Bad reference?

HPR2922

jonnygee2 wrote: »

You aren't in a position to make demands and, generally, it's not the best start to a new employment relationship to make demands of them.

You're not a detective and it's not an investigation.Your goal is to get your new potential employer to trust you.

Yeah I understand, thanks! If the new employer says they won’t take me on because of it (I think this is what’s happening) then should I ask to see it?

JayRitchie

So, just to be clear - you had no disciplinaries, no unauthorised absences, no bad patterns of sickness?

If that is the case state clearly that you have no reason to think a previous employer may give you a poor reference. Show your concern by asking if the company would consider contacting your previous employer to confirm that any information provided is accurate, and request that they allow you to see the reference yourself.

jonnygee2

Yeah I understand, thanks! If the new employer says they won’t take me on because of it (I think this is what’s happening) then should I ask to see it?

If that's a final and definite answer then I can see no harm in politely asking.

You have no right to see it, but nothing to lose from asking the question at that point.

Masomnia

All you can do is be truthful and as above suggest they contact your previous employers for further details and you'll be happy to clarify any points - at least then it looks like you're not trying to hide anything.

You could ask nicely to see the reference if all else fails. If they say no then in theory you can submit a Subject Access Request from the new employer to obtain it, but I'd say that's a final resort.

jonnygee2

in theory you can submit a Subject Access Request from the new employer to obtain it

That used to be possible, but under GDPR references are explicitly exempt.

Carrot007

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Ultimately as long as it's not your most recent employer it's probably okay.

Really? I would trust a previous employers reference more than a current one as they may be bitter about you leaving.

jonnygee2

Really? I would trust a previous employers reference more than a current one as they may be bitter about you leaving.

Generally, yes I think the most recent one is the most relevant, because it's the most recent data and also because the role is normally more similar to the role being applied for.

Actually I believe a lot of places just pull the most recent reference, and pull the second one if the first goes badly (or if the most recent employment was suspiciously short - which actually is the case here).

HPR2922

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Generally, yes I think the most recent one is the most relevant, because it's the most recent data and also because the role is normally more similar to the role being applied for.

Actually I believe a lot of places just pull the most recent reference, and pull the second one if the first goes badly (or if the most recent employment was suspiciously short - which actually is the case here).

That’s not the case here, I was with my previous employer for over a year?

Ja7188

It could also be possible that the reference hasn't been received yet, and the manager is speculating as to why there is such a delay.

This sounds like the most plausible explanation, especially given how commonplace it is for references to state job titles, start and finish dates and nothing else.

OP, what line of work are you in?

HPR2922

Ja7188 wrote: »

This sounds like the most plausible explanation, especially given how commonplace it is for references to state job titles, start and finish dates and nothing else.

OP, what line of work are you in?

The new employer confirmed that they have received the references, I was told last week they were processing them. It’s been a long process as first they gave the wrong dates, then the new employer said they had a question about the reference so were waiting for a response. They confirmed last week they had got it.

I’m in support work