Ex employer making things hard for me :(

Got made redundant on the 28th of July. My manager promised to give me a glowing reference by post but i never recieved it.

Just tried to gain employment via an agency only to be told he had rubbished my work effort on the phone. I was employed by them for 2 years and had no problems (disciplanaries, time off or lates).

Is this legal? I heard somewhere that you have to be given a fair and accurate written reference by law! Can i take the company to court for causing me hardship?

[Paul K]

Go talk to the CAB as I think that they can either refuse to give you a reference or give you proper positive reference. I don't think they can openly slate you in a reference especially if the information is false.

[MovedGoalPosts]

My understanding is that companies are not allowed to give unfair references (stands to reason really) and not allowed to give negative ones. They don't have to give a reference though, and many employers would infer a lot if the reference was declined.

Whilst these rules probably apply to written references, common sense says oral references should be treated the same way. The difficulty is knowing exactly what was said, orally, when it will only be relayed to you as hearsay, ie. you yourself did not hear what was actually said.

[dilli-theclaw]

I'm pretty sure they shouldn't do this either - yes go to the CAB. The trouble is the damage has been done now

[grandmaster]

Your manager is a loser.

Phone him and tell him to get a life or at least demand an explanation.

Or find someone else to give you a reference.

I have an appointment with the agency today at half past four. The conversation i had with them doesn't mean that i won't gain work from them but i have to see them to discuss things

I'll update you all when i get back.

[me283]

It's a grey area I think. If for example you had been a bad employee, and you had been given a good reference, then I believe that action could have been taken against the referee. However in this instance you were given a bad reference. Now if it were in writing then you might have some grounds, but as it was verbal then I doubt it.

References are a tricky area. It is often said that you can't give a bad reference, but when I was studying Business Studies (a long time ago, admittedly!) the lecturer pooh-poohed this by saying a reference just has to be true, be it good or bad.

In the past I have used the "not willing to give a reference" route for a particularly bad former employee; it usually does the trick, except in this instance the prospective employer came to see me for a chat and I then had the option of speaking to him "off the record".

If, as may be the case, there was some bad blood between you and your ex-employer, you can usually explain this to potential employers and either ask them to take it into consideration, or even ask them not to apply for a reference at all. Do you have other references that may negate this bad one?

[grandmaster]

good luck

[me283]

Originally Posted by Shabba on hell

I have an appointment with the agency today at half past four. The conversation i had with them doesn't mean that i won't gain work from them but i have to see them to discuss things

I'll update you all when i get back.

Good luck Shabba, I hope it all works out for you.

Just a thought, if it's an agency then maybe you could do some temping or contract work for them, and that would give them their own references? They usually have a relationship with their clients where they get a lot more info about your work than a bog standard two line reference anyway.

[Chris W]

Having worked for manpower, i don't rate their references-

"Yes he worked for us from xxx to xxx and had x sick days."

and that's all you get

[SMHarman]

A very grey area these days.
A written reference must be supported by fact, hence nowdays he worked from x to x and had x days sick.
Personal references are now normally done by phone and as such are heresay, realistially what proof do you have that he said these things.
You should ask him why etc, but ultimately don't use him as a character reference anymore.

[Gareth]

...or you could invent your references, saying that you worked for Bodgit & Scarper during that period, but unfortunately the company has now gone into insolvency (through no fault of your own) so obtaining a reference is not possible.

ps - I'm not condoning this, so don't sue me if you try it and it fails

[Hom3r]

I myself was made redundant recently (4th July) and I've put my old boss & supervisor as references (I worked with the supervisor) but will suggest to employer that they cose the super as I worked with her for 8 years and will give me a personal ref, and that the boss will give only a company ref via the HR dept that just stats i worked there wrok X to Y and not much more?

and an reference cannot contain nasty info,

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by me283

References are a tricky area. It is often said that you can't give a bad reference, but when I was studying Business Studies (a long time ago, admittedly!) the lecturer pooh-poohed this by saying a reference just has to be true, be it good or bad.

I was told by an agency that it is the case they weren't allowed to give bad references. Not saying you are wrong, as it's entirely possible they were wrong.

Mind you, my old boss used to say that the best way to get rid of a bad employee was to give them a glowing reference.
__________________

Shabba, hope your talk went well.

[budwieser]

Originally Posted by david.ewles

I myself was made redundant recently (4th July) and I've put my old boss & supervisor as references (I worked with the supervisor) but will suggest to employer that they cose the super as I worked with her for 8 years and will give me a personal ref, and that the boss will give only a company ref via the HR dept that just stats i worked there wrok X to Y and not much more?

and an reference cannot contain nasty info,

Get it sorted out, get a Glowing Reference from him and then Punch his lights out for being a nasty spiteful person. But make a point of explaining to him why you have done it. just so he understands.