Getting a bad reference from a previous employer

faringdon

Hi,
I am getting bad references from a previous employer.
How can I remedy this?

It concerns a time when BAE (+other defence primes) were putting out power supply projects to British companies
just to see if they could actually do them.
These companies were going to get payed whether or not the power supplys worked(!!!)
Ie, as long as they wrote some kind of report saying what they thought would need doing to fix them etc etc.

Anyway, I went in to work for a company who had taken literally five power supply contracts (all at the same time) like this.
Its my belief that this was done cynically, because they knew they were going to get payed
whether or not they worked.
Before I got to the company a previous engineer had obviously had a go at all five
projects but he had seriously screwed them all up. I was asked to "touch them up", but they
were all so bad I would have needed to start again.

Anyway, I enjoy power supply work, so would have gladly set about it, even though they had given me a ridiculously short time frame of 6 weeks
to complete 5 power supplies.

However, I was not to be allowed to actually work "directly" on these 5 power supplies, but was supposed to "back seat drive" two new
graduates to do it. Also, the power supply could only progress at the speed of their understanding of what was going on.....so in other
words, if they didn't understand a design step...we would just be stuck there till they understood. These two new grads had poor skills and it would have been impossible for me to get the 5 power supplies done in 6 weeks , with me "millstoned" in to having to work like this.

Anyway, since all 5 customers were already literally furious because there power supplies were already late from the previous engineer having messed
them up....it would have been silly to agree to a 6 week deadline. (specially since I myself was not being allowed to "directly" do the work.)

It would have been severely irresponsible to promise these companies a completed power supply in those timelines.
Anyway, due to this I signed off and left.

Before signing off, I offered to do the work directly, but they wouldn't allow it, they obviously wanted to use the projects to try and train
up two new engineers.
I would have been ok with this...but promising 5 power supplies in 6 weeks with me not even being able to get my own hands on the job would have been impossible.

The company promised the companies that the work would be completed in 6 weeks without telling me first. I was told i had six weeks , and told to tell all the customers that i would deliver in that time.

My honest belief is that the company had a devil may care attitude and had no intention of getting decent power supplies built...all they wanted
was the money, which they would get whether or not the power supplies worked, and as such, they were trying to quickly get trash power
supplies made up so that they could get payed the moolah.

Anyway, this co now gives me a bad ref ...what can i do?

soolin

Is this a continuation of several of your other threads as your work history and constant issues with various things are a little confusing including the one you responded to today

Can't get references for job. - Page 2 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6683743/getting-a-bad-reference-from-a-previous-employer

Companies cannot give you a bad reference unless you did bad things. The reference has to be truthful and factual and fair.

https://www.gov.uk/work-reference

elsien

Are you guessing there will be a poor reference or do you actually know that and have you seen it?
Could you condense your first somewhat confusing post and explain specifically what you think the reference says/ is likely to say, and the areas where you think they will have given/will give negative information about you?

No-one can give you a sensible answer on what at the moment appears to be speculation.

soolin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82140742#Comment_82140742

You might want to glance at OPs previous posts, there has been a fair bit of worry about references, lack of and changing jobs over the past year or so.

oldernonethewiser

Nothing in the original post detailing the reference, just a general moan about a company.

As already posted a reference must be truthful.

Isthisforreal99

As soon as I saw the post title I knew who the poster was going to be......seriously beggining to think they are on the wind up.

faringdon

Companies cannot give you a bad reference unless you did bad things.

..As far as these dodgy companies are concerned..an engineer leaving them when they didnt want the engineer to leave is that engineer doing "bad things"…they will make up that i left irresponsibly and talk to other directors and say such…i am aware, from hearsay, that such negative comment has been abounding about me. They will make up that i jeopardised them by leaving "in the middle of a project".

These companies just need engineers to "make them look like an electronics company", when all they are really doing is importing loads of electronics in from China…a kind of hidden backroom operation which is what they really profit from….but they need to "look like a genuine electronics company" in order to pull in the import customers…as the customers will not place orders for imports if they think the company "doesnt know about electronics".

I am doubtless not the only engineer experiencing this kind of thing…but all are quiet about it.

I can understand why this is a confusing situation…..the fact is that virtually all electronics in UK comes in from China…with the UK importers pretending to be real UK electronics companies in order that they can pull in more import orders….this all goes on behind the scenes…in the backroom…so yes, readers will be totally confused by this i understand that..its not at all obvious what goes on, and the napharious things that go on with this kind of shananigans.

elsien

You are catastrophising.

It's all ifs buts and maybe's.

There is absolutely nothing you can do until (or if) a bad reference actually arrives. I would suggest until then you look at ways to manage your anxiety and think more positively.

It has been asked before if you are getting any GP support - I'm just revisiting that suggestion.

strawb_shortcake

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141377#Comment_82141377

Whilst I have no doubt that company directors talk to other competitors director's and I mean this in the nicest possible way, are they going to know the names of those that work on the shop floor? IF they do, do you really think they are going to explain their "nefarious" business workings and plans to gain competitive advantage and name those that won't support them? That sounds quite reputationally damaging.

Same directors will also be talking/gossiping to those that work in the MoD about what others are or aren't doing.

On the other hand, your peers talking about you and this getting to other firms is far more likely

Marcon

I understand and accept that you cannot possibly understand whats going on in the british electronics industry

On what possible basis can you assume that nobody reading this forum knows anything about the industry?

And yes, youve guessed it…trying to be working in an industry which has been hollowed out by locusts, who call themselves "entrepreneurs", is pretty well bad news.

Time to change career - or change your attitude. The choice is yours.