[Anonymouse]

I seem to recall hearing somewhere that employers can't give you a prejudicial, i.e. bad, reference; it's against the law, if I heard it right. They aren't obliged to give you a glowing reference, but they can't give you one which would harm your chances of getting another job. You should definitely get legal advice and demand to see those references; there's something wrong here, starting with: if the references were 'unsatisfactory', why'd they take you on in the first place?

I hate the way employees are treated in this country. Best of luck, and do let us know how you get obn.