Logica refuses to provide a reference that confirms my job title

[Nighbynight]

I am hoping to be offered a new and very exciting job shortly, however, the salary will be strictly dependent upon my years of relevant experience.
So, I have to provide references from my past employers, confirming that I worked for them between x date and y date, in my specialist field. This is particularly relevant for me, because I also have had other jobs that weren't in this field.

All my previous employers have coughed up exactly the required document, except one. Logica says that it is not their policy to disclose a person's job title in the reference. They will only confirm that the person worked there, and the dates.

The delay has already had a serious financial and emotional impact on our family, because I haven't yet got my job offer due to the delay, and I will have to move house very quickly now, to try and get my chidlren into new schools. They will probably have to do a few weeks in their old schools, and we move mid-October.

If I submit the reference without the job title, I have been warned that it won't count in the calculation of my new salary, so I will lose again financially.
I have explained this to Logica, but have had no cooperation yet.
I have had a look around on the internet, but it is not clear. you can sue if you lose financially due to a bad reference, but all the cases I found centred around false information being given on the reference, rather than just lack of information.

does anyone have any experience of this, and of dealing with Logica?

Do you not have a copy of your job description/contract of employment from when you worked there? Have you explained the situation to Logica?

hi freckle, thank you. I have got my contract somewhere, but not sure if it mentions refs. Clearly, they always provide them for engineers though. But they say it's their policy never to disclose the job title.

I have explained the situation, once by email to a woman who refused, and once by telephone to someone else who was very sympathetic, but didn't actually confirm that they had my details to send the reference to, so I think it was just a fob off.
I am a bit hampered by not being easily able to phone during UK working hours.

Does your contract mention your job title? If it does would your new employer accept that as proof?

Of course!!!
I will just dig it out and send it, along with the reference.
Son has been in hosp all last week, and my bag with all contents was nicked, so my head is a bit full at the moment.

thank you both.
Now will sort through mountains of old paperwork in teh cellar, wonder how long it will take me to track it down

If you post this in Employment too hopefully Llaregub or Flowerybeanbag will be along and can advise you from an HR standpoint. Hope the new job goes well and you get the highest possible salary!

That's what I meant, that the contract would refer to your job title, not that it would mention the firm's policy regarding references.

Hope you find it and can send it with the reference.

yes, I understood that later.
I found some stuff on the internet about obligation to provide a reference, and one of the reasons was if it's specified in your contract.

Hello nightbynight

Hope you unearth that contract soon - your new job sounds very exciting.

FWIW, my dh recently had some problems with an ex employer supplying an accurate reference to his new employer. dh got his union to intervene and tell the new employer that the old employer was being deliberately difficult. As soon as dh's new empolyer was in touch with the union, the reference problem was solved. So if necessary, is there any organistion or union you can appeal to?

hi tigermoth!

trade union, sigh. I am freelance at the moment, and in germany.

I have found my original letter offering me the job. It has biro scribbles from my then toddlers, and on the back is written my calculations about how much it would cost us to move house. Oops.

New job (fingers crossed) is brilliant. It is the sort of job that I could finally admit in the old girls association of my school that I have got, iykwim.

As long as your contract has your proper job title, who cares about the toddler scribbles!

Good luck!

(I didn't think it was likely you'd have a union to appeal to, as I know you're in Germany, but thought I'd suggest it just in case)

You won't be sending the original though, would you? In which case, photocopy it, tippex out the scribbles and photocopy it again.

I have just photocopied it once, and it looks a lot better. Quality doesn't bear a second copy, I think.

I am assembling everything, german style, in a references folder, which looks very nice and professional.