What can I do about a bad reference?

Our resident career doctor is here to study your problems and research the best advice for you by consulting a vast army of experts.

Here, the career doctor offers advice for a jobseeker whose successful job hunt has been scuppered by a negative reference.

Dear career doctor,

I was recently offered a position. I have good references and wonderful letters of recommendation, so naturally thought there would be no problem. However, right before I was due to start the job, a month after the interview, the company informed me that it could not hire me because I had received one or two 'negative comments' in my references. I believe that they are not from my referees but perhaps from other past employers, although I have not had any problems that I am aware of. The company will not tell me who made the comments. Do I have a right to know? It really is unfair.

M.

It's awful that your new job has fallen through in such a distressing manner. We don't know if it will make you feel better or worse, but Corinne Aldridge, a partner with employment law specialists Bird & Bird says your case is unusual, as employers nowadays tend to watch their backs against litigation where references are concerned.

'Employers are not obliged to provide a reference for you. If they do, they must give a true reference and must be careful about what is said,' she says. 'In my experience, most employers want to say as little as possible to avoid the chance of being sued. In the City of London, for example, the backlash means it is becoming the general rule for references to do no more than confirm job title, name and date of employment'.

Most jobs are offered 'subject to satisfactory references', and, in your case, a past employer has made less than favourable comments. Under the Data Protection Act, you can ask a prospective employer to see written references that have been submitted to them, so you should certainly request a copy of your references, although they may not be obliged to disclose information that identifies a third party.

The problem may well lie with comments that are made verbally and 'off the record'. Clearly it will be harder to track down the source, but Aldridge advises tenacity - talk to your referees and past employers to try and pinpoint who was spoken to and what was said. Employers should not express an opinion even if honestly held unless able to show objective evidence to support it, according to experts from the workplace campaigning body The Work Foundation.

So how do you handle bad references? If the reference is wrong and inaccurate, you (or, indeed, your new employer) can sue for 'negligent misstatement' via a court procedure. Alternatively, if you think there is an element of discrimination involved, you can bring your former employer to an employment tribunal.

Negative references which are unfortunately true are obviously more difficult to deal with. Alex Richens, of recruitment agency Office Angels, believes it is necessary to tackle the issue head on. 'Job applications are about selling yourself,' she says. 'The chances are that by the time you have got to the reference part, you will have passed the CV stage and a first or second interview. At that stage those employers want you, so it is worth fighting your corner. If you have a good rapport with the interviewer, you could throw your hands in the air and say, 'yes, that did happen' and put your case forward'. The key is to be matter-of-fact, not to over- or under-explain the situation and to show what you have learned from the experience.


For further information visit totaljobs' advice on your rights
For more information on the Data Protection Act visit www.dataprotection.gov.uk.

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Good luck!

Career doctor