I walked out of my job about 10 weeks ago now as i was sick of getting asked every week to go over my hours and change taco and there was no way i was doing it, Like i said walked out started looking and as you all know its hard out there at moment, Got myself interview for a firm passed the interview and passed the medical and the test drive not a problem. Was told the job was mine as soon as they got my reference and you all no what comes next! The scum of a boss gave me a bad reference as i walked out on them, not giving a reason why i walked out as they was wanting me to break the law every week. The job was paying 10.50 a hour and xmas coming up i cant believe he done that, Sorry for the moan but i am so angry.
firstly, why did you put him as a reference? you should have told the people at interview why you were not going to put him as a referee
secondly, they are not allowed to give you a bad reference
shuttlespanker:
firstly, why did you put him as a reference? you should have told the people at interview why you were not going to put him as a referee
Yes, agreed.
shuttlespanker:
secondly, they are not allowed to give you a bad reference
Well you can, you just have to be careful how you phrase it. “Damned with faint praise” is the expression to bear in mind.
shuttlespanker:
secondly, they are not allowed to give you a bad reference
That’s not strictly true. They are allowed to give you a bad reference if it is a statement of fact, for example they are allowed to say “Fred Smith was over an hour late for work on 20 occasions in 2009” but they’re not allowed to convey opinion like “Fred Smith is a waste of space and I wouldn’t give him a job”
Paul
shuttlespanker:
secondly, they are not allowed to give you a bad reference
Of course they can provided they are happy to substantiate what they have written down in a court of law if they get sued by the person that thinks what they’ve written is wrong.
Most Companies will not provide a reference if an employee was bad at their work rather than write a bad one and having to go through the trouble of potentially having to defend themselves in Court.
I agree though that perhaps you shouldn’t have given their details as a referee but then again some Companies will insist on a reference from the last employer.
I had to give my last employer no if or buts,Just because i left i would never of thought they would of gave a reference like they did. It said would you employ this person again, They said no due to him walking out of his job with no reason. I gave reason but they don’t put that down do they. The only thing now that worries me is i have got a interview next week who do i put down? I am that mad i feel like informing vosa and also they have been paying overtime as night out so they dont pay tax.
stewarrior:
I had to give my last employer no if or buts,Just because i left i would never of thought they would of gave a reference like they did. It said would you employ this person again, They said no due to him walking out of his job with no reason. I gave reason but they don’t put that down do they. The only thing now that worries me is i have got a interview next week who do i put down? I am that mad i feel like informing vosa and also they have been paying overtime as night out so they dont pay tax.
I do not doubt what you say is true, if you can back up that claim I would have no hesitation in grassing them up to VOSA, good luck in your job search my friend, if more drivers did what you did there would be fewer cowboy outfits around.
Cheers friar tuck, I am considering getting some legal advice about this as i think they have robbed me of a very good job that was mine. I no a few of the drivers have been done by vosa in the past! This is the thing friar how can i back up my claim as its there word against mine…
You should’ve recorded him asking you to break the law. This is easy with most mobile phones these days. And you should’ve come clean straight away as to why you left your old job instead of letting them get the first word in.
You live and learn.
stewarrior:
Cheers friar tuck, I am considering getting some legal advice about this as i think they have robbed me of a very good job that was mine. I no a few of the drivers have been done by vosa in the past! This is the thing friar how can i back up my claim as its there word against mine…
In the case you describe it’s,(or should be) obvious that you would’nt walk away from the job under those circumstances without first keeping hold of the relevant records to cover yourself when the zb hits the fan as in this case.By walking away without that evidence you’ve also left yourself open to the dole office turning you down for benefits too.If it’s that bad and the firm has got you involved in what you say it has concerning law breaking,then you should have got enough evidence to cover all the angles and probably if there’s not sufficient evidence for you to have done the firm for constructive or unfair dismissal when you walked out there also was’nt enough to be able to tell an employer to forget the last firm’s reference request and/or get your dole money.But in that case the usual answer is to say no when they ask you to break the law and then if they want to make an issue of it let them sack you first.
Carryfast:
.By walking away without that evidence you’ve also left yourself open to the dole office turning you down for benefits too.If it’s that bad and the firm has got you involved in what you say it has concerning law breaking,then you should have got enough evidence to cover all the angles and probably if there’s not sufficient evidence for you to have done the firm for constructive or unfair dismissal when you walked out there also was’nt enough to be able to tell an employer to forget the last firm’s reference request and/or get your dole money.But in that case the usual answer is to say no when they ask you to break the law and then if they want to make an issue of it let them sack you first.
Many years ago I jacked in a job because of the constant 90-hour weeks, and I got around the Dole problem by telling my employer that he had to tell the Dole he had made me redundant, otherwise I would tell them that I had left because he was operating illegally, and that I would show them my last three weeks’ payslips showing 92, 89 and 93 hours being worked over those three weeks, and bubble him up to VOSA if I had to.
He did as I told him 
Harry Monk:
Carryfast:
.By walking away without that evidence you’ve also left yourself open to the dole office turning you down for benefits too.If it’s that bad and the firm has got you involved in what you say it has concerning law breaking,then you should have got enough evidence to cover all the angles and probably if there’s not sufficient evidence for you to have done the firm for constructive or unfair dismissal when you walked out there also was’nt enough to be able to tell an employer to forget the last firm’s reference request and/or get your dole money.But in that case the usual answer is to say no when they ask you to break the law and then if they want to make an issue of it let them sack you first.Many years ago I jacked in a job because of the constant 90-hour weeks, and I got around the Dole problem by telling my employer that he had to tell the Dole he had made me redundant, otherwise I would tell them that I had left because he was operating illegally, and that I would show them my last three weeks’ payslips showing 92, 89 and 93 hours being worked over those three weeks, and bubble him up to VOSA if I had to.
He did as I told him
But there is a grey area there Harry because you don’t really have much evidence unless you actually break the law first.So the guvnor says run over the hours or run overweight and you say no but at that point it’s really only your word against his in court.It’s catch 22 in many respects and in the harsh climate of references,few jobs,job centre rules and all the other aggro of what comes after doing the right thing it’s often easier to just do what the guvnor asks and save yourself all the trouble.Unless it’s running at around 45 tonnes gross with an 8 wheeler tipper which was another recent claim somewhere. 
Harry Monk:
otherwise I would tell them that I had left because he was operating illegally, and that I would show them my last three weeks’ payslips showing 92, 89 and 93 hours being worked over those three weeks, and bubble him up to VOSA if I had to.He did as I told him
At least you can rest easy knowing you allowed a bent/dodgy operator to carry on, and all these legit drivers/companies on here moaning about operators like that eh 
Bubble them to Vosa if you feel that strongly and think it can be substantiated.
Harry has your view changed now, or would you still be happy be for operator’s to carry on like that years later still ‘intimidating’ drivers like Stewarrior to put up or shut up 
I was under the impression 'probably wrongly ’ that you couldn’t give a bad reference, either ‘great’ ‘ok’ or ‘no comment’ which could speak volumes.
maybe new employer wanted you to “bend” the rules as well but now knew you wouldnt do it so didnt bother going ahead with the job.
to be fair last employer can refuse to give a referance which that in itself speaks a thousand words. i have a problem with my last referance which is freightliner but dont expect that to be glowing.
speedyguy:
Harry Monk:
otherwise I would tell them that I had left because he was operating illegally, and that I would show them my last three weeks’ payslips showing 92, 89 and 93 hours being worked over those three weeks, and bubble him up to VOSA if I had to.He did as I told him
At least you can rest easy knowing you allowed a bent/dodgy operator to carry on, and all these legit drivers/companies on here moaning about operators like that eh
Bubble them to Vosa if you feel that strongly and think it can be substantiated.
Harry has your view changed now, or would you still be happy be for operator’s to carry on like that years later still ‘intimidating’ drivers like Stewarrior to put up or shut up
The answer to this problem has existed for years.If VOSA and the government were to change the law overnight in that employed drivers of vehicles requiring an O Licence won’t be held responsible for any hours,overloading,or vehicle condition infringements only the operator based on the simple premise of who gains from this and who has the motive in which case there’s probably more chance that those infringements would be the result of cowboy employers than cowboy drivers .
speedyguy:
Harry Monk:
otherwise I would tell them that I had left because he was operating illegally, and that I would show them my last three weeks’ payslips showing 92, 89 and 93 hours being worked over those three weeks, and bubble him up to VOSA if I had to.He did as I told him
At least you can rest easy knowing you allowed a bent/dodgy operator to carry on, and all these legit drivers/companies on here moaning about operators like that eh
Bubble them to Vosa if you feel that strongly and think it can be substantiated.
Harry has your view changed now, or would you still be happy be for operator’s to carry on like that years later still ‘intimidating’ drivers like Stewarrior to put up or shut up
I just needed to claim benefits and save myself from an early grave, I would be very reluctant to report an operator to VOSA for the following reason.
Shortly after I left, the firm in question was raided by VOSA (DtP it was then) and predictably, all of the drivers were nicked while the boss got off scot-free. This happened so shortly after I left that I was worried the lads would think I had bubbled them up, but in fact another disgruntled driver had and this became common knowledge.
And no, I’m not happy for operators to carry on like it, in fact if I had my way I would have the working day reduced to 12 hours. But I am powerless to affect this.
Carryfast:
[But there is a grey area there Harry because you don’t really have much evidence unless you actually break the law first.
Three consecutive weekly payslips showing a total of over 270 hours is pretty damning evidence against any company…
Nothing worse than a grass in this business which has way to many rules and regs, think of the poor small operators trying to earn a pound. If you cant stand the heat just move on, but dont try and ruin it for others.
i know this aint going to help but didnt the application form have reason why you left your last job ? every application i have ever filled in always asked
pavaroti:
Nothing worse than a grass in this business which has way to many rules and regs, think of the poor small operators trying to earn a pound. If you cant stand the heat just move on, but dont try and ruin it for others.
Those rules and regulations are there for good reason