Bad reference?

jan80

Hi,

I hope someone can give us some useful advice.

Bit of a long story, but we returned to Ireland in October 2007 after living abroad for 6yrs and my boyfriend got a job through a recruitment agency a couple of weeks later. He knew it wouldn't be a long term thing as the hours weren't good and it's not what he wants to be doing etc, so contacted the same agency last month to look for another job. The agency got him an interview somewere else and after a 2nd interview he was offered the job, subject to references. Now he went to work the next day and told his boss he had given his number for a reference and his boss said he wouldn't give him one because they didn't want to lose him. A few days pass, the company has offered him 2 different positions, more money, better hrs etc but he says no as he still wants the new job.
Today the recruitment agency ring my boyfriend to tell him his boss finally provided a reference and it was bad but couldn't say why due to confidentiality laws. Later on in the day my boyfriends previous boss (of 6 yrs, based 4000 miles away) rings to say she's had a phone call from the new company and the recruitment agency asking for a reference, and the new company told her his boss has said he is a bad timekeeper, a daydreamer, can't work unsupervised and has no telephone skills.
Obviously we don't agree with this, the recruitment agency have phoned his boss twice since he started to check on him and apparently his boss has said previously he wishes they could clone him, and he's been earning good commission. Surely if he was that bad they wouldn't still be employing him, let alone have offered him more benefits to stay?
Does anyone have any idea where we go from here? Well done if you reached the end of this epic, new job have revoked their offer and boyfriend not sure how he can go to work tomorrow........
Thanks!

jhegarty

a daydreamer,
can't work unsupervised
no telephone skills.

Can't prove anything there...

a bad timekeeper,

Unless this is true its slander... I suggest he talks to a solicitor if its not true....


He should also talk to the HR department/manager's boss about what happened...

WhiteWashMan

straight to your solicitor, and then straight to the HR department, and then straight to court.

jan80

Thanks for your advice, my boyfriend went to work this morning and asked his boss for a copy of the reference in writing and got fired! The reference he gave the other company was over the phone so we don't have anything concrete to back it up and there isn't a HR dept (says something doesn't it?).

jameshayes

Just because you dont have physical proof doesn't mean anything at all... I'd be straight onto a solicitor(he/she will be more than willing to take a case like this). Things like this shouldn't be allowed go.


There have been many cases of this in the last few years and the compensation for damaged reputation has been substantial.

Mr. Presentable

See section 3

http://gdunnesolicitors.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86&Itemid=42