Current employer (of 12 years) asking now for references from previous job

TBagpuss

It does sound a bit strange and I agree with those saying that they have probaly been told that they should have information on record and they haven't got it.

Forthings like istric references, I agree that asking the employee if they have a contact is OK, and the employe repying that they don't is also fine.

The school then asking for a new referce is odd, given that the employee has worked there for 12 years they are presumably in a position to judge for themselves whether or not she is a suitable person. (I'd be tempted to ask HR for a reference, ginve that they are the HR deprtment for your most recent employer..!) 

NBLondon

I agree with the theory of incompetence in the HR department...  who have just discovered that they failed to collect or keep information about those employees.  Rather than admit this - they are just throwing out blanket requests to fill the gaps.

simon_or

OP, speak to the union and follow their advice.

As far as right to work is concerned, I would certainly not be providing any more than the minimum required as per the published government guidelines.

As for employment from donkeys years ago, just give them the address of the employer (whatever you can find), c/o HR department and let them do what they want with it.

I worked at a WH Smith store and a Royal Mail sub contractor for a short while 10 years ago. The chances of their HR team bothering to respond to a request for an employment reference from 2011-12 is likely to be very very low.

MEM62

Throwaway1 said:

- an employee who is nearing 50, who has been working at the school 12 years, has been asked this week to provide a new reference for her previous job which she left 12 years ago (they apparently didn't get one at the time). They said they contacted her old employer last week and, surprise surprise, the contact named no longer works there and so could she give them an alternative contact for that job? She only worked there part-time for a few months and no longer knows anyone who works there, and would find it embarrassing to ask them now even if she did. She has also been asked about a gap on her CV of a few months from when she was 17!

Taking this as an example, if the previous employer had a proper privacy policy, they would not be able to provide a reference.  GDPR requires that data, even on current employees - never mind ex-employees, is only kept as strictly necessary.  In most cases, there can be no legitimate reason for the past employer to have a personnel file on a member of staff that left 12 years ago.  

What the current employer is asking for is both unrealistic and probably unobtainable.  

General_Grant

General_Grant said:

Re retention of records of employment - GDPR would suggest that keeping these as long as 12 years after the termination of employment is too long, six years being the better number.

That was from page 2.

The OP works in a school and I suspect the establishment has either recently had an OfSTED inspection where they looked at a file which was non-compliant or the school is preparing for one and a new person in HR realises there could be a problem if an inspector picks the "wrong" personnel file.

Throwaway1

General_Grant said:

General_Grant said:

Re retention of records of employment - GDPR would suggest that keeping these as long as 12 years after the termination of employment is too long, six years being the better number.

That was from page 2.

The OP works in a school and I suspect the establishment has either recently had an OfSTED inspection where they looked at a file which was non-compliant or the school is preparing for one and a new person in HR realises there could be a problem if an inspector picks the "wrong" personnel file.

We are due Ofsted so that very likely is the reason.

The person (A) who was asked for the reference provided our colleague’s (B) name as a reference and she got an email yesterday with the reference to fill in (they would only send the reference to B’s personal email address and not school one). It’s 5 pages long!! I’d forgotten that they worked together at A’s place they need a reference for. It’s full of questions she can’t possibly answer (asking if she has any current disciplinary incidents, ever been or currently on capability etc.) and then lots of personality type ones. B was only A’s colleague, not manager. It goes on and on and finally ends with would she employ her again if she had the chance. She didn’t employ her in the first place. 

robatwork

What would be fascinating is if a reference was obtained after 12 years for A, and the reference was terrible - they had sone something awful at the previous school and resigned in shame. I realise the likelihood of this is vanishingly small but it would put the current employer in an interesting position.

Throwaway1

robatwork said:

What would be fascinating is if a reference was obtained after 12 years for A, and the reference was terrible - they had sone something awful at the previous school and resigned in shame. I realise the likelihood of this is vanishingly small but it would put the current employer in an interesting position.

I do wonder what would happen. This wasn’t even a previous school though. It was an admin post for 3 months somewhere.

Also, update:
I’m now personally involved. I’ve just been asked to take in my marriage certificate.

MalMonroe

If it were me, any incompetency aside, I'd just comply as best I could. If people are unable to provide the information they've been asked for at least they can provide some proof that they have attempted to obtain it.

It's not a big deal, especially if you're working at a school. I'd be thinking about the students and their safety, too. 

If nobody has anything to hide, or even if they do, it's just better to get on with it and try to source the info requested. 

Not really worth consulting a union rep because it's not really an outrageous request. Unusual, maybe to ask for information many years later but if that's all you have to do, OP, it's no big deal. Is it? Get that certificate and take it in. Then it's over and done with.

Savvy_Sue

Not after 12 years, but maybe a month in, a new colleague just didn't turn up. That same day, their reference arrived: "resigned before they were asked to do so, unpunctual" etc.

Eventually they appeared: flood at their flat, no mobile (we just didn't in those days), no landline (not uncommon in rented flats). They'd gone to a callbox to phone a plumber but didn't have the office number. Then they'd gone back to the flat to await the plumber.

Brief interview with HR, yes they accepted the verdict of the reference, but they also explained why this job would 'work' better for them - and it did.

So hopefully that kind of reference after 12 years wouldn't be a problem. But any dishonesty probably would ...