*URGENT* Bad Ref Previous Employer

Peter2010

Hi,

I have a friend who has told me that she made a stupid mistake during a previous employment about 5yrs ago and resigned by mutual agreement, she will only be given a reference with start date and leaving date. She has worked since in two smaller companies for around 3yrs but was made redundant a few months ago.

She has now been offered a new job with a multi national and they are about to do a background check on her through pre screen and she is afraid that the previous employer will give her a bad reference or tell the potential new employer why she left which will result in her new job offer being pulled.

Is there anything she can do or is there any peace of mind that I can give her as she is now in a right state with worry and I have no doubt she is a very trustworthy highly trained worker and will give any employer 110%.

Many thanks

drunkmonkey

They can't give a bad reference without proof as they could be leaving themselves wide open for a law suit. If they have proof they can and probably should tell the new employer.
Still it's 5yrs ago and they may just say she worked there for a to b and leave it at that.

mack81

I could be completely wrong with this so don't take it a gospel, But if a company gives a bad reference they could get themselves in trouble so most companies, especially multinationals will only say "so and so worked here between such and such" and thats all. Its probably not worth the risk to them of having a lawsuit against them if the person they give a bad reference to was follow up on it.

As i said i could be wrong but thats my understanding of it.

Nody

mack81 wrote: »

I could be completely wrong with this so don't take it a gospel, But if a company gives a bad reference they could get themselves in trouble so most companies, especially multinationals will only say "so and so worked here between such and such" and thats all. Its probably not worth the risk to them of having a lawsuit against them if the person they give a bad reference to was follow up on it.

As i said i could be wrong but thats my understanding of it.

Close; a company should give factual references; good or bad. Any reference needs to be backed up if challenged (bad references are by definition more likely to be challenged but good has been as well by the company that recieved it). Hence if a company said the OP's friend had crashed 10 company cars this would be ok if they had facts to back it up and they could be held liable if they omitted it (if the new job had any relevance of knowing this). If it was false how ever they could be challenged by the OP's friend on it (but once again this can be hard to get out what was said on a call since this would be unlikely to be put in writing).

This is also why most references would default as date X to Y in position Z and managers are told not to give anything more (even though every person looking for a reference will fish for it). This is easiest to back up and contains minimum amount of information the company risks getting challenged on.

sambuka41

Nody wrote: »

Close; a company can only give factual references; good or bad. Any reference needs to be backed up if challenged (bad references are by definition more likely to be challenged but good has been as well by the company that recieved it).

This is also why most references would default as date X to Y in position Z and managers are told not to give anything more (even though every person looking for a reference will fish for it).

What if they have said that your time keeping and dedication to the job were poor when they weren't? How would you prove that if you did go to a solicitor?? I got a bad reference recently but the same person has previously given me a good reference. (theres a dispute with the current employees who i know and i think my reference was a fall out from that)

drunkmonkey

A good manager would write every incident down, so if you were late and the manager kept a record of it that would be proof enough.

sambuka41

drunkmonkey wrote: »

A good manager would write every incident down, so if you were late and the manager kept a record of it that would be proof enough.

Sorry to hijack the thread!!! But what if you weren't late,how would you prove it? I just wonder how many people do actually follow up on a bad reference,it seems like a difficult thing to prove, esp if its not the type of company where strict records would be kept?

For the OP i wonder if it would be an option for her to tell the new job what happened? Give her side of the story first?

Nody

The reference would need to be disputed in court as far as I'm aware with all of what that would entail. The dispute would then be up for the company to explain the bad reference and obviously for the person who took them to court to be able to show that this was a reference they where given by the company (which could be difficult).

As for the OP; it is unlikely there would be in depth discussion on a 5 year old position unless it was matching exactly with the new one; hence I'd play it cool.

Mrs OBumble

How many referees is the multi-national really like to check with?

I've been in the workforce for 25 years, some of the organisations I worked for don't even exist any more! Sure I've got written certificates of services (worked as an X from Y to Z), but references are personal contacts with people, ideally current employees of the company involved.

Just make sure you've got 2-3 good recent referres, and only give details for them.

bbam

I would never give a negative written reference about an employee unless I had disciplineary documentation on file which could be used to back up a point.. What I do however is speak with the person requesting the reference and let them know that way.....

amen

they could be held liable if they omitted it

I don't think so.

I have no duty of care to Company B if they hire someone from Company A (that I own) that I let go.

I have no obligation to provide a reference or to disclose any facts to Company B.

wmpdd3

I would never give a negative reference either unless I had documentation and if i no longer worked for the company either then I don't have access to the written documentation any more so I couldn't reference it.

If there was a massive issue with a person such as honesty, that I can no longer verify, I would just refuse to comment of that person's honesty. It's then up to the new company to delve if they can.

TheBlock

References are only used to validate/verify that you worked for the company you listed on your CV from the dates you have specified and if possible doing the duties you have specified.

For all your friend knows there is no-one left in the company she has as a referee form the time she was there.

Provided she was not let go for fraud or did not engage in any illegal or unethical activity she should be fine.

The people that are hiring her will have made there decision primarily on the interview process and are unlikely to rely on or put too much weight on references bad or good.

tenchi-fan

5 years is so long ago so a start/end date and job title reference will be fine. Tell your friend to obtain the reference so she can hand it in to the new company (rather than getting the company to contact the old employer)

The company would only be interested in character references from more recent employers.