sacked from job

[tezmand]

hi can anyone tell me if my daughter is right she has been sacked from her job for persistant lateness so is now job hunting i said she will find it hard to get another job as they will ask for a reference from her last employer and it wont be a good reference due to her keep being late, she said they can either give a good reference or no reference at all and that they are not allowed to write a bad one , is this right ? thanks

[ChuckFickens]

Not quite true.

they can give a bad reference as long as it's true. so they can say that her timekeeping was bad as long as they can demonstrate/proove that it was bad.

[chelle7272]

More and more we now receive a form to complete with regard references instead of writing a letter of reference. These may ask if she was subject to any disciplinary or if there were any problems with her employment, and usually always ask if you would re-employ the person.
It's a bit of amyth that you can't give a bad reference, you can give an honest one!

[Purple_Popple]

How did she leave it with her now ex-employer ? If she left on relatively good terms and without a fuss would she be able to ring and ask them for a positive reference perhaps ? Surely they could pick out some good points during her time with them ?

[Maydup]

Quite often companies say nothing in case the sacked employee decides to argue the exact wording of the reference and sue them.

Its rare that anyone bothers too, but its the reason for refusals. A refusal therefore means they have nothing good to say and is as good as a bad one.

Did she not like the job or is she always late for everything?

When I was young I could sleep for England and was only happy when I was on a late shift. Now I'm OK of course but still prefer to stay up late to get soemthing doen rather than get up early to tackle it.

I know I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt here, but is it worth her trying for an evening job or one with shifts?

[tezmand]

thanks guys
purple _poppy she left on a good note with her boss so maybe if she asks they mite be kind in their reference
maidup she liked the job its such a shame she is 19 and has worked since the day she left school but she just thought she coud go out every nite and still get up early for work it was an early start 7am with a half hour bus journey so she was up at 5.45am ish, i guess she just didnt take it serious enuff and took no notice of my naggin when i told her it would come to this, she does love her bed maybe an evening jb would suit her but then she wouldnt be able to go out but as my hubby says shes gotta learn the hard way life aint easy shes certainly gonna miss the money thanks for your replys

[boxtops]

I wish her luck, but she has to take the next job a bit more seriously, and turn up on time. I wouldn't take it lightly if anyone working for me was persistently late just because they couldn't get up in the morning.

[tezmand]

totally agree boxtops

[bigbritboy]

Yes this is correct, legally an employer can not give a bad reference or even tell someone why they were terminated. What they can tell an employer is that Yes that person worked for us. The employer asking may ask if the employer would rehire, and i believe the employer can say no. Which raises a red flag anyway.
I am in the US now, no longer in UK, but these rules apply in UK i'm pretty sure.

[samak]

I think employers are wise to the fact that the person giving a reference is concerned about being sued and will read between the lines. In this case I might say that 'punctuality was a weak point' rather than 'the lazy cow could never be bothered to get her derriere out of bed'. The person reading it would assume the latter...
They do normally ask whether you would rehire and a simple "No" to this answer says it all.

[buildersmate]

Too right.
The way I solve this when asked for a reference is to state 'the only thing that I am prepared to confirm about this former employee is that she worked here between x and y dates'. Now that is not a bad reference, but it tells the enquirer more than enough of what they require to know.

[THECORBYLOON]

"You owe a duty of care to the ex-employee in providing a reference to a prospective employer. Your duty is to take reasonable care in the preparation of the reference and you will be liable to the employee in negligence if you fail to do so and the employee suffers loss or damage as a result.

Your obligation is to provide a true, accurate and fair reference. The reference must not give a misleading impression. However, as long as the reference is accurate and does not tend to mislead, there is no obligation on you to set out great detail or to be comprehensive.

Essentially, this means you must be able to substantiate the comments you have made in the reference with hard evidence and you must not give misleading information, whether by the selective provision of information or by the inclusion of information in a manner that would lead a reasonable recipient to draw a false or mistaken inference. For example, you should not allude to an employee's misconduct if you have never carried out an investigation into that misconduct and you do not therefore have reasonable grounds for believing in that misconduct.

Claire Birkinshaw, legal expert, Federation of Small Businesses "

[joko]

they cant *** her off but they can tell the truth whether negative or not - otherwise whats the point of references at all if they must be positive...?

as stated they will be adept at knowing the right words to convey the truth without being mean or insulting.

if she does get the job they wil be watching her like a hawk on time keeping...they will probably have her on a trial

[piggynose]

looks like she needs to learn to be disciplined. 1st thing she should do is buy a good alarm clock

[DC_FC]

She needs to get her priorities straight and not go out night before she is due to work unless she gets in early to ensure she gets enough sleep

[tezmand]

shes got another job got it 2 days after getting sack, its pub and catering work so no real early starts fingers crossed eh cheers guys i kinda wanted her to be without money for a while to see wat a cock up she had made but now its not affected her