Is anyone in the same position as myself? I have applied for another job and asked my current transport manager for a reference, he said he is not allowed to do this and I had to contact Head office, I received a letter from someone I,ve never heard of stating the date I started and that I was still employed buts thats all they are willing to say.
I also got exactly the same response from my previous employer who I worked for 16 years,
It seems even if you were the model employee companies are affraid saying too much incase they get sued in the future!
They can get in a lot of trouble if they give you a bad reference, and if they give you a good reference then your prospective new employer will read it as they want to get rid of you so a simple reference giving start and finish dates is normally enough (for me anyway)
just give youre new employer the details of who to get a refrence from and youre jobs done it isnt up to you to prouduce refrences and i wouldnt ask any one i was actually working for for a refrence the trick is to have a job before you leave one (keep it simple) 
errrr,whilst i wouldnt disagee entirely,flying by the seat ov your pants works too 
oh it does before you even think about challenging me
chrisy boy:
errrr,whilst i wouldnt disagee entirely,flying by the seat ov your pants works too
trucknets for drivers not pilots chrissyboy 
never needed a reference in my life. I always leave it blank.
torn between two lovers here boys cay sara sara springs to mind 
chrisy boy:
torn between two lovers here boys
Trucknet tonight mate not x factor!!!
whilst i dont have any limitations to my genious,i must admit that i more a Strictly Come Dancing kinda guy,ok im more Patrick Swayze than Matt Monroe,but i god i wish i could sacrifice my fine phyisic for a better voice,you see i aint quite perfect,but Pree tty dam close 
chrisy boy:
whilst i dont have any limitations to my genious,i must admit that i more a Strictly Come Dancing kinda guy,ok im more Patrick Swayze than Matt Monroe,but i god i wish i could sacrifice my fine phyisic for a better voice,you see i aint quite perfect,but Pree tty dam close
WEVE GOT AN EGO HERE
You want a reference?
No problem.
Ring this number - (previous employer).
Ok, I’ll call him later.
Er no, ring him now, while I’m here.
Should give you an answer - one way or the other.
Stan
bloody hell after about 200 ‘attitudinal’ posts ive been sussed ,(does that word exist) oh well its got me this far in life so ‘if it aint broke’ an an all that
chrisy boy:
bloody hell after about 200 ‘attitudinal’ posts ive been sussed
if it aint broken dont fix it
Only place thats actually checked my references was DHL, when i worked full time for them.
Most agencies ive worked for havent botherd, infact most agencies ive worked for gone in at say 10am to fill in paperwork then 20mins later the phone rings and they have you doing a shift later that day.
I know they don’t check them because one of my references is my dads friend who i used to work for doing house clearances. Only DHL have contacted him.
Most of the time i leave references bit blank or write available on request.
Also most of the places ive got a job, they want to know who you have worked for and in most cases they know at least one of your old TM’s and contact them direct.
Kenny1975:
Only place thats actually checked my references was DHL, when i worked full time for them.Most agencies ive worked for havent botherd, infact most agencies ive worked for gone in at say 10am to fill in paperwork then 20mins later the phone rings and they have you doing a shift later that day.
I know they don’t check them because one of my references is my dads friend who i used to work for doing house clearances. Only DHL have contacted him.
Most of the time i leave references bit blank or write available on request.
Also most of the places ive got a job, they want to know who you have worked for and in most cases they know at least one of your old TM’s and contact them direct.
All I will say to that is that you’ve worked for some agencies who haven’t adhered to the REC code of practice; although with the greatest of respect I think you’re exaggerating the case somewhat. In fairness many of the best drivers go on reputation, but see below for a cautionary tale.
I was trained by Reed as a consultant, and also worked for Initial (formerly HMS) neither of whom would use a temp without at least checking references verbally; this is deemed to be OK so long as you immediately follow that up with a written reference request.
Whilst I accept that there are dodgy agencies about, it is not generally in their interests to skip referencing of drivers. As I’ve stated in a previous thread about agencies, there are unfortunately a few drivers about who are effectively unemployable, due normally to previous history, and referencing is the only way you get to weed them out before they drop you in the cart big-time with a major client.
One thing much overlooked by prospective employers, is that what a reference does NOT say can tell you more than what it does. This is due to what a previous poster said, that it is difficult to give a bad reference.
Here’s an instance; I once interviewed a candidate for HGV 1 work, smart looking, presentable and personable, with an apparently impeccable work record. All his previous employers had provided him with glowing accounts of his perfect timekeeping, smart appearance, driving aptitude etc. Had I just taken these as read (which is very tempting because checking references is a ball-ache of a job) and not gone into it further, i would not have discovered that three out of his previous four employers had sacked him for petty theft.
Not one of his testimonials (known in the trade as bearer references because they’re brought to an interview) made any mention of this; but neither did any one contain the word “honest” in their description.
Caveat emptor; that applies to BOTH sides!
my own terminoligy,‘flying by the seat of your pants’ aint meant to literally mean all thieves and vagabonds should be aiming to prosper from,more that from my own ‘previous’ work record is that theres plenty of lousey companies out there to work for and sometimes it pays to not be another ‘nodding dog’ and basically jack, OK i know personal circumstances dont allways make the choice black and white,but hey you make your own bed.so in my case im just happy to stay a contrary bugger! cos i made a concious choice,so stop taxing the ■■■■■■■■ outa me to pay to keep your ‘feral runts’ and bone idle ‘parents’ in a life of Riley,thats not a dig at any-one one this site who works and choses to raise a familly.