Sacked for gross misconduct, can ex employer give details to new employer?

Question

Boyfriend was sacked from his last job on a technicality but it ended up as Gross misconduct! He has an interview 2moro and is cacking his pants that the old firm can tell the new people he got sacked, what for etc etc! I'm trying to convince him that it's illegal for old company to do that! I thought all they could say on reference requests now was yes person worked here or no person didn't work here!? Anyone know for sure how much detail they can give and whether it can include facts? Help us please before I rip his hair out!!!!

Answer 1

No they are by law not allowed to give any details or even bad mouth him, the worse they can do is refuse to give a reference!

Answer 2

Sacked For Gross Misconduct

Answer 3

If the potential new employer asks the past employer for a reference, they are unlikely to give any specific details. But they are entitled to state that he was dismissed for gross misconduct.
If the new employer wants to approach the previous one for a reference then he will certainly tell your boyfriend that is his intention and will ask him for the name of the person to contact. If this happens at the interview then the best course is for your boyfriend to come clean and explain what happened giving his reasons for the behaviour which resulted in his dismissal.

It's up to your boyfriend to give a good impression at the interview - make sure he's wearing clean looking clothes, a tie, if it's that sort of job, tidy looking hair and be polite.

Much depends on the type of job - but with luck they may not bother to ask for a reference from the previous employer.
Good luck, anyway.

Answer 4

It used to be that you couldn't give a BAD reference. However a recent ruling stated that as long as the reference is factual and true, it can take any form. If the company your boyfriend is applying to has a standard reference request form, it will ask on it "reason for leaving". The company cannot lie abbout this. It may be that if the company he has left says he was sacked for gross misconduct, the new company could contact them for more details. It is worth noting that a company who gives a false reference (ie. a good one when the employee was obviously not good) can also be taken to court.

Answer 5

If your boyfriend got on with any of the managers or supervisors there, then ask them if they will write a reference for him.

If not then tell your boyfriend to not even acknowledge the fact that he worked there, in fact if he has any mates who are in a Supervisor or management role, ask them if they will write him a reference to say that he worked there and was a model employee (even though he never did). A new employer simply wont have the time to check whether its true or not. Hence why I have a good job at the mo but a poor employment history.

Sometimes you have to cut corners in life to get where you want to be, I'm not saying its right but if it gets you where you want to be then I dont see the problem.

Answer 6

Dismissal for gross misconduct isn't done on a "technicality".
If he's put his last employer down as a reference then they can give full information. They are bound by law to give a FACTUAL reference - but it is a fact that he got sacked for gross misconduct, so they are almost certainly going to make reference to this. If his last employer gives a misleadingly positive reference, omitting information that is pertinent to the suitability of his employment, the they are leaving themselves wide open to being sued by the employing company.
So, you are wrong to convince him they they cannot give him a negative reference I'm afraid, and he is right to be worried.
Why did he put them down as a reference???

Answer 7

Due to illegal working rules employers now must check the 'right to work' of everyone they employ - or then can be fined £20000 for each worker! They will also need to see (but not keep) originals as copies can be changed. Address etc this is again a legal requirement, and they should ask for a recent utility bill to check and validate this. yes be paranoid - but if you don't give it you wont get work! UK answer

Answer 8

Sorry, but that is exactly what they can and probably will do. The request for a reference from a prospective employer usually asks the old employer if they would ever employ the applicant agin in a similar capacity. Legally, the former employer can give up any information relevant to the employees work record.

Answer 9

Most companies will simply say when asked about a previous employee the dates worked and the position held without going into detail. If pressed by the prosective new employer that standard answer is that he is not eligible for rehire. The new employer draws his own conclusions from this.

Answer 10

Yes ex employer can give details to new employer if requested to state reasons/confirm reasons for your boyfriend leaving.

The crucial thing in the interview you need to know is that he may be asked why he left the job.

He should say he left because he was disciplined, and be honest, but he should show maturity and say he has learned from his disciplinary action.

See this link for further information about how to handle it in the interview, and further interview answers:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/Jobhuntinghelp/Interviewpreparations/index.html:

Answer 11

At the company I work for, if they sack an employee, they will tell the new employer that the person was sacked, but they won't specify the reason.
But I'm not sure if that's the law, or just my company policy.