To be really angry? I've even cried

[HelenOn]

My new job, of which I'm suppose to start next week, have called to have a chat.

They wanted to ask why one of my references came back as 'Had a lot of time off sick' (not sure if old work gave dates).

I was off a lot for the majority of my time in that role (about a year) due to crippling Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). My spelling may be slightly off there.

Anyway, since it is completely pregnancy related, I didn't think they could mention it in a reference.

But it's been mentioned and new employer now sounds very sceptical. I tried to explain what it is and I got a very abrupt 'We know what HG is'.

I just don't know what to do I really need/want this job and feel like crying. New job have said they're speaking to HR for a chat about it.

AIBU to be really angry at old work?

I suspect that HR will tell the manager you spoke to of the tricky legal position it places them in if they decide to rescind their job offer.

Now the DBS is being sorted, that shouldn't present any problem, so that can't be a reason - and as has been pointed out, it's discriminatory to use your HG against you - so you should be ok.

Hang fire, wait and see what happens before you do something that might be considered OTT.

@VanGoghsDog Yes, it definitely does contravene the Equality Act to ask about sickness before an offer of employment has been made.

See page 129 of the Equality Act 2010 Code of Practice:

www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/employercode.pdf

"Pre-employment enquiries about disability and health
10.25 Except in the specific circumstances set out below, it is unlawful for an employer to ask any job applicant about their disability or health until the applicant has been offered a job (on a conditional or unconditional basis) or has been included in a pool of successful candidates to be offered a job when a position becomes available. This includes asking such a question as part of the application process or during an interview. Questions relating to previous sickness absence are questions that relate to disability or health."

It is against GDPR for them to provide that information.

No, it isn't. By giving a previous employer as a reference, the employee authorises the passing over of personal data to the prospective employer. Information about pregnancy can't be passed over, but that is due to the Equality Act 2010, not the GDPR.

This is why our references just have start and end dates and job titles.

good luck OP!

try to keep calm op.
I know this can feel overwhelming but single this epsidoe out and deal with the emotions around this one single thing.
because right now you seeing this happening in the job>to more stress>no job need money>what happens next with budget home>stress for you and hubby>need this job>overwhelming of what ifs and what will you do next. so somehow you've got away from the problem and added ten to your brainload and ou just wont cope.
keep focus right into what going on right now.dont allow ur head to tell you worries about what ifs.it will overhwlem you.
I know everything has knock on effects but right now you have no idea what they will be.and you can be strongerto deal with it once your calm and rational.keep supported.keep talking to your hub and just take it step by step if you can.

@MotherOfDragonite

So, we're talking about asking a referee, which normally happens after a job offer. The paragraph you've quoted covers something entirely different. Did you mean to quote a different part?

@VanGoghsDog I thought you were replying to Gwynhyfar's post about asking about sick days in an application (in which case, yes, as per the Equality Act I quoted, it is illegal).

I don't know that the OP's new employer DID ask. It sounds as if the referee just mentioned it off their own bat.

The people who are on potentially dodgy ground in the OP's case are the people who gave the reference.

I was asked by my mortgage lender to account for four months missed due to breast cancer treatment-only time I haven't worked since high school and it pissed me off though different circumstances but my new employer never knew

I really feel for you and it’s shocking that it was a NHS Trust did this . My last job was in the NHS and i found them particularly unsupportive when my daughter was in hospital and I had to use all my Annual Leave up to be with her so I left. I am not in HR but understood that references now should be specific about no’s of episodes off sick and not be subjective or give personal opinion and merely confirm the dates you worked there and confirm you performance was of a good standard. I wish you luck with this as at a minimum it looks like ineptitude on their part and I feel they were wrong to document that . Definitely get a copy of it and even if you are not in a train union you can join one simply to get advice .

"Shouting discrimination isn't going to help the OP here though, is it.

I think you need to chalk this one up to experience, don't give that again as a reference and move on."

Why should she do that? It looks like the situation is being resolved, but if not she should do something about it otherwise these employers will continue to discriminate against people. As others have noted, you're often obliged to give your last employer as a reference so the problem will follow her around.

even if you are not in a train union you can join one simply to get advice

(Trade union, unless you mean the RMT) No you can't, they nearly all require 3m membership before they will advise on a live case.

I always find these sort of posts interesting in the advice people give:

• Speak to your Trade Union. In 35 years of working I've never once had a trade union! Are they only in the public sector?
• Speak to HR. Someone (in HR for another company) once gave me some good advice, which was never forget who pays the HR person i.e. the employer! It is a myth that HR are there to fight the employee's corner. More often than not they are involved in decisions and 'cloak and dagger' operations to rescind job offers or make people redundant/ get people with grievances to leave quietly without getting the company into legal difficulties.

I always find these sort of posts interesting in the advice people give

I always find the employment law advice given is quite scary. For some reason this subject seems to attract so many people who clearly know nothing but feel compelled to pass on the benefit of their ignorance or assumptions anyway. Why posters rely on this misinformation is beyond me.

You should get a solicitor to write to your former employer if there are any negative consequences, demanding the situation be rectified somehow (retraction/correction, or compensation. ET if not). This is discrimination and it is unlawful. If it goes OK this time, write and complain yourself, and point out that any future references must not include such discriminating and detrimental information.

New work called today, and said they'd heard I had spoken to HR myself...

She said she wanted to assure me that they wouldn't retract a job offer based on something pregnancy related, they know how difficult pregnancy can be, etc etc etc.

However, she said they are concerned because now there is the question of where is the relevant experience since the reality is I would've spent very little time actually doing that job since I was off sick with HG. (My other roles have this experience, I believe, but anyway, I suppose they must've offered it to me because of that job with the maternity reference).

And she said also, my very last employer (just a temp role locally), has failed to get back with a reference. I've chased them today but they seem to have changed their number and no company website... All I have is the old director's email, which I've tried.

I just feel so frustrated. I feel physically sick, I'm not sure how much more I can really take right now.

"she said they are concerned because now there is the question of where is the relevant experience since the reality is I would've spent very little time actually doing that job"

What's that I smell?

Ahhh, it's HR bullshit.

They've realised they can't withdraw the offer based on your illness, so they're searching for a proxy excuse.

There are very, very few jobs where the kind of time off you've had would make THAT much difference, and - as you say - you have further experience in other roles anyway.

I can't believe the way you are being treated. I feel genuinely angry on your behalf.

Of course that kind of time off would affect the experience gained in a new role.

If the temp job was local can you not go and speak to someone there?

Downcast, the OP said in her first post that she spent the majority of the time in that role off - it is, unfortunately, true that she hasn't got the experience from that role.

OP, would they let you put forward another referee? How many did you give in the first place because if it was those two, one hasn't replied and the other one I do agree that you didn't get the experience in (regardless of the reason, and HG is hideous).

But did she let you explain that you had relevant experience in previous roles?

Why would they backtrack if the HG sickness poses no threat and you have experience in past jobs?

I'm not sure I understand. Are you panicking for no reason? (I hope/think you are)

The new employer didn't know that the OP hadn't gained the experience in that role though.

What did you actually say about that role in the interview, OP?

I don’t think op has a leg to stand on, tbh. She’s said that the job title “looked good” on her application, so may have been a significant factor in her being offered the role ahead of the other applicants.
Finding out that she’s held the title purely nominally, because she hasn’t actually been at work often enough to make much of a difference is a real game changer.
And by not clarifying that at interview she appears to have deliberately attempted to mislead.
She could have been dismissed from the position when that was discovered, even if she’d actually started the job.

You should have been upfront OP. I would hold your hand upright to that and show how you used the same skills elsewhere. They are doubting you now.

Get a letter from your GP clarifying the sick leave & complain to your previous employer?