Advice needed - to alert them or not?

[lisalisa]

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Oh fab lisalisa, I just read this thread from the bottom and was getting more and more worried for you but didn't have any advice. But ooh, well done on the offer!

That's wonderful news. Saves all that soul-searching and having to retrain, etc. I'd love to see your boss' face when you tell him/her.

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oooooo Lisalisa, first and formost, if you could smeak in a hidden camera, I would settle for pics of the event?!?!?

Actually this second point is more important: YES THEY CAN!! Get your revenge. Say what you have to say, but PLEASE do it after you and new employer have signed your new contract.

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My dh (an employment law partner) muttered something recently about having to highlight any issues that they had had with a staff member in the reference for that person, so doesn't sound like they do neutral.

I'd get the contract with the new employer tucked away first, just in case. Does your firm do exit interviews?

I think that they have to be honest. Most employers tend to be neutral these days, simply to avoid any problems.

I would be tempted to tell my employers what I think of them, but in a way that was constructive rather than an "up yours" type of way.

lisalisa don't know about solicitor side of things but references are very easy to read in what they don't say rather than what they do. It's perfectly possible to get a very negative reference but phrased completely neutrally. Please be careful

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Lisalisa,
I agree they should be neutral, SHOULD being the operative world. I am also cetain that they should not discriminate agains someone for having four maternity leave, and that they should not brush them aside for more junior (cheaper) staff. But these things happen. And if you can't prove them, then it's pointless making a stink.

Good luck in the new job. Let us know when it's official. :-)