emplyoment references

[Nosy Rosy]

I was recentley offered a job subject to references; the offer was subsequently withdrawn because 'suitable' references were not obtained - the Director of the last short term contract I worked on disliked me & I suspect that they are the culprit - I have never, ever had a bad reference in 30 years of working & I am really gutted about this - can anyone advise whether I am entitled to get copies of the references and if so, how I go about it please? Thanks in advance

[joko]

apparently it is not allowed to give a bad reference, so its likely that he just refused to give any reference at all, and that of course will have set alarm bells ringing.

if you have cv with 30 years worth of successful jobs on, just remove this entry and it will never be an issue again.

also i would suggest supplying your own contacts for refernces in future - pick 2 people that you know would be nice about you and add their names to your cv - ask them first of course.

you could call the company and ask them why this has happened and they may just tell you.

[Dizzieblonde]

I'm fairly sure there is no legal right for you to see your references - in fact, most companies may be less likely to show you if there is anything negative on there.

I know a former boss of mine got into serious trouble for writing a bad reference of a former employee, and was advised not to provide one at all instead. You could just try offering your own references - typically your immediate boss/line manager, and someone who knows you in a professional capacity.

[eezablade]

Firstly a reference can be bad, it can be whatever the referee wants it to say.
I am also sure that have a right to see any information pertaining to you. This is to do with the ammended data protection act, which was changed to include written, computerised information or digitally stored information (including any CCTV images you may have been caught on)
Data Protection act - it's great

[WendyS]

You could always contact the company, saying that in 30 years of working you have never received a bad reference and are upset that the job offer was withdrawn. Ask for a copy of the references supplied under the Data Protection Act and see what their response is.
However, it's quite possible that your suspected culprit may never have provided a written reference but telephoned your prospective employer and given a spoken telephone reference. That way there would be no written evidence to be uncovered.

[WoWo]

eezablade is correct in that you can say anything you like on a reference, however it must be accurate and honest. People giving references are on shakey group if they say something like ,"he was always late" but had failed while they were employed to actually repremand you for it.

As others have said I'd avoid offering referenaces from people who may give unfavourable ones, I simply tell people that company X don't give out references (which they don't) and offer my own.

[cascarelli]

References can be good or bad but must be accurate and fair.

You have the right to see what was written about you as a reference - ask the employer who turned you down to see the reference.

Even if it was a telephone reference the potential employer must have made notes and you're entitled to see these under the Data Protection Act.

As was said above, dont give the names of referees who will give a negative reference.

[violetblue]

If it was only a short term contract you could perhaps put a referee from the job before that, with an asterisk saying that you've put the other person as they know more about your work. I've got over the same hurdle by going to a temping agency for a while, then getting a reference from them before going to another job. Or do some voluntary work for a while and pick up a useful ref that way - references don't have to be from a paid post.