I was cleared of an accusation by my old employer wat do i do if they give me a bad reference because of this?

A year ago now i was sacked by my old employer and they accused me of gross misconduct. i was subsequently arrested and cleared of all charges by the police and i took my old employers to an employment tribunal and it was proved beyond all doubt that i was unfairly dismissed and the employer was told that they had no right to think that i had committed such an act. I have heard through my friends who still work there that things are still being said about me in a bad way and i am looking for a new job what do i do if they refuse to give me a reference or give me a bad reference?
thanks guys

SELB

Because you have gone through a tribunal and won they cannot give you a bad reference. They can either give you a good reference or no reference at all. If they do give you a bad reference, any no win no fee lawyer will take your case and win as it is a no brainer for cash. This is only because you have previously won a tribunal.

If you had not won a tribunal then they could give you a bad reference if they wanted to.

Anyone who says companies do not give bad references is lying. I have worked with colleagues who have received them.

Mandalyn

I'm not a lawyer but it's my understanding that if they purposefully give you a bad reference that is not true, you can sue them for libel. You'll have a stronger case than most since it was proven beyond a double that the company was wrong and you were unfairly dismissed.

However most companies these days will only confirm dates of employment for fear of being sued for libel.

In terms of refusing to give a reference, unfortunately that is the company's prerogative and there's nothing you can do about it. What you can do, though, is explain to potential employers what happened. Don't do this until you are close to getting the job, no need to overwhelm them with a lot of information they may not need. But since you were legally cleared of any wrong-doing, have whatever paperwork you have on hand to show them why the company may refuse to give a reference - or even better, why you are uncomfortable using them as a reference.

gail

They cannot give you a bad reference they can refuse to give you a reference but any normal employer that intended to take a new member of staff on would normally ask for more than one. You could be totally honest with your new employer and tell them the truth with the documentation from the tribunal to prove you were unfairly dismissed. If your new employer really wants you to work there they may appreciate your honesty.

COLIN T

No employer is 'obliged' to give a reference. No employer will give a 'bad' reference! They are aware that a reference is one persons opinion and do not want to have to defend that in court.

If they want to give you a bad reference all they do is just confirm the dates you worked for them with no other information or comment at all. A prospective employer realises' that this is really a bad reference but there is nothing at all you can do about it as their reference was an undisputed statement of facts.

Green-Monkey

The only thing that may appear on your reference from them is that you have been subject to a disciplinary.

Normally its just put as a question - Was XXXX candidate subject to any disciplinarys? Yes/No

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