Bad Ref Caused loss of Job

[kellyflower]

Hi Guys i really need some advise.

I have been working for 3 months as a contractor at this company and was due to start as a perm member of staff as of 1st sept. They had to reference me to join the company, they were in the financial service industry. My references have come back I had a phone call from my agency to say that my contract had been terminated and they will not be able to offer me a permant position at the company due to this. They did not tell me anymore, but the references were confidential. I am unaware of the content of the reference but have been told it serious enought for the company not to employ me. Please help me!

what can i do?

 

[cbg]

There's not much we can do.

Bad references are not illegal. Only FALSE references are illegal.

Let me give you an example. If Joe comes in late three times a week, leaves early, does his work carelessly or not at all, and quits without notice, his employer is legally entitled to give all that information out to a prospective employer who calls for a reference, and if that means that Joe doesn't get the job, that's too bad, so sad; Joe brought it on himself.

If the employer honestly, truly believes that Sally did a poor job handling the Anderson account, she may legally say so to any prospective employer who calls for a reference on Sally. Even if the Andersons thought the world of Sally and think she did a terrific job on the account. The manager didn't think so and it's the manager who is being asked. (Of course, Sally is free to suggest that the prospective employer also call the Andersons). The manager is telling the truth as the manager sees it.

But if Terry was a model employee, never late, never sick, did his work perfectly, only left because his wife got a job in Chicago and it was too far to commute from Philadelphia, and the employer says when called for a reference that Terry was fired for stealing, Terry may have legal recourse. Sally and Joe do not, but Terry probably does.

Here's the problem. The employer is not obligated to (and in some states may even be legally barred from) tell(ing) you what was said. References are considered confidential even from the person they are about.

You can find a reference checking service or ask a trusted friend to call posing as a prospective employer, but unless the information provided is not only false, but the employer knew or should have known that it was false, there's likely not much, if anything, you can do.

 

[kellyflower]

hi thanks for the quick responce seems like theres not too much i can do in this case apart from contacting my manager that I suspect to have gaving me the negative reference and ask what he may have written thhat could be so bad to have caused me to loose my job.also see if this is justified. Maybe he may be prepared to retract his reference, i may be able to get my job back. i didnt think empoyees could write a bad reference though??

 

[cbg]

Sorry, but as I said, bad references are not illegal. That is a myth perpetuated by the fact that many employers will, as a matter of policy, not provide any information except dates of employment and job title. That does not make it illegal to give more.

You are free to ask what was said. They are free to refuse to tell you.

 

[kellyflower]

can i make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act for a copy of the reference?

 

[cbg]

Are you in the UK?

 

[Green_Hornet]

Contact a lawyer whether a bad reference raises liability issues is up to, whether a lawyer excepts the case, and a jury.

 

[cbg]

Certainly she can talk to an attorney but, at least in the US, without some evidence that the information provided information that they knew or should have known was false, she's probably up a creek.

Kelly, the Data Protection Act is a UK law. If you are in the US, it is meaningless to you. If you are in the UK, forget everything I told you because this is primarily a US site and I have no idea what UK law says about bad references.