BAD Reference

Nurses Union

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Hi nursing pals,

Do you have any legal claims (e.g filing for grievance with union, etc) against your referee who cost you losing a job? (The reference who was SUPPOSED to give you a good recommendation, BUT did not)...Any thought?

Thx:)

What about giving good references to bad people so they will just get off your unit?

Haha, you have legal obligation to be truthful as a reference.

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Opinions/points of view are subjective. Perhaps your supervisor agreed to give you a good reference and had every intention of doing so and then the person calling asked a question like "our unit has X beds, nurses have X patients, it is fast paced and we offer minimal orientation. Could FlyingButterfly thrive in this environment?" If she said no, that's her honest opinion.

You don't have a case. Sorry.

I might have...It all depends on what my supervisor had told the prospective employer about me...

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I might have...It all depends on what my supervisor had told the prospective employer about me...

And, sure opinions are subjective...I meant although references are supposed to be objective...But, realistically they could hardly remain objective...The line between the two could get blurry...

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I might have...It all depends on what my supervisor had told the prospective employer about me...

You may never know. If it was an opinion the conversation is considered privileged between reference and potential employer and it appears Canadian laws do not give you the right to know opinions shared.

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You may never know. If it was an opinion the conversation is considered privileged between reference and potential employer and it appears Canadian laws do not give you the right to know opinions shared.

You bet...it's complicated perse...But, I just wanna sit and talk to them....This situation is sooo frustrating...

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Specializes in Pedi.
And, sure opinions are subjective...I meant although references are supposed to be objective...But, realistically they could hardly remain objective...The line between the two could get blurry...

References are not supposed to be objective. References are, by their very nature, subjective. If I am providing a reference for someone, I am offering my subjective opinion on their performance as an employee and qualifications for the job they are applying to.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, OB, ICU, Public Health Nursing.

In the US, it is not something a union would grieve. As a new employee you would be on probation and could be let go for no reason at all. The only exception here would be if the person who gave a bad reference did it based on discrimination against you which could be proven.

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References are not supposed to be objective. References are, by their very nature, subjective. If I am providing a reference for someone, I am offering my subjective opinion on their performance as an employee and qualifications for the job they are applying to.

I do NOT agree...References are supposed to be nonjudgmental, professional, hence objective...Think it as evaluations, which are required to be objective...As a matter of fact, in cases like this you could present your prospective employer with the copies of your evaluations you were given working in previous job.

So, I think references are required to be objective...Although as I previously mentioned they could hardly remain objective...No wonder why 64% of references turns to be leukwarm AND negative when they are asked about potential candidates according to an author..Sorry for not citing this....Found this in a piece of researched article last night...Somehow couldn't find it today.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

It depends on the questions the employer asked. Your referee may not have said anything untruthful or unprofessional, but their responses may have given your prospective employer reason to pause.

For example, if you were late or had poor attendance but many other positive qualities, this would be enough for a prospective employer to move on.

Either way, you will have great difficulty proving anything. Move forward and ask someone else for a future reference.

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It depends on the questions the employer asked. Your referee may not have said anything untruthful or unprofessional, but their responses may have given your prospective employer reason to pause.

For example, if you were late or had poor attendance but many other positive qualities, this would be enough for a prospective employer to move on.

Either way, you will have great difficulty proving anything. Move forward and ask someone else for a future reference.

Oh, no...Sure, as heck she wouldn't be In my reference list...

And, again lets discuss your given example: when you were not punctual, or you called in sick once in a month, etc, and these things were your weakness which you supervisor didn't like...they should have expressed their concerns even by being leukwarm when asked her about giving a good recommendation...Somehow, in her tone of voice, etc which you would sense it really easily, and decide to cross her name out...I actually chose her as a reference really wisely...She was so easy, welcoming, positive...THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I LEFT CONFUSED AND HELPLESS...

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I would NOT waste my time and energy on this. The posts alone are further than I would go. Perhaps direct that energy and research into landing a good job and leaving the bad reference in your past.

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I do NOT agree...References are supposed to be nonjudgmental, professional, hence objective...Think it as evaluations, which are required to be objective...As a matter of fact, in cases like this you could present your prospective employer with the copies of your evaluations you were given working in previous job.

So, I think references are required to be objective...Although as I previously mentioned they could hardly remain objective...No wonder why 64% of references turns to be leukwarm AND negative when they are asked about potential candidates according to an author..Sorry for not citing this....Found this in a piece of researched article last night...Somehow couldn't find it today.

You can "think" references are "required to be objective" all you want, but that doesn't make it so. I agree with a PP that references are, to some extent, by their nature, subjective.

And, even in the case of legal or organizational requirements/policies, people can always find ways around the "rules" if they want to. I once worked for a supervisor who let someone go at the end of orientation not for any real performance problems (this person was a coworker of mine throughout the orientation period), but because she and another member of the team just really didn't like him. Not only did she fire him for basically no reason at all, which was devastating enough (this person had a spouse and a few small children at home to support), but, when the supervisor was contacted by potential employers as this individual desperately looked for a new job, she would continue to screw the person over and do her best to ensure he wouldn't get another job (I never understood why) -- not by anything she actually said, but by the way she said it; tone of voice, significant pauses, etc. When a potential employer asked why he left, she would pause for a while (like she was agonizing over what to say), and then almost whisper, "Oh, I really can't talk about that" (leaving the impression that the person had done something really awful and she was trying to be nice by not telling the other person). It was awful to witness.

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