Giving a reference what should be written. Was this handled correctly.

[Soupsetscared]

Nothing to do with me. Just asking if this was correct as I might be asked for
references in the future.

I count the takings for a social club.
Today an email was sent to the manager (B) for a reference for a past member of staff (J)
The reference was set out with questions.

Question 1 was asking how long employee had worked there.
Easy to fill in.

Question 2 what was Js time keeping like.
Horrendous never on time, on 8 occasions didn't turn up.

Question 3 was J honest and trustworthy.
Was asked to leave as she was found to be taking money out of the till.
Proven by CCT.

Question 4 would you rehire her.
Never in a million years.

B deleted the questions and just put the dates of employment.
The number of hours she worked per month.
And that she was polite to the customers.
As B said I cannot tell lies and wasn't happy to say anything that wasn't true.

How would you have filled this in. I know you can't give a bad reference.

I would fill it in truthfully and honestly.

Complete myth that you can’t give a bad reference. It just has to be factually truthful.

References have to be fair and accurate so you can give a bad reference if that’s entirely reflective of their performance. In reality it’s so contentious that most employers now just confirm dates and maybe job title

I would do what B has done. Many employers only give dates worked and job titles now.

You can give a bad reference if it’s true but I would have done what B did as it’s not worth the risk/drama. If there were safeguarding concerns I would always disclose those though.

You can give any sort of reference you want as long as it’s factual and prove able
I probably would refuse to give one if the person involved had stolen though

I'd probably just give the dates, and decline to answer the other questions in writing.

I would probably have done what the manager did and also phoned the company with a bit more info.

You don’t have to follow somebody’s reference template. I would have done similar to what the manager did, other than I would not have made the comment about being polite to customers either.

As others have said, the idea that you can't give a bad reference is a myth. You can give a bad reference provided it is accurate. However, you don't have to answer the questions. Many employers would have ignored the questions and simply confirmed her starting and leaving dates. That would have been truthful and perfectly adequate.

We were asked to give a reference in a similar situation and answered all of the questions honestly.