Written warning and future employment

[LouLDN]

Hi everyone,

I believe I am about to be given a written warning by my employer for an absence related issue. I have a support staff role at a comprehensive secondary school.

I am pretty angry with myself as I was about to start applying for new jobs.

I just wanted to ask whether or not a potential future employer would be informed of this written warning?

If this is likely, is there anything I can say to my current employer that would make them less likely to share this information with others?

Thanks in advance,

Lou

Is it the right time to look for a new role? If you're going through something causing a lot of absences then taking on a new role is a risk. They can get rid of you for any reason really if you've worked for less than 2 years so if you start a new job and take a lot of time off, they'll just get rid of you.

Hi, thanks for responding. The most recent absence issue was a one-off, but I had a lot of time off over a year ago due to a health problem that is now resolved.

It's only leading to a warning now because of what happened in the past.

I'm very confident that it wouldn't be a problem at a new job.

The warning wouldn't be reported in a reference unless it's safeguarding related, but most schools do ask about attendance record as part of their recruitment/reference process.

Your employer can only give that information with your permission, but refusal paints it's own picture, so you'll need a good explanation (warning or not).

Thanks for your reply. I am looking at jobs in universities and don't ever plan to work in a school again. Do you know if the same would apply to universities?

The historical absence issue was mental health related so I suppose that could be grounds for keeping attendance confidential?

The warning wouldn't be reported in a reference unless it's safeguarding related, but schools do ask about attendance record as part of their recruitment p

Why would a university be any different? If the school is asked about your attendance record, they will respond factually. You can't expect them to keep your absence confidential from a future employer, whatever the reason. Maybe think about sticking it out for a bit longer until you have 2 years of good attendance under your belt?

Most references will factually state how many days/periods of absence in the last 12 months. Unless pregnancy related. They won’t say what the reason for absence was.

The Bradford rule would say that 2 long absences is not as bad as lots of individual days off.

Were you genuinely ill each time you took time off?

My attendance was once flagged by a previous employer to a new employer. They pulled me aside and asked me about it. I explained that I had had issues with depression which were now treated. They were fine with it and it never came up again. Sounds like you could explain similarly if new employer did ask.