Resolved Question

My uni tutor will be contacted as a reference for a job? Is it against the law to give a bad reference?

And can he divulge in personal information such as my degree result etc? I am just worried because he is crazy.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

No they cant give a 'bad' reference by law they have to give an 'accurate' reference. If they have asked for your degree result he can give it.

Im sure he has done many references before and will have a standard approach to them. If it does prove it is bad you can request to see it under data protection then look to take further action.

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Other Answers (9)

• You do not have to give the name of your Tutor as reference .. you can choose some-one else.
  
  NB. Your Degree result is not 'personal information' (sorry) = indeed, many Universities publish degree results in local newspapers .. and if the job you applied for requires a Degree as a pre-qualification, you can be sure they will check with the University that you do, in fact, have a degree ...
  
  There is no law on 'references' .. the normal law of libel / slander applies .. many big Companies may well refuse to give references (except for dates you worked there, your job title and your salary) for fear of possible legal action in the event you don't get the (new) job and then try to blame them ...
• If you posess a degree - or any other qualification - then you'll already be ahead of the masses when it comes to hunting for professions. My friend has a degree and he wasn't certain what direction to go with it, but he found some great tips on the website in the resource box below which helped him to decide that he wanted to be a lab assistant. There is plenty of guidance on the website regarding other professions.

  Source(s):

• Your former employer can say what they wish, but if it can be demonstrated that they are not telling the truth, they could be leaving themselves open to a claim of negligent misstatement, libel or malicious falsehood. Therefore, as a matter of best practice, employers tend not to give bad references, so as to avoid these potential problems.
• People tend not to give bad references. They either refuse to give them or will write one where the employer can read between the lines. You say you are worried that he may divulge information such as your degree result. This is information you will have to be honest about so I am not sure why you are concerned. I have had to take my degree certificate to quite a few interviews.
• People won't give 'bad' references per se and say things like you were lazy or rude etc.. They would merely stay that Joe Blogg was a student at the university between 2007 and 2009 and leave it there... potential new employers would then draw their own conclusions ! If you were good, then any previous employers would make it very clear that you were good and that they didn't want to lose you !
• Yes it is against the Law to give a bad reference. He will be expected to divulge information with regard to your Degree if asked but this is unlikely.
  If you have been a bad student the worst he can do is to say that he is unable to provide a reference.
• Strangely, bad references are not permitted, which makes references pointless, surely. Thus referees have to word things carefully in order to convey negatives.
• He is obliged by law to say the truth. He cannot lie and he cannot say his opinion, only facts. he could put your results but not just call you 'lazy'.
• He's obliged to tell the truth, good or bad. If you were a lazy failure, he's got to say so.