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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

glassdoor review and threat of being sued

123 replies

thelonelyones · 22/05/2023 19:19

I wrote an honest negative review on glassdoor about a company I interviewed with. I used an email address which is not my normal one although I know glassdoor doesn't show your name and their site says they don't tell the organisation if the organisation asked. My review was accurate and professional, no swear words or anything like that. They are a small organisation. Lots of people warned me against applying but I did and didn't enjoy the interview experience. There aren't many glassdoor reviews due to their size. They work with, and mostly employ, people who have backgrounds of homelessness, addiction etc.
I've since received a nasty email from the owner along the lines of "we know it was you who wrote the review, take it off or we'll sue". I've not responded.
I am worried though. Should I take it off? Can they sue me? And what if they contact my current employer (I got a better job offer almost immediately afterwards). My company is a similar employer in a sector where most organisations know each other. I love my job. its a bigger organisation with lots of (positive) glassdoor reviews. I'm just worried that they will ruin it.
What do I do? Do I just ignore or do I give in and remove the review - bearing in mind other potential employees, including vulnerable people, could then have a similar experience.
Any lawyers, HR experts who can advise?
YABU - remove the review
YANBU - ignore the threat

OP posts:
Greenfairydust · 23/05/2023 08:10

''@thelonelyones
Yes it is a small charity or social enterprise rather, and there is no HR. There is the founder/director, her friend as a CEO and a couple of part time staff doing advisory roles or marketing and stuff. probably around 10 staff in total.''

It does not surprise me...I have worked for 2 homeless charities and both were a nightmare.

They had really had staff turnover, senior managers who were little bullies and frontline staff had to work in really unsafe conditions because of staff shortages and lack of security measures.

You would think that the voluntary sector would have better HR practices and treat staff and volunteers correctly but having worked in that sector for 20 years I can tell that it is not the case. I am planning my exit at the moment because of these poor practices.

Well done for alerting other potential applicants that this might not be a great organisation to work for.

allthewoes · 23/05/2023 08:11

I think I was careful to share that I had a negative experience and avoid anything that would identify me. I think they are just guessing.

In that case I would put another review on, saying they'd threatened you even though you'd done nothing!

AgentJohnson · 23/05/2023 08:17

They aren’t going to sue you, they are just confirming your reasons for writing your review. I would be tempted to post their threading email.

Original poster
thelonelyones · 23/05/2023 08:53

@FraserNow funnily enough I had a similar experience with another organisation to what you have described, although I didn't leave a review in that situation. Wasn't aware of glassdoor then! That was also a small charity.

OP posts:
EerieSilence · 23/05/2023 09:02

If your review was factual and not offensive, don't remove it.
Don't get scared by their tactics, as well as people who are telling you to be careful, because what if etc. TBH, it's exactly those people why this toxic culture is thriving. Some people are ready to be fucked over and sideways by their employers.

Nordicrain · 23/05/2023 09:05

Just ignore them.

bobster31 · 23/05/2023 17:46

I recently left an honest Google review for a tradesman who failed to show up for a job and didn't communicate with us to say he wouldn't be coming. His response was to threaten legal action against me for leaving the review, be very aggressive and abusive towards me and he also published my home address in his response. I managed to persuade Google to take down the review but I still found it very worrying and honestly a bit scary that some of his "mates" might come round and do some damage before it was removed.
There are just some people out there that can't cope with honest feedback unfortunately.

Vynalbob · 23/05/2023 18:20

Leave it if it's factual (& doesn't mention names). You are allowed to review stuff, if people won law suits through a review a good chunk of the internet would disappear.

pollymere · 23/05/2023 18:31

You could be sued for libel. But they'd have to prove what you said is libellous, and that you wrote it. They would probably also have to prove that it's had an impact on their business.

The hardest part for them would be proving that what you wrote isn't true because it's a review - it's based on your experience, feelings and opinion. Reviews, unless clearly deliberately malicious, are designed to not be open to accusations of libel. This is why Trip Advisor is so powerful.

I suspect they're just trying to scare you in to taking it down.

JenWillsiam · 23/05/2023 18:48

If it’s factual leave it.

it there’s anything that’s opinion or untrue or on the line delete it.

CantFindMyMarbles · 23/05/2023 18:54

I would respond and ask them exactly what they are going to sue over.
I would however warn them about coercive and manipulative communications and say I will add the email to the review thread to show what the company are like. As you’re an individual you don’t have to abide by GDPR.

Shotokan101 · 23/05/2023 19:51

thelonelyones · 22/05/2023 19:19

I wrote an honest negative review on glassdoor about a company I interviewed with. I used an email address which is not my normal one although I know glassdoor doesn't show your name and their site says they don't tell the organisation if the organisation asked. My review was accurate and professional, no swear words or anything like that. They are a small organisation. Lots of people warned me against applying but I did and didn't enjoy the interview experience. There aren't many glassdoor reviews due to their size. They work with, and mostly employ, people who have backgrounds of homelessness, addiction etc.
I've since received a nasty email from the owner along the lines of "we know it was you who wrote the review, take it off or we'll sue". I've not responded.
I am worried though. Should I take it off? Can they sue me? And what if they contact my current employer (I got a better job offer almost immediately afterwards). My company is a similar employer in a sector where most organisations know each other. I love my job. its a bigger organisation with lots of (positive) glassdoor reviews. I'm just worried that they will ruin it.
What do I do? Do I just ignore or do I give in and remove the review - bearing in mind other potential employees, including vulnerable people, could then have a similar experience.
Any lawyers, HR experts who can advise?
YABU - remove the review
YANBU - ignore the threat

I wouldn’t worry at all if it was all true👍

https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcementguide/court/reporting-defamation.htm#:~:text=Definitions%20of%20defamation,-1.&text=A%20defamatory%20statement%20is%20one,members%20of%20society%20generally1%22.

Defamation: libel and slander - Court Stage - Enforcement Guide (England & Wales)

This Guide sets out the law and legal practice relevant to the criminal enforcement of health and safety duties.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcementguide/court/reporting-defamation.htm#:~:text=Definitions%20of%20defamation,-1.&text=A%20defamatory%20statement%20is%20one,members%20of%20society%20generally1%22.

Solonge · 23/05/2023 19:56

BadgerFacedCoo · 22/05/2023 19:50

They already know who you are. That's how you have the email.

You don't have to say you left the original review.

Just create a new account, all wide eyed that you received this email, how strange....

Show quote history

It sounds very like they remember the interview with you, what occurred and you have factually repeated this on the review, so they clearly have been guilty of doing whatever it is you said they did. I would suggest you completely ignore. No one can sue you for accurate posting. Have you seen some of the things said in National Newspapers about politicians? some absolutely untrue, 99% doesnt attract a law suit.

WomanStanleyWoman2 · 23/05/2023 20:18

That would mean admitting she wrote the review, @CantFindMyMarbles.

At the moment, the company is chancing its arm. They say they know it’s the OP that wrote the review, but they don’t - they only suspect. Even if she’s the only candidate they’ve interviewed and rejected recently, it wouldn’t take much to argue that anyone could have posted the review (ex employee with a grudge, owner’s vengeful ex wife etc.) What lawyer is going to take the case on if a company tries to sue someone based on the suspicion that they left an anonymous review?

OP just has to ignore the email and any subsequent chasers. Glassdoor won’t give out her details - their entire operation is based on anonymous submissions. It’s as simple as riding it out.

Tortiemiaw · 23/05/2023 20:19

Greenfairydust · 23/05/2023 08:10

''@thelonelyones
Yes it is a small charity or social enterprise rather, and there is no HR. There is the founder/director, her friend as a CEO and a couple of part time staff doing advisory roles or marketing and stuff. probably around 10 staff in total.''

It does not surprise me...I have worked for 2 homeless charities and both were a nightmare.

They had really had staff turnover, senior managers who were little bullies and frontline staff had to work in really unsafe conditions because of staff shortages and lack of security measures.

You would think that the voluntary sector would have better HR practices and treat staff and volunteers correctly but having worked in that sector for 20 years I can tell that it is not the case. I am planning my exit at the moment because of these poor practices.

Well done for alerting other potential applicants that this might not be a great organisation to work for.

Sounds like you worked at the same place as me!

calmandcaffeinated · 23/05/2023 20:56

I would be tempted to reply with something along the lines of "I did not post anything on glass door using the email address on my application, but given the threat of your email and, on reflection, my experience during interview I will now contact glass door to inform them of my recent contact with this company. Please do not contact me again regarding this matter, otherwise I will seek legal action."

goodbyerye · 23/05/2023 21:29

Ahh there's no way they can sue you

Can you edit the review? Something like

Update! Although this review is anonymous, the CEO has emailed with a threat to sue unless I take this review down

Merangutan · 23/05/2023 21:39

You absolutely do not need to delete a truthful review just because they don’t like it. Rather than threatening you, a good company would take the comments in the review on board. Keep that email. I’d add that you were intimidated after the review. You’ll be doing future applicants a favour if they do their research before an interview there.

Macinae · 23/05/2023 21:42

Don't be bullied into retracting a true, honest statement. Glassdoor is for both positive and negative, and their reaction actually justifies your views.

I would remove this post though OP, if they see it and they have only contacted you, this thread exposes you.

LilyPAnderson · 23/05/2023 22:44

I had a similar experience with a so called charity, where the charity began at home. I was the only one who left reviews about what they were really like, and glad I did.

SchoolTripDrama · 23/05/2023 23:05

Micksdottir · 23/05/2023 06:40

OP, my field is libel and defamation. You are being given some very bad advice on here. Take it from me, this is what you should do; Do NOT directly respond to the threat. This is a matter in the first instance for Glassdoor, as the publishers of the post they object to. In the highly unlikely the complainant goes to law, they would be required to sue Glassdoor as well as you. And Glassdoor have deep pockets, sharp lawyers and are well used to seeing off threats from cheeky fuckers
But it won't come to this. Simply forward the threatened message to Glassdoor. All your covering message has to say is 'I have received this and do not intend to respond as I stand by every word of my review'.
Whatever you do, DO NOT at any point deny authorship of the review. This might easily be proved to be untrue, which gives the organisation making the threats the ability to say 'well, if you lied about that, you could well be lying about what happened in your interview'.
So, OP, head down and don't be threatened. Suing for libel is a seriously costly business for both sides. The earlier poster who warned of solicitors charging £100 an hour has laughably underpriced the cost of litigation. Most specialists would charge £850 an hour, with a minimum £20,000 deposit even before court proceedings begin. But to go back to the first point I made: it's a matter for Glassdoor rather than you.

Very kind & decent of you to give this free legal advice to OP, nice one 👍🏻

Silverstreaks · 24/05/2023 07:03

OP thank you for leaving the interview review. I love Glassdoor for this aspect. Looking for a new role is time consuming enough without wasting time on awful interviews at terrible companies.

DadBodAlready · 24/05/2023 07:37

Quveas · 22/05/2023 20:04

I'm going to suggest a different perspective. They know who you are. They know who your employer is. They could probably work out who your next employer is. And it is a small sector where everyone knows everyone else. You have given your version of factual. They could give their version of factual as well. It could get very messy. For a very long time. Is that review so important that that is a risk worth taking? If so, leave it there. If not, you have no evidence to support your statements (since there couldn't have been anyone on your side as a witness) and it becomes "he said/ she said" and your reputation possibly bandied around in places that matter to you.

Sometimes the truth isn't worth the fight. But only you can decide whether it is or not.

And if OP takes it down now, then they definitely know who it is and there is nothing preventing them 'bad-mouthing' OP's reputation. Damned if you do damned if you don't. And if the post is true, there will be others who will read it and quietly nod their heads.
If they sue the only email trail sits with Glassdoor. The company will have to disclose how and why they believed it was OP that posted.

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