job references

[jelly baby]

In October, my friends son was dismissed from his job after being suspended for gross misconduct, this involved him restraining a violent patient, (he is a mental health worker) and he was heard to swear at him, which resulted in the suspension.
He appealed against the dismissal, spent 5 hours pleading his case, and the decision to uphold the dismissal was made in 5 minutes! He had worked for this company for 3 years, had an unblemished record and loved his job. He feels that the company wanted rid of him and this incident gave them the opportunity to do this although he has no proof. His union rep felt sure he would be reinstated after the appeal.
He has since been offered 3 jobs in the same field by different employers, and had all 3 offers withdrawn after references were taken up. The original company has still not formally notified him of his dismissal, they told his mother over the phone!
Could someone tell me if it is allowed to give references that result in him being made unemployable in his field?
He is becoming increasingly depressed about being out of work.
Thanks for any help
Jelly Baby

[Buenchico]

You're not going to like this answer but I assure you that it's written solely with a view to accuracy, not with any 'nastiness' intended:

Firstly, nobody is ever required to provide a reference for anyone else. When an employee has been dismissed, the former employer will usually simply refuse to provide any reference. (That may well be what's happened here. i.e. your friend's son might be getting turned down for jobs simply because a reference is being refused, rather than through the content of any reference which has been given).

Secondly, anyone is free to write what they like, about who they like (or dislike) and send it to anyone they choose to (whether asked to or not) as long as what they write is either;
(a) factual ; or
(b) "fair comment".

In practice, your friend's son might have to seek employment (in an alternative field) where references aren't required. He could then later seek to return to his former occupation, providing the name of his most recent employer as his first reference and, perhaps, getting a reference from someone who knew him during his training to provide a reference relative to the field which he was seeking to re-enter.

Chris

[jelly baby]

Thanks for that.
My friend is just so worried that he is becoming quite depressed about the situation. He had just moved into a new flat when this happened and as you can imagine he is now finding it difficult to make ends meet on jobseekers allowance. I have suggested he find something else to tide him over, and now think he may do so. He has been totally honest at all his interviews regarding his dismissal and now is beginning to think about honesty not being the best policy and wiping that particular employer off his CV.
We will have to wait and see I guess.

[thugulike]

When someone has been disciplined in such a situation it has to be reported under CSki following POVA. I suspect your son would not be able to work in this field again even with an agreed reference. I have recently dismissed a care worker and I was required to make this report.

[jelly baby]

Could you explain CSki & POVA please

[thugulike]

CSCI is the Commission for Social Care Inspection (sorry I spelled the acronym wrong in my first post) is the inspection system for adults, just like there is Ofsted for children. POVA is the Protection Of Vulnerable Adults, similar to Child Protection. If your son works in the care field I would be amazed if he didn't know what these were.

[jelly baby]

Thank you for that although it's not, in fact, my son, but the son of a friend. I guess he does know what these are, but I didn,t.
Thanks again