Do employers have to provide a reference, if requested? What are the risks if we provide a negative reference? Can we withdraw a job offer because of a poor reference? These are just some of the issues that employers have to consider in relation to employment references. Case law has shown that employers can be liable for damages if the subject of a reference suffers a loss where the employer has not met its duty of care. To avoid successful damages and discrimination claims employers need to be consistent in whether or not they provide references and make sure that references are accurate and fair.
We look at the law surrounding references in the current series of XpertHR’s Topic of the Week (subscription required). The first article in this series by Caroline Noblet of Squire Sanders Hammonds looks at the obligations on employers that are approached for a reference about an existing or previous employee. The next article in the series will look at references and the recruitment process. There will also be two case studies on references.
| Tweet |
|
| Permalink | Email this |
