved the documentation in writing but notice its a conditonal offer.

I have been informed that my former employer has provided a reference which has included my absence. They have told my new employer that I was absent for 53 days during my employment but this is not true for what I can establish.

I had a long term sickness In November and December 16 which the Assistant General Manager has marked me down for 47days off in this period when I only actually took 22 sifts off but hes included the rest days in this.

Is this correct process?

Many Thanks

James

It is dates of sickness that matter, rather than the physical amount of shifts off.

If you had a long term sickness then you were unavailable for work for those 47 days, not JUST the 22 days you were actually rota'd to work.

jpalmerzt

Hi

Thanks for the quick response!

I am concerned this is going to caused my offer to be withdrawn which is obviously not what I want.

This makes the absence look considerably worse when including the rest days.

Is there anything I can do to possibly prevent a withdrawal happening?

Manxman_in_exile

marliepanda wrote: »

It is dates of sickness that matter, rather than the physical amount of shifts off.

If you had a long term sickness then you were unavailable for work for those 47 days, not JUST the 22 days you were actually rota'd to work.

Unfortunately that is correct. I used to monitor sickness absence for a NHS trust and you are still sick on the days (or shifts) you don't work.

jpalmerzt

This is the NHS that has provided the reference to another NHS Trust !!!128577;

Have you got any advice?

Manxman_in_exile

jpalmerzt wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for the quick response!

I am concerned this is going to caused my offer to be withdrawn which is obviously not what I want.

This makes the absence look considerably worse when including the rest days.

Is there anything I can do to possibly prevent a withdrawal happening?

How do you know what the reference says? Has your prospective new employer told you and asked for your comments?


If so, and it was a one-off long term absence for a specific health problem that (hopefully) won't happen again (eg a broken leg or some freak infection), I'd explain that to the new employer and hope for the best.


Others may have better advice.

jpalmerzt

Basically the hiring manager called my personal reference thinking that he provided the reference from the NHS and said the only issue they are concerned about is the absence.

He then informed me of this as hes wanted to obtain further information regarding the contents of the reference that had been provided.

I never even knew this was the case with the NHS which is kinda shocking and It was all medically evidenced ect.

Its just incredibly concerning

Manxman_in_exile

jpalmerzt wrote: »

This is the NHS that has provided the reference to another NHS Trust !!!128577;

Have you got any advice?

OK - we cross posted!


My advice is as in my previous post. If it was a one-off probably not a problem. But if you have some kind of chronic health issue that may lead to prolonged absences then it may be a bit difficult. The NHS used to be quite accommodating of sickness but that's no longer the case I'm afraid. (I used to be in a MH trust and we weren't particularly understanding of MH problems with staff!)


If your prospective new trust have contacted you about you current employer's reference, simply get back to them and explain the reason for the absence (truthfully). Hopefully that will work.


Good luck!

Manxman_in_exile

jpalmerzt wrote: »

Basically the hiring manager called my personal reference thinking that he provided the reference from the NHS and said the only issue they are concerned about is the absence.

He then informed me of this as hes wanted to obtain further information regarding the contents of the reference that had been provided.

I never even knew this was the case with the NHS which is kinda shocking and It was all medically evidenced ect.

Its just incredibly concerning

If you've got a valid reason for the absence (eg broken leg; hospital operation - there may be other valid medical reasons) I would hope it would not be a problem.


Also I'm not sure (I retired five years ago) but once you go to a new NHS employer, they might be able to access your previous sickness record via the NHS Electronic Staff Record. As I say, I'm not sure.


Best advice is to be honest and straightforward. If they want to employ you, they probably will. There are too many vacancies (depending what your role is).


good luck!

FBaby

Have you got any advice?

Suggest a meeting with your future manager to explain the reason for your sickness absence. Did you already fill in your Occ Health questionnaire? Did you declare anything related to your sickness (if appropriate).

What you need to do is convinced that this absence was a one off and that you are unlikely to require more time off for the same reason. You need to remember that unlike other employers, with the NHS, your entitlements remain even though you are working for another organisation, so it's understandable that they get anxious about recruiting someone with such a long sickness absence.

In the end, they will have to decide whether you are worth taking the risk to offer you the job. It would depend on the risk of you going off sick long term again, the skill you bring in, and how much better a candidate you were compared to the other ones interviewed.

In any case, you are much better off being totally honest at this point. They could decide not to offer you the job at this stage, hence the offer being only conditional.

nicechap

jpalmerzt wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I am very new to this so please bare with me.

I have been informed I was successful at Job Interview to which 3 weeks later I have recieved the documentation in writing but notice its a conditonal offer.

I have been informed that my former employer has provided a reference which has included my absence. They have told my new employer that I was absent for 53 days during my employment but this is not true for what I can establish.

I had a long term sickness In November and December 16 which the Assistant General Manager has marked me down for 47 days off in this period when I only actually took 22 sifts off but hes included the rest days in this.

Is this correct process?

Many Thanks

James

As others have said, the 47 days will be treated as a single period of sick leave. Over what time period did the other 6 days sickness happen and were they 6 different days or some other combination?

It's the overall picture that I expect them to look at. And as long as your former employer has been factually correct there's no redress for you.