What can an employer put in a refernce?

Ivan R

Hello,

(ANS) First of all, a reference from a past employer should be reasonable, should be truthful i.e. not be lies & not be a fabrication of the truth. Should attempt to be positive and comment on a persons strengths and areas of real weakness i.e. so further training issues can be worked upon or further skills developed in the employee.

**Sadly, not all employers are kind or honest, frankly some employers are down right rogues and some wont even provide a reference in some extreme situations I've come across.

**Try to get a reference from the employer but which excludes input or comments from the actual TL, which is difficult as most organizations usually ask the persons line manager to write the reference, as you worked most closely for that person. So yes! its quite tricky I would have to agree.

**If you had genuine reasons i.e. legitimate causes to take sickness leave or time off work then you have nothing to worry about and a fair employer wont be concerned by that.

**My advise is, perhaps more for your own sake, it might be useful to ask yourself why you didn't get along with this TL. What in specific you found difficult or what type of behavior was unacceptable to you. This could be helpful for future reference, & you might want to think about how you could deal with such a person or behavior if you ever came across it again in the future. Like how I could handle it better,etc. If you don't learn anything from this personality clash it will have been a wasted opportunity.

Hope that helps?

Kind Regards Ivan

Mark G

An employer is risking a libel action if they put anything untruthful in a reference. All they can do is state facts. At the very worst they can decline to give a reference.

fengirl2

First of all, they don't have to give you a reference.
Secondly, if they do, they can just choose to confirm the dates you were employed. If they are asked for the number of sickness days, then they should provide this info. 3 days sick is not significant.
When I ask for a reference, I send a copy of the person spec. for the job and ask the referee to comment on the person's suitability based on that.

Andte54

There is no set way of writing a reference. Usually the company asking for the reference sends out a set question and answer sheet asking basic questions about time keeping, sick days etc.... and I imagine it would go to somebody higher up than you TL. Most companies wont write a bad reference as they can be sued for libel, they just refuse to give a reference. Remember that you can ask to see anything that has been written about you.

Bardic

They won't give you a "bad" reference, it'll just be something like confirming you worked there from xx/xx/xx to yy/yy/yy and in what post. Most employers only do that anyway, no matter what terms you parted on.

At the very worse, they'll just decline to respond.

kevin friend

only good stuff, if they cant write good stuff then they cant write a reference

Diane B

Let well enough alone and just go to your new employer and do your best job. Actions speak louder than words. Besides most places now can only state "yes you have worked for them" and "yes or no to the question are they eligible for rehire?" Good luck in the new job.

Pagan Pip

HR can give you a reference. It is not in their interest to give you a bad refernce. Don't worry!

RichMase

As far as I know, you can't even mention someone's sickness record in a reference, but most companies ask you on their application forms.

As well as them not being allowed to give a bad reference, they're also not allowed to give too glowing a reference in case the prospective employee turns out to be a waste of space. The new employers could then take action against the old employers for providing an untruthful account of the employee.

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