Employer refusing Co-worker reference

[HedgeWitchy]

I am returning to work after a long time with children. I was a teacher. Every senior leader I’ve ever worked with has retired or left teaching, I have no personal contact details for them (some I believe are dead or retired on mental health grounds). One is left, that is my first reference.

The only reference I can give for my second reference is someone online managed. This has been refused, as they want a reference from someone senior to me.

What doesn’t help is I worked 15 years in the same school, with only the headteacher senior to me. One died, one moved abroad. I can’t even get a very old reference. I’m old, and mostly my senior managers were older! All retired/ dead.

How should I reply to this refusal of a reference? I’m feeling stuck

When I left we still had paper files in a locked drawer in the office. Then they get shredded. Some files are shredded even sooner relating to warnings and only temporarily held even, for example verbal warnings with no further concerns.

Ive never been in this position, but there has been a massive exodus from teaching. I was the acting headteacher myself before leaving, so the headteacher who I actually worked under is over 9 years ago since we had contact. Untraceable I’ve found, only rumours. The one who took over the post shortly before my maternity leave is the one abroad, but even they didn’t actually know me well.

Obviously I also tried to track down the chair of governors. I’ve been diligent on this. It’s a combination of the time period and people leaving teaching.

Well I guess you have two options. Tell them you can’t meet their referencing requirements so are withdrawing, or give them one last call on the phone and have a conversation to see if between you and them you can come up with a satisfactory solution. You can’t get a reference by ouija board! It sounds very stressful!!!

Just an update a month on. Pulled out yesterday.

Supplied another reference. Then a long period of silence, chased it up and it transpired that there was a problem with the other reference. It was ‘incomplete’. I got my other referee to log back in. It’s an online form and it seems maybe on an old browser the drop down menus may not have saved properly, or something. The referee had completed it, filled in the boxes of type, but the boxes with drop downs seemed to have reverted back to as if they haven’t been filled in. I saw it happen, but tbh I’ve given up caring as to what exactly was wrong.

It seems HR we’re just going to sit on this and never tell me. The referee offered to try re-doing it but I said to leave it, I’ve invested so much time in this it’s got silly.