Bad reference

[Rose5677]

I have signed up to an agency who have sent off my references.

Thing is I’m worried about my previous employer. I left on reasonable terms but It was v complicated and long story short I was bullied( by management ) but it was turned around on me. I reacted badly ( crying / argued back with manager ) , but it was said I had valid points .I put forward my side and I was investigated but I had no formal warnings. I had a meeting and a talking to. The people In question wanted me out really but I stayed a few months after that. Got on with colleagues well , was a shame to leave but had to for my MH( the actually job was very stressful too, with daily threats of violence and verbal abuse).My last performance check was ok, not great .

Anyway , now I’m worried. Would the agency tell me if it was bad ? I just want to put it all behind me . But if it comes back bad I’m prob up shit creek with out a paddle. Other people have had the same problems as me ( bullied and left). But they have all gone off grid so I can’t ask them or speak to them .

Employers are not allowed to give you a bad reference. They can just refuse to give you one.

They'll most likely only confirm the dates that you worked there, that's what most places do these days because no one wants to commit anything to writing that might be subject to interpretation.

I'm pretty sure it's a myth that they can't say anything negative, but as I understand it they can only say it if it's a fact, not an opinion.

Illegal. All they can do is refuse to give you a reference.

That’s not true incognito, they can and do.

Illegal. All they can do is refuse to give you a reference

Not according to the gov.uk website. It says that it must be factual but can include details of disciplinary issues etc or if you were dismissed.

I wish people who don’t have any idea what they’re talking about would stop announcing that stuff is “illegal”.

It’s not at all “illegal” to give a bad reference. A reference must give an accurate overall impression of the individual, so of course it is perfectly possible to give a negative one.

I can’t imagine if the agency get a bad reference that they wouldn’t tell you, but you can ask for a copy of any reference they have received. If it is bad and not substantiated you can challenge it.

It’s such a myth that you can’t give a bad reference. As long as what they say is true and can be backed up then it is absolutely fine to give a ‘bad’ reference. What you obviously cannot do is give a reference that is Not true with no back up and expect to get away with it.

They won’t give a bad reference as they could be sued if it was untrue - really wouldn’t worry

It’s a myth that it’s illegal to give you a bad reference. Otherwise what would be the point of giving reference at all if you can’t be truthful? However you do have to be very careful of how you word things when you’re saying something negative. For example if someone was regularly late, an ex employer couldn’t state that they were ‘always’ late as that implies that they were late literally every single time.
Op given the circumstances of why you behaved the way you did, technically your ex employer would be sensible to leave that out. But realistically there’s not much you can do about them providing a bad reference other than take them to court for prosecution, which presumably you would not want to bother doing

@Sunflowerdaisysummer I'll think you'll find your incorrect. In UK law a bad reference is illegal. If you've given one, it can come back to bite you 3 fold.

”In UK law a bad reference is illegal.”

NO IT ISNT!

If you don’t have decent employment law knowledge, don’t give advice on what is or isn’t unlawful.

If you think it’s illegal, show me the legislation you are relying on please?

If it is fair and accurate, it is legal. Of course it is.

A reference must be accurate.

If your attendance, standard of work etc was poor the employer is free to say so.

If you were dismissed for x reasons the employer can say so.

Nothing has ever been in place to make a poor reference illegal.

Many employers do not want to waste time arguing the point that your attitude stunk or that you were lazy etc. They therefore can choose to not give a reference, provide a phone reference or only provide tick references to specific questions about attendance, standard of work, punctuality, would you re-employ ( the crunch one) and if not why not.

Many new employers therefore ask pertinent questions on their reference forms depending on what they want to know.

Imagine if someone left a job in your shop because they were sacked for stealing, and you weren’t ‘allowed’ to tell a potential new retail employer that rather pertinent fact.

I’m really not incorrect.

It’s illegal to give a reference which is malicious AND false, or to give a reference which is false and causes the recipient serious damage (Eg job offer is pulled)

It is perfectly legal and proper to give a negative reference if what you say can be substantiated and there are some circumstances where you would be legally liable if you have a positive reference knowing that it was unjustified.

@Sunflowerdaisysummer

You really are. Sorry

*libel lawyer speaking

Straight from the horses mouth for those who insist poor references are illegal when they are not.

www.gov.uk/work-reference

In practice most employers will Just confirm job title and dates of employment
.

How can you agree with me and then say I am incorrect?

It may however be your own employer’s practise not to give negative references but that is emphatically not the law

If you don’t believe me, believe it from the horse’s mouth

www.gov.uk/work-reference

Who has agreed with you?

I said ‘employers can give a bad reference, it is wrong to say they cannot’

You posted saying much the same, then said I really was wrong. I’m really confused!

Oops. @sunflower Sorry. I mixed you up with another poster

Hi all. My understanding is you can give a bad reference, if it is true. I guess I’m wondering how often it happens. What questions are likely to be asked, what is likely to be disclosed ? I’ve never had this worry before .