My current UK employer contacted a previous employer who was acting as a referee on my behalf. The referee has since revealed the conversation that they had with me, is this allowed? My current employer has found out, can they take it any further?
I asked this question last week with no response, i think it might have been overlooked...
a verbal conversation cannot form part of a formal reference as it is so easily deniable and changeable. Your previous employer is entitled to tell you anything he wants as is the rest of the human race. If your current employer asked your previous employer to keep the discussion confidential and he didn't then he has an issue with your previous employer, not with you. That said, if you current employer is peeved, such a thing is not likely to earn you brownie points!
I think, Chuck, that the sentence should read "The referee has since revealed the conversation [between the referee and your current employer] to me". That's how I read it, anyway.