Firm phoning up references after 5yrs

LegacyUser

I have been employed by a company now for 5yrs and have an umblemished record, never had a problem with anything, time keeping, absenteeism, standard of work etc.
Now, after i've been with them for 5 yrs they have started to phone the referrees i gave on my original application 5yrs ago. They have also been chasing up and contacting old employers. As 1 or 2 of these companies no longer exist i must provide a letter from someone who knew me at the time, stating that i worked for these companies!!

Are they allowed to do this after so long? I must also supply them with 2 character references, even though i've been with them for 5yrs.
Now i have nothing at all to hide here, i'm just annoyed that they are doing this without even having the courtesy to inform me.
I'm not the only one in this position, they are doing it to a lot of long term employees.

RedXIV

Could be something as simple as they recently got burned by someone who was long term and they wouldn't have if they checked references? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me sort of thing?

crotalus667

Are you in health care ???

LimeFruitGum

Now that's a strange one; I've never heard of it.

So I wonder if it could it be down to some upcoming layoffs in the air, but you guys don't know about it? weird one. Have you spoken to your manager?

tenchi-fan

You should find out who in HR / management is responsbile, go to their linkedin page and spam everyone on their contact list with requests for references.

Only joking, well, sorta...

However, it is very bad form what they have been doing. It is a huge invasion of privacy and I wouldn't be surprised if it was a breach of data protection.

As for character references, ask your co-workers to write them.

gandalf

Never heard of anything like this before. I would say that it sounds like they are getting ready to let a number of people go and this could be one of the ways they are using to decide. Is the company in difficulty at the moment?

If it was me I would get my line manager and ensure he/she told me why they are looking for this information. Only at that stage and if I was happy with the reason they gave would I allow then call any references that I gave them five years ago.

looksee

It would seem quite likely that if they did contact references from 5 years ago the previous employers would say something like, 'yes this person worked here 5 years ago, but we have more to do with our time than look up 5 year old records'.

It makes the firm look silly imo.

snickerpuss

I had been working somewhere for 4 years when they somehow realised they had never asked for my qualifications. I think they were getting everyone's files in order. I assume that something legal had happened with another employee and they were covering themselves. It's very odd though.

bbam

Someone just needs to tick the box that it was done.... It was either missed or they have been burned recently as references weren't checked..

seamus

gandalf wrote: »

Never heard of anything like this before. I would say that it sounds like they are getting ready to let a number of people go and this could be one of the ways they are using to decide.

bbam wrote: »

Someone just needs to tick the box that it was done.... It was either missed or they have been burned recently as references weren't checked..

The two most likely reasons I reckon.

Your current employer has no basis on which to demand this information from you. They cannot fire you or suspend you for failing to do so now, assuming that you supplied information when you first joined.

The first thing I would do is ask them why they want this information. Refuse to co-operate until you get a good answer.

They have no right to demand that you get this information for them.

Eoin

tenchi-fan wrote: »

However, it is very bad form what they have been doing. It is a huge invasion of privacy and I wouldn't be surprised if it was a breach of data protection.

I'm not sure it's a breach of the DPA. Not on the OP's current employer's side anyway. They're trying to use information the OP provided originally, they're not disclosing information to 3rd parties.

tenchi-fan

Eoin wrote: »

I'm not sure it's a breach of the DPA. Not on the OP's current employer's side anyway. They're trying to use information the OP provided originally, they're not disclosing information to 3rd parties.

Yes, but if they're phoning previous employers without express permission and in the process disclosing where the employee is now working, there's an argument it's a breach of data protection. Maybe not!

LegacyUser

I've completed most of the paperwork they requested, one of the older companies i worked for though has been taken over so no longer exists, they want a letter from somebody who knew me at that time to say i worked there. They also said my wife would be ok to write this!!

Also, in the letter requesting all this information i have been given 2 weeks to give it all or i will be suspended!!!!!!

I'm not the only one this has affected, quite a few others are being asked for he same information.

bbam

seamus wrote: »

Refuse to co-operate until you get a good answer.

I think that's a bad idea...
It's hardly worth making a big issue out of..
OP states they have a clean record, no issues since joining...
Now your advising to make an ass of yourself over this....

Do you really think managers just forget who plays the game and who doesn't..

Do ask what brought this forward so long after being hired but you'll just be making trouble for yourself if you dont supply the information or turn it into a confrontation situation..

Irish_Elect_Eng

I experienced a similar situation some time ago, but the employers motivation turned out to be genuine and the situation resolved itself sensibly.

HR demanded that every one provide copied of their college scripts and proof of all qualifications claimed on or C.V.s at the time of hiring... Freaked everyone out...

But it turned out that there was a requirement from a significant customer that the company have evidence that all employees assigned to their projects were suitably qualified...after all if they were being charged by the hour for expert advice and design services they wanted to be sure that they were getting what they paid for...

Once this was explained everyone happily dug out their dusty certs, diplomas, degrees, masters....etc.

Perhaps there is a new operating requirement that HR have references for all new employees and someone is taking it a little far and getting references for all the old employees also?

Thoie

Have they introduced a new HR system recently? Some HR packages insist that all these records are included or they show flags against employees. The idea is that it ensures new hires are properly verified, but the down side is that all the existing employees are "flagged". They can't just go back and tick all the existing employees, as that could lead to problems further down the line.

If this is the case, a simple company-wide email to let people know about it would probably have solved a lot of problems.

BostonB

Very bizarre.

I'd ask them for a official letter with their requests and the reasons for it, also is it the same policy for everyone. Get that in writing.

Then I'd give them the references that are easy to get. If some aren't possible to get then I'd just tell them that. What else can you do? Unless of courses there's a problem with your references.